This is a total joy of a book. Although it’s not all joy. There’s grief, heartbreak, self-doubt, tears and Thatcherism. But at its heart is a powerful expression of the meaning and joy that music brings into our lives. It’s one of the best books on music I’ve read. And I’ve read a few.

Within its pages is the best definition of punk I’ve ever come across, a compelling case for country music, and a beautifully sharp account of what Dylan is best at singing about.

It’s a book that weaves together three love stories: her love for music, her love for her adopted home city of Liverpool, and... well, you’ll have to read the book to discover her ultimate love. She claims she’s not writing a history book, yet she gives us a wonderfully rich description of Liverpool’s music scene in its punk and post-punk years, and of the role played by Eric’s as a focus for that brilliantly creative scene.

For anyone born between the Suez crisis and The Beatles’ first Hamburg show, this is your story too. I quickly realised that Penny and I were born two years apart, and at times she seemed to be echoing my own experience. Bowie and Bolan. Trying, and failing, to work out who you were once you’d left home. That day in 1977 when everyone under 25 cut their hair and changed their trousers. I think it was a Thursday. Johnny Thunders — yes, I saw him on that tour too.

And then there’s finding work that means something. Work you truly love. Work that gives you as much joy as the music you love, while still paying the bills. The compromises are inevitable. That elusive sweet spot between idealism, hedonism and financial security. No, I didn’t find it either.

But there’s one crucial difference between our experiences of the same period of history. I’m a bloke. And that becomes another recurrent and compelling theme in the book.

The writing is effortless and pulls you through: no bullshit, no boasting, no fawning, no fandom. Of course there’s a Beatle in it, but he’s mentioned almost in passing, and largely in terms of blagging a ticket to ride for her husband. The book is angry in places, and very opinionated. But it is always honest and true.

A great writer takes you on a journey. A brilliant writer takes part of your own life and places it alongside another life, so that you begin to see your own experiences differently. That is precisely what Penny Kiley does.

This is a book about how we look back without nostalgia, and how we make sense of what we’ve been through. And, as the final pages reveal, it’s never too late to discover where your honesty and passion really come from. I loved it. Thank you Penny.