Fatima Whitbread had the worst possible start in life. Abandoned as a baby, she spent much of her childhood in and out of children's homes. A brief, disastrous stay with her birth mother saw her raped by her mother's drunken boyfriend - while her mother held a knife to her throat to 'quieten her down'. Fatima was only twelve at the time.Athletics was her saviour: local athletics coach Margaret Whitbread took the young Fatima under her wing, eventually adopting her. Fatima competed ...

Introduce young ones to the strength of love and kindness in this touching story about finding hope in the toughest places, authored by Olympic-medal-winner Fatima Whitbread.North Star, North Star,Are you near or are you far?Shining with a twinkling glow,Please show us which way to go.Join Little Fatima on a journey to find her forever home, even though it is not as easy as she had hoped. But through this journ...

Introduce young ones to the strength of love and kindness in this touching story about finding hope in the toughest places, authored by Olympic-medal-winner Fatima Whitbread.North Star, North Star,Are you near or are you far?Shining with a twinkling glow,Please show us which way to go.Join Little Fatima on a journey to find her forever home, even though it is not as easy as she had hoped. But through this journ...

Navigating foster care can be overwhelming for everyone. There are thousands of books offering professional opinions on how to be a good foster carer and provide therapeutic support for children in care, but what about asking the young people who've been there?This essential guide brings the voices of care-experienced authors to the forefront, sharing their first-hand knowledge and advice for making a real difference. From big-picture concepts like understanding healthy relationshi...

In***Drip by Drip, Day by Day: Finding Purpose Through the Pain,*** Steven Russell takes readers on a deeply moving journey of resilience, hope, and transformation. From a childhood marked by instability and the search for belonging, Steven crafts a narrative of strength and redemption, offering profound insights into the power of human connection and the indomitable spirit to overcome adversity.This book will deeply resonate with care leavers, foster parents, social workers, and a...

Two years ago Bernie Nolan was given the initial all-clear after a courageous battle with breast cancer. Over the moon, Bernie set about rebuilding her life and making plans for the future.Then in the summer of 2012, she was in her bedroom getting dressed when she found a lump just above her breast. Terrified, she immediately made a hospital appointment, where she was given the devastating news that the cancer had returned. It had spread to her brain, lungs, liver and bones and was...

The reigning queen of Albert Square, Laila Morse shares her incredible story for the first time. This is a book that will shock, humble and inspire.

He was my religious teacher. I should have been able to trust him. But he made me do unspeakable things…At seven years old, Nabila Sharma began her lessons at the mosque as every good Muslim girl does. But from the minute she looked up at her Imam, the man who held her spiritual future in his hands, she knew something was wrong.Over the next five years Nabila’s life became unbearable. While she was behind the doors of the mosque, the most sacred of places, the Imam brutally...

Claire Richards is loved by women everywhere for her warm and genuine personality. Now she writes honestly about her life, taking us from the bullied schoolgirl who dreamed of peforming at Wembley to finding stardom with Steps. She reveals the secrets of the music industry and what it's really like to be in a band at the top of their career, from the unhealthy pressure to stay thin to the backstage rows. She describes how the stress of her affair caused her to starve herself, and explains ...

In the vein of Not Without My Daughter, Stolen: Escape from Syria is a memoir recounting a mother's crusade to rescue her kidnapped daughter from her abusive ex-husband during the tumultuous days of the Arab SpringIn the middle of one of the worst civil wars in Syria's history, Louise Monaghan walked across a heavily guarded border to save her six-year-old child from the father who had callously snatched her from her home in Cyprus. Fearing for her...

In this heart-rending book, Jacqui Kirby tells of the devastating impact Colette's murder had on her life. It robbed her not only of her beautiful daughter but also of her marriage and, at times, her own sanity. This is the remarkable story of a mother's loss, but also of her hope - hope that she would one day get justice for Colette.On 30th October 1983, 16-year-old Colette Aram left the family home to walk to her boyfriend's house. She never arrived. Her mother, Jacqui Kirby, knew instin...

'There was a lot that we kept from my mother. My dad would say to me as a teenager "Don't tell your mother." We couldn't face the disapproval.'Sue Johnston always seemed to be disappointing her mother. As a girl she never stayed clean and tidy like her cousins. As she grew older, she spent all her piano lesson money on drinks for her mates down the pub, and when she discovered the Cavern she was never at home. The final straw was when Sue left her steady j...