What are some of your childhood memories? Could they bethings like a special birthday party, a family trip, a reward for anachievement? Sarah had her own set of childhood memories, a boy tied to achair, a dark leather belt, forgotten birthdays, being hungry, vacant eyes, andlost innocence. These are the memories that put dark clouds on her days, andcaused her to cry out in her dreams. These are the memories of a child living alife enveloped within ...

Rachael Keogh was catapulted into the public consciousness when a shocking image of her needle-ravaged arms – skin burnt from injecting heroin into her wasted veins – made front pages around the country. Desperate for help, she made a public appeal to secure one of just 27 detox beds in Ireland so that she could reclaim her life from the drugs that had consumed it. What followed was an extraordinary story of grit and determination as she embarked on her recovery journey. Dying to Survive i...

A young girl lives in fear of her abusive father....A powerful short tale. Based on a true story.

Amy Reynolds thought she had a great boyfriend, until one by one all her freedoms began to disappear. When her job is threatened, Amy decides it’s time to become more independent. But that’s not how her boyfriend Brad feels. He’s likes things the way they are and will go to any length to keep it that way.About the AuthorTonya Thomas writes about women in complicated relationships and situations. Visit her website at TonyaThomas.net

This is the heart-breaking tale of Angell, a young girl desperately loved but inadequately cared for by her troubled mother Nicki.Abandoned and left barely clothed beneath a park bench on a freezing cold day in winter, the bewildered child is rescued by police and passed into the loving and compassionate care of the Lewis family.But when foster carer Rosie takes Angell into her home and heart, she wonders whether Angell’s mother will ever return for her daughter? Or will An...

** Fair warning: This is a true story of sexual abuse, drugs, rape, betrayal and triumph ****Warning:This book contains crude language and is not for the faint of heart**As I sat down to write this story about my life, I had to think a long time about how to start my story.I learned early that you cannot substitute water for milk on cereal so when there was no milk in the house, I just ate it dry.Dad was pretty cranky just as a general rule. He’d come home f...

Can you imagine what it would be like to hear your stepfather taking advantage of your baby sister? Can you imagine bearing witness to such horror? What if you started to have mixed feelings about the abuse, wondering why he chose her instead of you? This challenging question is revealed in Bearing Witness.

Bestselling author and foster carer Casey Watson tells the shocking and deeply moving true story of two sisters who carry a terrible secret.This is a first taste of the ‘Unit’ series: several stories about ‘difficult’ children Casey helped during her time as a behaviour manager at her local comprehensive.Casey doesn’t know what to expect when seventeen-year-old twins Scarlett and Jade join her class. The girls seem grounded but they never leave each other’s side, although t...

A bullying and sexually abusing father produced videos of his terrified 5 year old daughter for over 5 years to sell internationally to satisfy a network of child porn lovers. Read here in short but gripping detail how Bart Huskey met his match at the hands of cops in cyberspace.In 1996 Robin read a newspaper report about the alleged suicide of Victorian country housewife Jennifer Tanner. Guessing there might be a book in the 'story behind the news', she closed her PR business for ...

A heartbreaking and shocking short story from foster carer Rosie Lewis.Toddler Charlie falls from the second floor window of his tower block home while his mother is busy shooting up in their dirty council flat.Laying alone on a pile of rubbish until concerned neighbours hear him whimpering, Charlie is taken to hospital by police officers who are unable to rouse his mother.With a gash to his head, a terrified Charlie is delivered to foster carer Rosie Lewis’s home. ...

A dramatic and heartwarming story from foster carer, Rosie Lewis.Ellen, a 28-year-old office worker is so shocked by the sudden birth of her baby that she abandons the newborn in hospital. Foster carer Rosie Lewis begins visiting baby Hope in hospital, then a week later she is released into her care.At first Rosie struggles to understand how any mother could abandon a small baby, but when Ellen begins daily visits with Hope, Rosie sees a young woman traumatised by a dark se...

The one person who was meant to protect and love me above all else was the one person who refused to give it; who excelled at dishing out brutal punishments without fear of reprisals just for the fun of it.The sky was the limit when it came to my fathers demonic designs in ways to maltreat myself and my sister - bible, cooking utensils, vacuum cleaners and slippers were the regular tools of choice but whn he got bored Derek would resort to highly imaginative terror inducing techniq...