PAULINE PRESCOTT’S life story reads like a Catherine Cookson novel. From the death of her father to her brother’s life-threatening illness, little ‘Tilly’ Tilston experienced much sadness as a child. At sixteen, she found herself pregnant and alone.

Sent to a former convent, Pauline gave birth to a son Paul in 1956. Resisting all attempts to give him up for adoption, she struggled on for three years until she was finally persuaded it was for his own good. She never expected to see him again. As a young hairdresser, she fell in love with John Prescott, a dashing ship’s steward and union activist, never imagining that one day she’d be married to the Deputy Prime Minister---and know all his speeches off by heart.

In this warm, moving and humorous autobiography, we learn what the real Pauline Prescott is like – a loving daughter and mother, and a loyal wife and friend. In her own words she tells of the ups and downs she has endured, including her emotional reunion with her son Paul more than forty years after she let him go, and how she dealt with her husband’s affair. She relives her experiences of travelling the world, attending royal functions and the behind-the-scenes dramas of political engagements.

On their wedding day John promised Pauline that, whatever happened, she’d never be bored. He certainly kept his promise. Loyal, sharp, good humoured and articulate, Pauline has entranced the nation. Warm, moving and at times painfully sad, Smile Though Your Heart is Breaking is an honest account of a fascinating life.