YVONNE BAILEY-SMITH was born in Jamaica and came to the UK as a teenager. She trained and worked first as a social worker before becoming a psychotherapist. She is also a Water Aid Supporter and passionate about providing clean water and sanitation in developing countries. She is the mother of three children: novelist Zadie Smith; actor, musician and children's book author Ben Bailey Smith; and lyricist and writer LucSkyz.

'Striking...an unforgettable cast of characters you'd expect to find in the grandest work of fiction.'-Candice Carty-Williams
'Juggling laughter and tears with every page, this remarkable journey of discovery tells of one young woman's captivating search for self in a new and challenging environment.'-Margaret Busby
'Brims with the pleasure of a story well-told, and with the command of a writer who is comfortable moving between the many registers of Jamaican English.'-Kwame Dawes
'Beautiful, evocative and powerfully engaging. I loved this book.'-Francesca Martinez
It's 1969 and Erna Mullings has just arrived in London from Jamaica.
Finding herself in a strange country, with a mother she barely recognises and a stepfather she despises, Erna is homesick, lost and lonely. But her life is about to change irrevocably.
A story of reluctant immigration and the relationship between children and the people who parent them, The Day I Fell Off My Island is engrossing, courageous and psychologically insightful. Yvonne Bailey-Smith writes with great warmth and humanity as she explores estrangement, transition and, ultimately, the triumph of resilience and hope.