Book picks similar to
The Lost Children by Mary MacCracken
non-fiction
education
mary-maccracken
nonfiction
Thrown Away Child
Louise Allen - 2017
It is a compelling and inspirational story. This book gives a voice to the many children who grew up unhappily in care.
The Broken Road Home: A True Story
Evie Gallagher - 2019
Evie much later on also became a survivor of Domestic Violence, as a young wife and mother. Melvin, a family friend, and sexual predator carved a path for himself using Evie’s young innocence, by showing her kindness in a place of loneliness. Evie had no one to turn to, her mother an alcoholic, and her step-father a cruel, and vicious man. Evie through the years was placed in several different foster homes; Evie ran away from them all, even living on the cold streets of London at eleven years old. A homeless traveller took Evie under their wing, kept her safe, and eventually helped to guide her home. All she had to cling to in the end was her biological father, also an alcoholic, her Nan, and her great love of horses. Evie would later marry Andrew, yet another man in her life who deceived her in every heartbreaking way imaginable. Andrew viciously beat Evie many times over during a six-year period, and he had numerous affairs with prostitutes, as well as affairs with other women whom she knew. Evie had nowhere to run to, that Andrew would not find her, and bring her back. She felt broken in mind, body, and spirit, with no one to protect her. Evie sometimes felt like giving up her very existence, though it was her deep bond, and love for her children that she found the strength to keep on going. Evie’s great fondness for books eventually led her to find spirituality, which gave her calm and peaceful moments, and through spirituality she met two amazing women, and with their help she found the strength to take back her life, and then she met Steve. Steve gave Evie a love story, which she would never, ever forget. Evie wanted to keep her readers in mind, and so her re- account of her childhood memories of being sexually abused is written in such a way, as to not to be too upsetting, and so she decided to write about it very softly, and only touching on this subject very briefly. Her story may appear very harrowing, though it has it does have it’s up’s and down’s, as well it's funny and sad moments. Evie does however eventually experience a beautiful love, and she does have her happy ever after, by walking a broken road…home.
Found
Jennifer Lauck - 2011
More than one woman's search for her biological parents, Found is a story of loss, adjustment, and survival. Lauck's investigation into her own troubled past leads her to research that shows the profound trauma undergone by infants when they're separated from their birth mothers—a finding that provides a framework for her writing as well as her life.Though Lauck's story is centered around her search for her birth mother, it's also about her quest to overcome her displacement, her desire to please and fit in, and her lack of a sense of self—all issues she attributes to having been adopted, and also to having lost her adoptive parents at the early age of nine. Throughout her thirties and early forties, she tries to overcome her struggles by becoming a mother and by pursuing a spiritual path she hopes will lead to wholeness, but she discovers that the elusive peace she has been seeking can only come through investigating—and coming to terms with—her past.
The Kid
Kevin Lewis - 2003
Beaten and starved by his parents, ignored by the social services and bullied at school, he was offered a chance to escape this nightmare world and was put into care. Despite his best efforts to make things work out, his life spiralled out of control. At the age of 17 he became caught up in the criminal underworld of London, where he was known as 'The Kid'. From the violent anger he suffered at the hands of his mother and father, to the continuous torments at school; from the way in which he coped with rejection from people he trusted, to suffering from bulimia and a wish to take his own life, Kevin succeeded in making a better life for himself. This is his story ..
The Privilege of Youth: A Teenager's Story
Dave Pelzer - 2004
From A Child Called “It” to The Lost Boy, from A Man Named Dave to Help Yourself, Dave Pelzer’s inspirational books have helped countless others triumph over hardship and misfortune. In The Privilege of Youth, he shares the missing chapter of his life: as a boy on the threshold of adulthood. With sensitivity and insight, he recounts the relentless taunting he endured from bullies; but he also describes the thrill of making his first real friends—some of whom he still shares close relationships with today. He writes about the simple pleasures of exploring his neighborhood, while trying to forget the hell waiting for him at home.From high school to a world beyond the four walls that were his prison for so many years, The Privilege of Youth bravely and compassionately charts this crucial turning point in Dave Pelzer’s life and will inspire a whole new generation of readers.
Pin Down
Teresa Cooper - 2007
At age 13, she was sent to Kendall House in Gravesend, Kent, a home which soon became her prison and worst nightmare. Teresa found herself a victim of a terrible regime: she was injected with dangerously high doses of drugs and sexually abused. As a result of this cruel and vicious treatment—accompanied by punishments such as 163 days spent in solitary confinement—it was not long before Teresa began to harm herself and even attempt to take her life. After three years of hell, Teresa thought her nightmare was over but another was about to begin. Teresa survived, however, and today she works to fight against a corrupt social care system. She has taken her case of abuse and drugging to parliament, and is fighting to prevent many more children from suffering at the hands of unethical doctors and abusive foster parents.
Unbeaten
Kim Woodburn - 2006
Often she has simply wished that she had never been born, for Kim has overcome horrific emotional and physical abuse both at the hands of her alcoholic mother and her philandering, sexually abusive father. In her brave and revealing story Kim's memories of growing up are not of love and cuddles, but of beatings and random cruelty. Shuttled between the brutal houses of her warring parents, a succession of miserable children's homes and a grim convent -- Kim's past has cast a long shadow over her life. But just before her sixteenth birthday she finally made her escape. It has taken decades of hard work, and a wonderfully happy marriage to conquer depression but now she has emerged unbowed and unbeaten as Britain's Queen of Clean.
Nobody's Child
Michael Seed - 2007
On a daily basis both Michael and his mother would fall under the man’s wrath, and one awful night Michael’s father began sexually abusing his son, a trend that would continue for years. Worse still, the abuse did not stop at home. Once he began school, Michael fell victim to terrible bullying and a teacher who violated him repeatedly. Despite the horror of these years, Michael was ultimately saved by his own will to live, which inspired him to seek a better life as a friar. This is the remarkable story of an individual who, against all the odds, managed to preserve his own dignity and finally escape the horrors of a stolen childhood.
January First: A Child's Descent into Madness and Her Father's Struggle to Save Her
Michael Schofield - 2012
In January's case, she is hallucinating 95 percent of the time that she is awake. Potent psychiatric drugs that would level most adults barely faze her. January, "Jani" to her family, has literally hundreds of imaginary friends. They go by names like 400-the-Cat, 100 Degrees, and 24 Hours and live on an island called "Calalini," which she describes as existing "on the border of my world and your world." Some of these friends are good, and some of them, such as 400, are very bad. They tell her to jump off buildings, attack her brother, and scream at strangers.In the middle of these never-ending delusions, hallucinations, and paroxysms of rage are Jani's parents, who have gone to the ends of the earth to keep both of their children alive and unharmed. They live in separate one-bedroom apartments in order to keep her little brother, Bohdi, safe from his big sister—and wage a daily war against a social system that has all but completely failed them. January First is the story of the daily struggles and challenges they face as they do everything they can to help their daughter while trying to keep their family together. It is the inspiring tale of their resolute determination and faith.
Raising Blaze: Bringing Up an Extraordinary Son in an Ordinary World
Debra Ginsberg - 2002
What she didn't know was that Blaze's differences would be regarded by the outside world not as gifts, but as impediments to social and academic success. Blaze never crawled. He just got up and walked when he turned one. He called his mother 'Zsa Zsa' until he was three. By kindergarten, he loved the music of Miles Davis and Ella Fitzgerald. He fears butterflies and is fascinated by garbage trucks.With the same honesty that made Waiting a success, Raising Blaze: Bringing Up an Extraordinary Son in an Ordinary World chronicles Debra's experience in raising a child who has defied definition by the host of professionals who have sought to label his differences. Ginsberg introduces us to a remarkable child and her own unusual childhood. She writes about a family which shows us the redemptive power of faith, humour and love.
Mummy, Make It Stop
Louise Fox - 2009
But the birth of her child saw Louise vow to turn her life around - and that is just what she did. 'Mummy, Make It Stop' is the true story of a brave spirit that refused to be crushed.
Don't You Love Your Daddy?
Sally East - 2010
In this book Sally describes a shocking story of a mother's neglect and a father's betrayal.
I Just Wanted to be Loved
Stuart Howarth - 2009
He is released back into the world without any support or counselling from the authorities.The child abuse and numerous court cases had almost destroyed him, and Stuart became reliant on drugs and alcohol. With his life spiralling out of control, Stuart attempts suicide a number of times. The last try leaving the doctors that resuscitated him incredulous he had survived.At the point of no-return, Stuart was sent to an hospital in the Scottish highlands to fight the demons that assailed him and rebuild his life. This is the remarkable story of his fight to be his own man.
Daddy's Little Secret: Pregnant at 14 and There's Only One Man Who Can Be the Father
Tina Davis - 2011
Aged seven, she has a paranoid schizophrenic for a mother and her father is a distant memory. So when Tina gets a new step-dad, who lavishes sweets and cuddles upon her, she feels wanted for the first time ever.Sadly, her new daddy isn't all that he seems. He begins to sexually abuse Tina, using chilling threats to scare her into silence.Tina is so terrified, she even gives birth to four of her step-father's children without breathing a word. Her world becomes so warped the cruelty she endures seems normal. Until eventually, the tragic death of one of her innocent children makes her see otherwise...This is the inspiring true story of how a frightened little girl grew into a fighter and finally found the strength to escape the man who stole her childhood.
Invisible Tears: The Abuse, The Rebellion, The Survival, Despite All Odds
Abigail Lawrence - 2010
Still distraught, Abbie is passed to whoever will have her. Her new step mother subjects her to unimaginable physical, sexual and psychological torture and delivers her to local paedophiles in the entertainment business. During her single minded pursuit of fame Abbie’s step mother stops at nothing, beating and prostituting her own children.Abbie loses control and becomes well known to the local police. Not one person can get through to her because she has no fear, no self respect, no morals or self worth. With nothing to lose, she throws herself into one battle after another, blood and guts brawling between the skin heads and the mods on the streets of London.Her family eventually disowns her realizing they are unable to help. Abbie finds herself in the care of the Court until she is abandoned by children's homes and Social Services too. Alone, penniless and pregnant at the age of 16. Haunted by the secrets of her unspeakable past. Will anyone ever see her invisible tears?