The UK's first black female MP, Diane Abbott, to release her memoir

The UK’s first female black MP, Diane Abbott, will write her memoir telling the story of a “bespectacled little girl” who would make history.

Diane’s memoir A Woman Like Me will be published by Viking in summer 2022, marking the 35th anniversary of Abbott’s election to parliament.

According to the Penguin imprint the “honest and moving” memoir would follow Diane from growing up in a Jamaican family in north London to working in the Houses of Parliament in June 1987 including the “barrage of hostility” she has since dealt with every day of her career.

Out of all the abusive tweets sent to female MPs in 2017, Diane Abbott was discovered to have received almost half of them.

Viking explained how the memoirs are written with Abbott’s “trademark frankness and humour”, and show “how she was able to battle impostor syndrome and succeed against the odds”.

Diane said the book deal was “a long-awaited chance to tell my own story, in my own words.”

Alpana Sajip, who acquired the book for Viking, said of Abbott: “She has inspired generations of Britons through her unwavering efforts, and we know that by sharing her story with the world, she will continue to do so.”