Hardback, £14.99
Rodge’s eighth book, JOSHUA IN THE SKY, is published by Taproot Press of Edinburgh on September 5th 2024. There will be a full book tour through the autumn and winter of 2024/5, details to follow soon. Meanwhile, you can pre-order the book here, there’s a deep dive interview with Rodge on the genesis of the book here (‘Some Kind of Magic Trick’: Rodge Glass on Joshua in the Sky), and there’s a short video for socials too. Photographer Alan Dimmick took a series of new shots of Rodge to coincide with the book, which are available for use across this site, where Alan is appropriately credited.
About JOSHUA IN THE SKY
Joshua dies on his birthday.
Joshua dies the day he is born.
Joshua lives for three hours.
Joshua is alive.
Rodge Glass’s nephew Joshua died the same day he was born, from a blood condition they both share.
Joshua in the Sky charts the five years around Joshua’s life and death as Rodge attempts to make sense of this loss.
A family memoir and a memorial to a short life, it asks the questions: Whose life deserved to be remembered? And how?
All author proceeds to HHT research and the UCLH baby unit that cared for Joshua in London.
Advance endorsements for Joshua in the Sky
‘A work of great tenderness and originality’ – Malachy Tallack, author of Illuminated by Water & The Un-Discovered Islands
‘It found me in pieces then gently wove me back together again’ – Helen Sedgwick, author of
‘A truly remarkable piece of writing’ – Gavin Esler, broadcaster, journalist, author of How Britain Ends and Judge of the 2023 Wigtown Book Festival Anne Brown Essay prize
‘Rodge Glass’s narrative voice is impressive – he never flinches from the tough stuff, yet remains supremely readable and joyful’ – Sara Sheridan, author of Where Are the Women? & The Fair Botanists
‘Stands testament to the healing power of stories and offers up its raw and bloodied everything with unguarded vulnerability’ – Michael Pedersen, author of Boy Friends: A Memoir of Grief, Joy & Male Friendship
‘Some Kind of Magic Trick’: Rodge Glass, on JOSHUA IN THE SKY: A BLOOD MEMOIR
To coincide with the opening of pre-orders for Joshua in the Sky, Rodge sat down for a deep dive interview with Patrick Jamieson of Taproot Press, to discuss Joshua, the rare blood condition he and Rodge share, HHT, and the approach to compassion seen in the book.
‘The magic trick is presenting a short life in a close-up, vivid, respectful way that rejects the idea that short lives have little impact, go unnoticed, and should purely be seen in tragic terms. I try and show Joshua’s life and legacy with more nuance than that. The portraits in the book are those of my two daughters, of Joshua’s parents, of my own family, as well as portraits of all the storytellers who have shaped my life.’
You can read the full interview below.
On HHT
Joshua in the Sky is the first book published in the UK about HHT, the rare blood condition Rodge and Joshua share with other members of their family.
You can learn more about HHT here via the US-based research and fundraising organisation Cure HHT: https://curehht.org/
There is a summary of what HHT is here: https://curehht.org/understanding-hht/what-is-hht/medical-summary/
All author proceeds from Joshua in the Sky will go towards the UCLH Baby Unit who cared for Joshua, the Joshua’s Legacy charity, and to Cure HHT.
Rodge Glass 