Looked After

A MOVING, HONEST MEMOIR FROM BROADCASTER AND JOURNALIST ASHLEY JOHN-BAPTISTE ABOUT GROWING UP IN THE BRITISH CARE SYSTEM

‘This is a book that everyone must read. No matter how you grew up it’s for you: it’ll make you rethink your own childhood and your relationships with everyone you know. It’s funny, moving and of course it’s often sad. But mainly it’s a beautiful and fascinating and enlightening portrait of the care system, a world that is barely understood by many of us. It is also a proper page turner: the twists and turns and set-backs of his childhood are as gripping as they are shocking. I genuinely couldn’t put it down.

This story is more urgent and relevant now than ever.’ – Xand van Tulleken


‘Ashley John-Baptiste joins a high class of writing by upstanding respectful and honourable citizens and professionals, professors and actors, lawyers, doctors, artists and authors, all who happen to have had a life in care. We have every right to tell our story as much as anyone else. Welcome, Ashley.’ – Lemn Sissay


‘An inspiring story of triumph over adversity.’ – Fatima Whitbread


‘Ashley has done the country a great service in shining a light on the inhumane – and at times brutal – way that society supports this most vulnerable group of children. Every politician should read this book and commit to fixing the system.’ – Sharon White


Ashley John-Baptiste grew up in the British care system, living with five different families, without ever being truly part of a family.

It wasn’t easy, or straightforward, and Ashley’s ever-changing living situation affected every single part of his life – from his education to his sense of identity to his friendships and his hobbies. And yet, throughout everything his childhood in care threw at him, Ashley remained resilient and found a way to take advantage of the opportunities that came his way.

Now Ashley feels able to tell us – vividly and movingly – how, when it felt like the world was turning its back on him, he refused to be an outsider in his own home and set about establishing a new and positive life for himself.

Looked After is a memoir written from the heart that pulls no punches but demonstrates that given encouragement and love – and, sometimes, a second chance – a care-experienced boy can become a successful broadcaster, a loving husband and a proud father.