Coming to Terms · a memoir · out Friday 27 November 2026
A roller-coaster ride fuelled by panic, creativity, outrage and coffee. Written, and drawn, by the art teacher who lived it.
Josie Ashton is a teacher, artist and writer living on the South Coast of England. This is her first book and she drew everything on this page.
‘Lucid, wry and urgent — a bloody good read.’Melissa Benn
From the back cover
72-hour working weeks. 674 teenage students, 63 percent of them ‘underachieving’. Non-stop pressure from parents and managers. ‘Second’ teaching subjects multiplying like rabbits. Creativity strangled by reams of red tape. Daily doses of contagious, explosive, undiluted joy.
Welcome to the life of a secondary-school art (and English, and French) teacher. Coming to Terms is a roller-coaster ride fuelled by panic, creativity, outrage and coffee. A no-holds-barred account of Britain’s teaching crisis, it is also a story about one person’s search for meaning, purpose and belonging.
A note from Josie · September 2026
‘I handed in my resignation and walked out of the headteacher’s office in a daze. I’d imagined that moment countless times. I thought I’d feel relief. The truth is I felt bereft. This book is what happened in the ten years before that walk, and the part nobody warns you about: the daily doses of contagious, explosive, undiluted joy.’Josie Ashton, from the introduction
I drew a picture for every chapter, because I’m an art teacher and I couldn’t help it. Pre-order the signed copy below, or read chapter one first and decide.
JosiePlaceholder. Hannah writes the real letter.
The launch · Friday 27 November 2026 · 6pm
Zio and co, Tarmount Lane, Shoreham-by-Sea BN43 6DA. £19 gets you in, a glass of wine on arrival, and a signed copy of the book. £12 without the book, wine included. Josie will read a bit.
Buy a launch ticket · from £12Tickets through Eventbrite. Venue may change; ticket holders will be told first.
Leave your email and the prologue and first chapter land in your inbox. I’ll tell you when the book is out. Nothing else.