Showing titles in Dysfunctional Families

Sophie Jenkins is living a happy life in the idyllic Dorset countryside when she meets Martin Brett, the man who will go on to abuse her and haunt her dreams for years to come. A momentary act of neglect leads to a horrible series of events that leaves her changed forever. Badly let down by the adults entrusted to care for her, Sophie’s life begins to spiral downward. However, Sophie’s message is ultimately one of hope and empowerment. She is in the process of rebuilding her life when fate leads her to encounter her childhood attacker once again.

From the age of 14, Caitlin was completely controlled, repeatedly raped, provided with alcohol, given drugs, sold and passed on to new gangs over and over again. The majority of her abusers were Pakistani men, who were blatant in their attacks upon her, often collecting her from school or home...

From No.1 bestselling author Toni Maguire comes a new true story of abuse and survival. 'Small children have no say in the direction their lives take. Even before they have learnt to walk and talk, they are trained to obey' Daisy was only four when her parents told her and her older brother that...

Learn how to effectively raise kids with a narcissistic ex and ensure your kids are emotionally secure, mentally strong, confident, and happy. It can be done, but you need to utilize specific strategies.

The 32nd fostering memoir from international bestseller Cathy Glass Struggling to cope with three young children, Janie turns to experienced foster carer Cathy Glass. Helping the family each morning, Cathy soon uncovers how dangerous their situation has truly become. Riley and his two little...

Born in the tough East End of Glasgow and married into one of the city's most notorious criminal families, Janey Godley's young life was far from ordinary. From the grim and far-from-swinging '60s, to the discos of the '70s, to the tidal wave of heroin addiction which engulfed Glasgow's East End during the '80s, Janey was witness to an extraordinary underworld - as well as religious sectarianism, abject poverty and a frightening family of in-laws. Throughout it all, her indomitable spirit - and her vivid sense of humour - kept her alive.

London, 1944. With bombs raining over London, keeping the Battersea Tavern open is no easy feat for owner Winnie Berry - but the community need the warmth and familiarity of the pub more than ever. After marriage, Maureen Fanning had moved out to Wandsworth with her bad-tempered husband Brancher...

This beautiful and deeply moving tale recounts educational psychologist Torey Hayden's battle to unlock the emotions of a troubled and sexually abused child who, with the help of Hayden, was finally able to overcome her dark past and realise her full potential. Six-year-old Sheila was abandoned...

When police are called to a local supermarket late one evening, they find an angry shopkeeper and a silent young woman. It's the third time 24-year-old Zoe has been caught stealing in the past few days. Eyes filled with panic, Zoe has been hiding bread, milk, Calpol and nappies under her coat. As police officers break down the door of Zoe's flat they find seven-year-old Coco and two-year-old Lola, home alone, huddled on the floor in a freezing cold bedroom, crying out for their mummy.

For many people, relationships with brothers and sisters last a lifetime, spanning decades. Sibling relationships precede friendships or romances and outlast most connections to parents. Eighty percent of us have brothers and sisters who share our DNA and are often the unique keepers of our intimate histories. Our siblings can be our allies and our competition, our tormentors and our protectors, our best friends and our enemies. Research has found that these relationships are just as influential to our development as parenting.

To everyone else, Terri White appeared to be living the dream, named one of Folio's Top Women in US Media and accruing further awards for the magazines she was editing. In reality, she was rapidly skidding towards a mental health crisis that would land her in a locked psychiatric ward as her past caught up with her. As well as growing up in a household in poverty, Terri endured sexual and physical abuse at the hands of a number of her mother's partners. 

His name was Kevin but his keepers called him Zoo Boy. He didn't talk. He hid under tables and surrounded himself with a cage of chairs. He hadn't been out of the building in the four years since he'd come in. He was afraid of water and wouldn't take a shower. He was afraid to be naked, to change his clothes. He was nearly 16. Desperate to see change in the boy, the staff of Kevin's adolescent treatment center hired Hayden. As Hayden read to him and encouraged him to read, crawling down into his cage of chairs with him, Kevin talked.

If you’re struggling with unresolved childhood trauma, reconnecting with your vulnerable inner child can unlock profound healing and set the stage for profound personal growth. Written by an expert in childhood trauma, this gentle guide presents an integrative approach that merges inner child work with self-compassion techniques to help you “reparent” the wounded aspects of yourself that were lost, frozen in time, or traumatized—so you can start moving toward the life you were meant to live.

Narcissistic abuse is a form of abuse that ensures victims are left emotionally drained, mentally exhausted, and devoid of any self-worth or self-esteem...ending a relationship with a narcissist isn’t that easy. In this audiobook, I want to offer you some guidance on this rarely-talked about aspect of an abusive relationship: how to deal with a narcissist when they’re your ex.

Just a Girl is the shocking true story of Scarlett Jones, who was abused by her loved ones, groomed and trafficked by a gang, all the while fearing for her life. Scarlett is just 8 years old when the horrific abuse at the hands of her father begins. It creates a world of shocking normality, one that she can only escape in her mind. Little Scarlett dreams of a time when she can be free... and then she meets Ed. Groomed and trafficked by her boyfriend, Scarlett realises she has been primed for abuse ever since she was a child. This is her harrowing story.

More than 60 million people have been in a pathological love relationship with someone who has an impaired conscience. Using the stories of survivors and social psychological research on compliance, cognitive dissonance, and thought control, Why Can't I Just Leave? explains how relationships with pathological partners can create impossible dilemmas that trap you in a distorted dream state and hijack your thoughts and emotions. Learn what those who are conscience-impaired don't want you to know and find out how to wake up and walk out of your partner's invisible prison forever.

After taking a few weeks off work, Casey is presented with a new foster child: 14-year-old Elise, whose Mum left her at just five years old. At first, she’s no trouble at all, that is until she falsely accuses another carer, Jan, of acting inappropriately towards her. It turns out this isn’t the first lie Elise has told—her previous carer was constantly following up allegations Elise had made of people bullying her, trying to have sex with her or hurting her physically. 

Bloomsbury presents In Control by Jane Monckton-Smith, read by Gabrielle Glaister. Groundbreaking' OBSERVER 'Blows assumptions about abusive relationships out of the water' CAITLIN MORAN 'Offers a strategy for intervention that would save lives' INDEPENDENT Every four days in the UK, a woman is...

Slave Girls, a new series by bestselling author Louise Allen, reveals a shocking modern-day scandal of County Lines–the single most dangerous form of systematic child abuse prevalent today.

Just when Casey thinks her foster care duties are done, she’s asked to look after Sam, a troubled nine-year-old with a violent streak who drove his previous guardians to release him of their care. It soon unfolds, however, that this is no simple case. Determined to get to the root of Sam’s behaviour, Casey is committed to uncover his mysterious past only to find out something far darker than she ever imagined.