Coercive control drove her to the depths of despair. Stacey Jameson had a lack of self-esteem derived from her early childhood. Growing up and dealing with her parents’ divorce, she felt nothing more than an inconvenience to her depressive mother. With severe feelings of inadequacy, she was desperate to be loved and feel that she belonged. When she was a teenager, she met Leon, and fell in love. She had never felt so happy. They had one common denominator; they were both brought up in volatile homes. This was the foundation for a turbulent and destructive relationship. Stacey was welcomed with open arms into the bosom of Leon’s twisted family; naive and impressionable, she finally felt secure and loved. Stacey’s childhood had made her timid and compliant. Leon’s childhood had made him controlling and narcissistic. Gradually Stacey found herself in an unhappy relationship where her partner thrived on being abusive, yet she still loved him. She was coercively controlled into doing things that just were not part of her character. She was so manipulated; she believed she did not deserve any better. So often people look on with judgement at others who are in an abusive relationship and say, “Why don’t they just leave?”. Stacey’s story, just one of millions, describes her journey and why it’s just not so simple to do for people who find themselves caught up in a destructive relationship that they just cannot escape from.

    This book is near and dear to my heart because my readers contributed to it. Thankful for all those brave quotes. One night changed CeeCee’s life forever. At only seventeen, CeeCee is out on the streets. For her, it is all about finding a place to sleep and something to eat. Yet, just when staying alive can't get any harder, she meets someone worse off than herself. The last thing she needs is to get involved in someone else's troubles, but even though she wants to, she can't just walk away - or can she? Not intended for readers under the age of 15 due to subject matter.

    K. Rowling wrote her first story at age six. From then on, writing was her passion. In 1990, an idea popped into her head that changed her life. She envisioned an orphaned Harry Potter, who learns he is a wizard. Rowling began to write amazing tales and became one of the world's most famous authors.

    Beaten and tortured by a violent alcoholic father in 70s' poverty-stricken Dundee, Charlie's early life was one of poverty and misery, but at least he had his best friend Bonnie a German shepherd puppy to turn to. Charlie lives with Jock, his violent, disturbed, alcoholic father in a Dundee tenement. Money is scarce, and Jock's love of vodka means that Charlie bears the brunt of his abuse. Often too bruised to go to school, Charlie lives in constant fear of Jock's next outburst. Subjected to hours of physical and mental torture, Charlie can only think of killing his dad. The only thing Charlie can rely on is Bonnie, a German Shepherd puppy, brought home to keep Charlie company while Jock goes out on his drinking sessions. But even Bonnie doesn't escape Jock's brutality.Please Don’t Hurt Me, Dad is an evocative portrait of seventies and eighties working-class Dundee, where everyone is on the dole, alcoholism is rife and most people have illegal jobs on the side.Somehow Charlie escaped from the everyday struggle for survival. Bonnie wasn't so lucky. Charlie's way out came in the form of a beautiful young woman who became the love of his life and his saviour.

    Nearly seventy years ago, Rio started to do her bit for vulnerable children, one child at a time. While she was still in school, she thought nothing of bringing home a schoolmate who needed refuge. It was the start of opening her home and her heart to children in need. She has never stopped. A Heart So Big is the astonishing and moving story of Rio's life and how she has tried to make a difference. She has fostered over 140 children and in 2010, in an award created especially for her, she was named Mother of the Year at the annual People of the Year Awards. It includes stories of trauma - Rio has rescued children from the direst of circumstances and seen the price they pay for the failures of adults. And Rio has had her share of heartache along the way. But it is also a story full of humour, searing honesty and good old-fashioned fighting spirit. Rio Hogarty's A Heart So Big is an uplifting account of an amazing and inspiring life. 'She is instinctively protective of children in need, and doesn't take "no" for an answer. She's also fearless.' The Herald

    Stephens was thrown out into the streets by her mother. This would be the beginning of a life no one deserves to endure, ever.With nowhere to go, confused and frightened beyond comprehension, she settled in inside of a small washroom of a condo complex. Curled up as small as she could make herself, she lay abandoned. What happen next can only be adequately described in the pages within…, and this was only the beginning.Through her struggle to stay alive in a world she barely understood, with non-existent parents from a broken home, this young girl met adversity headlong, with no recourse at her disposal.In the memoirs of the next 30 years of her life of drug and alcohol abuse, with METHAMPHETAMINES as her mainstay, you will learn how she was forced to resort to physical violence to stay alive. Stabbing one of her rapists was only the beginning. Domestic violence, conflict with the Law, jail, how she escaped with the courage, the will to stay alive, and the guts to persevere through an impossible road out of the toughest trap from which one might ever have to escape, Lori L. Stephens overcomes impossible adversity. And in result, this woman’s strength to overcome—and her heroism to help others do the same, through 6 years in recovery, and living a life she never dreamed possible, are all described profoundly in this book, and can only inspire and encourage every person in their daily lives.

    On the very day Richard Millhous Nixon became the 37th President, Ivan was born into a dysfunctional family. From a mentally challenged mother to an incapable father and a fragile brother, Ivan was faced with challenges no child is ready for. And yet despite all the anger and frustration that came with them, he somehow managed to persevere, to become more what society deemed him to be: an executive. This creative uncensored biography recounts in vivid detail the anger and depression of growing up in poverty, the gripping homicidal effects of drugs, racism, police brutality and a broken government system. Ivan’s voice is expressed through a masterful use of syntax that reveals a soul that, while battered, is far from broken. His tale maintains steadfast a hope for a better future that would give Richard Nixon himself reason to pause. From Illinois to Indiana comes a story over forty-years that highlights the indomitable power of a determined soul. Relive some of the most unimaginable situations, leading up to a meeting with a certain angel that will change his life for the better. Find out how a word as simple as “FAVOR” can make all the difference in the world. This unrestricted story will leave you never looking at your own “Dirty Laundry” the same.

    The problem inspired the classic and riveting documentary, "STREETWISE", which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1984.Author Justin Reed Early, a credited participant of the documentary and now successful Los Angeles resident, tells the story of how he survived the arduous streets. We grow with this homeless youth as he relives a harrowing journey into adulthood. Justin introduces us to the characters and dramas of his younger years bringing new life to his street family as many of their lives have been silenced by AIDS, suicide and serial killers (the Green River killer).Join this tragic yet magical journey as Justin honors childhood heroes, pays tribute to many lost friends and learns of forgiveness when the now middle aged Justin is thrust into a life defining experience that will change his world - forever.

    Her father was the deluded and cruel leader of a cult based in South London who brainwashed those around him.Her father's paranoia and his need to completely control others led to Katy being imprisoned indoors and denied any kind of love or friendship. From a young age, Katy's father subjected her to violence and mental abuse. She was not permitted contact with anyone outside the house and on the rare occasions she did have to go out, she was always chaperoned. Katy never gave up hope of one day breaking free from her father's cruel clutches and finally found her freedom. This is her true story of endurance and survival.

    Steven’s story inspires and exemplifies the goodness and strength within the human spirit. The trauma experienced by the family is shared, giving insight of the impact on the marriage, children, and friends. Whether in abuse or abduction, From Victim to Hero portrays the grooming, lying and strategies used by predators to convince and coerce their victims into compliance. This book reiterates the three principles victims must realize – 1. Nobody has the right to hurt you. 2. It’s not your fault. 3. You don’t have the right to hurt others. Buy this book. Share it with your children. Keep them safe.Ed Smart (father of kidnap victim Elizabeth Smart)President, Surviving Parents CoalitionIn this book, From Victim to Hero, Jim Laughter expresses Steven’s heart and brings to light the extraordinary spirit of a young man that endangered himself because he believed rescuing Timmy White was the right thing to do.Diane L Brown, Founder/DirectorSafety Kids, Inc.

    Instantly recognisable for his colossal build, Smith was a larger-than-life character in a world of dull grey men. Yet 'Big Cyril' was anything but the roly-poly gentle giant of popular imagination.In November 2012, Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk outed Smith in Parliament as a serial child abuser. Now, in this devastating exposé, he describes how Smith used his profile to groom and sexually abuse young boys, frequently in institutions he had helped to establish. His victims, often troubled boys from broken homes, had no voice against their attacker and, though rumours abounded, Smith's appalling crimes went unnoticed by the public and unpunished by the authorities.Smile for the Camera is not just about a terrible abuse of power. It's about those who knew that abuse was taking place but looked the other way, making the corridors of Westminster a safe haven for paedophiles like Cyril Smith. This updated edition of the book that sparked a criminal investigation brings shocking new material to light, asking urgent questions of those who allowed Smith to prey on young children for decades without question.

    She's determined to do something positive with her life, and she doesn't want to use her body to get what she wants. On the road to attaining her goals, the young, strong-willed butterfly has overcame every obstacle that was placed in her path, except one, her abusive mother, DOT. Dot would've been better off had she been born infertile. The way she treats her daughter is nothing short of trifling. Kaymee's will is unbreakable. With the help of her two best friends, POETRY and MONTY, she leaves her mother's home ready to take on the world, but the world can be a bitter, cold place. In the midst of madness, DRAY appears like a the fairy-tale lover Kaymee has always needed to help heal her wounds. Can Dray do the impossible and show her that LOVE SHOULDN'T HURT? Or is Kaymee too damaged to repair? One thing's for certain, Dot stops at nothing to see Kaymee down and out, and dragged through the mud. Ultimately, who will have the last laugh, mother or daughter?

    Find out how her parents met and the circumstances of her birth and early life. This promises to be a tear jerking read.

    The social workers would pull up with a kid. Aunt Clara and Uncle Dan would greet them in the driveway, all smiles and handshakes. Before the road dust had settled from the departing worker's car, the kid would be given the low-down on living here.The low-down was what everyone called the rules. Don’t speak unless spoken to. Do what you are told, when you are told. Never touch the telephone. “The sooner you fall into line, the better off you will be,” Uncle Dan always piped in.Some of the kids cried, some kicked and screamed when they realized their predicament. That's what the chamber was for. The Chamber was merely a downstairs storage closet. Those that couldn't settle in the way they were expected had to be given the chamber treatment.

     Born a boy but raised a girl, Joe was 25 years old and still living as Joella when he discovered the full truth about his beginnings. For decades, doctors believed baby boys born without a penis should be classified as girls. When he was eight, Joe's plight attracted worldwide media attention – and touched the heart of Princess Diana. She's A Boy is Joe's story; a true survivor who has overcome unthinkable physical and emotional challenges and come out the other side with a firm sense of who he really is.