Joanne Lake spent most of the 1990s heading up Manchester City FC’s publications department before leaving the club in 1998 to pursue a career in consumer and sports PR. In 2001 she married ex-City footballer Paul Lake and, after taking a break to raise her two young children, finally fulfilled a long-standing ambition to write her husband’s memoirs. I’m Not Really Here – published by Century in August 2011 – tells the bittersweet story of a brilliant footballer whose promising career is cruelly cut short by injury. The book has since attracted wide critical acclaim, being described as ‘an astounding football biography’ by The Guardian, ‘a superb read’ by FourFourTwo, and ‘the best footballing autobiography ever’ by the Metro. A born-and-bred Mancunian, Joanne lives south of the city.
