BOOK

Christian Austin grew up in the shadow of violence, addiction, and crime. By his mid-thirties, he had spent more than a decade in prison and seventeen years chasing heroin. Everyone wrote him off as lost. But when the birth of his child forced him to face himself, he took a leap that would defy every expectation - not least his own.

From prison cells to university halls, from police raids to standing on the steps of Cambridge's Senate House in cap and gown, RESILIENT is the raw, unflinching true story of a man who refused to let his past define him. Told with brutal honesty, dark humour, and the hard-won wisdom of someone who has walked through fire and come out stronger, this is more than a memoir. It is a testament to the power of change, the resilience of the human spirit, and the belief that it's never too late to rewrite your story.

Praise for RESILIENT

Resilient is a deeply authentic book. Authenticity is a word appropriated by the wellness industry. They don't always understand that authenticity is not nice. Your book is raw and unfiltered and sometimes shocking but it's honest, has integrity and doesn't wear a mask. It doesn't play games with the reader, it doesn't lie, doesn't pretend. It's about real people, often the ones who don't make it in life and therefore don't make it into books - hurt people who have spirit and character, true outsiders, the kind that the British class system shits out. I'm guessing it's your authenticity that makes you able to connect with people in life so well, and therefore with the reader. I was thinking yesterday that now I've finished it, I miss it. That's the highest praise I can give a book. You know, like it's over...and there's a grieving process 'cos you can never read it for the first time again.

Jerry Hyde, Rock & Roll Therapy

Inside RESILIENT

A daring prison escape that reads like a thriller.
The role of books in surviving solitary confinement — from the King James Bible in 28 days to Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and Hugo.
Seventeen years of addiction, crime, and survival on society’s margins.
How a decade in prison became the unlikely path to Cambridge University.
Music as rebellion, escape, and redemption — from street busking to festival stages.
The brutal honesty of childhood trauma, resilience, and transformation.