Showing titles in Dysfunctional Families

Tressa Middleton made UK history when she became Britain's youngest mum in 2006 aged just 12 years and eight months. Her case provoked shock and outrage - but the truth behind the headlines was far sadder than anyone could ever have imagined. Born into a life of poverty and neglect, Tressa was forced to grow up fast when was she taken into care at just four years old. She was returned to her mother's chaotic world, but by the age of seven, she was being abused by her own brother and at 11 years old she fell pregnant with his child. For years she kept his dark secret in an attempt to hold her family together until the truth threatened to destroy her completely.

The sexual assault that rocked the world. A courageous woman’s rallying call for ‘shame to change sides’. For the very first time, Gisèle Pelicot tells her story. Narrated by Academy Award winning actress Dame Emma Thompson. *A BEST BOOK OF 2026 FOR THE OBSERVER, TELEGRAPH, GUARDIAN...

Horrifying, heartbreaking and eye-opening, these are the stories, the patients and the cases that have characterised a career spent behind bars. The no-holds-barred memoirs of a GP who went from working at a quiet suburban practice to treating the country’s most dangerous criminals - first in young offenders’ institutions, then at the notorious Wormwood Scrubs and finally at Europe’s largest women-only prison in Europe, Bronzefield.

'Soars with compassion, intelligence and hard-won wisdom ... a standout book' LOUISE KENNEDY From the Number One bestselling author of Poor 'Utterly compelling' EDEL COFFEY 'Raw and profound' LIZ NUGENT 'I couldn't put it down' ELAINE FEENEY Katriona O'Sullivan has come a long way from the...

From eldest daughter Shari Franke, the shocking true story behind the viral 8 Passengers family vlog – now the subject of a new Disney+ docuseries – and the hidden abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother, and how, in the face of unimaginable pain, she found freedom and healing. Shari...

‘Each time my mother laid a finger on me… it was another step into the jaws of hell. Her abuse, more so than any other, destroyed me. It was the ultimate betrayal.’ Abused from the age of eight by her older brother and then her step-father, Maureen Wood quickly became numb to the constant...

Named after the lager that christened her at birth, Stella's life is characterised instability and neglect. Her teenage mother abandons her in the first few weeks of her life, and left in the 'care' of her father, she ends up lying deserted in a house with no food, no water, no clothes and no warmth. She eventually lands in the care of foster carer Louise, who is determined to change her life for the better. 

The true story of a 6-year-old boy with a dreadful secret. Oskar’s school teacher raises the alarm. Oskar’s mother is abroad and he has been left in the care of ‘friends’, but has been arriving in school hungry, unkempt, and with bruises on his arms, legs and body. Experienced foster...

In this gut-wrenching account of her early life, author Kat Ward takes the listener through every shade of darkness, whilst never allowing the candle of hope to fully extinguish, so as that truth may indeed find its rightful freedom.

In this breakthrough book, clinical psychologist Lindsay Gibson exposes the destructive nature of parents who are emotionally immature or unavailable. You will see how these parents create a sense of neglect and discover ways to heal from the pain and confusion caused by your childhood. By freeing yourself from your parents' emotional immaturity, you can recover your true nature, control how you react to them, and avoid disappointment. Finally, you'll learn how to create positive new relationships so you can build a better life.

The No. 1 Sunday Times Bestseller. At just eight years old, Jodie is violent, aggressive and extremely challenging. Five carers in four months have been unable to cope, but there is one last hope: Cathy Glass… As Jodie begins to trust Cathy and make progress, shocking details about her past...

At just 10 years old, Kirsty has suffered a lifetime of heartache. Neglected by her teenage mother and taken into care, Kirsty thought she had found her forever family when she was fostered by Pat and Mike. But when Pat has a heart attack and collapses in front of her, Kirsty's foster family say it's her fault. Kirsty is still reeling from this rejection when she comes to live with foster carer Maggie Hartley. She acts out, smashing up Maggie's home, and even threatens to hurt the baby boy Maggie has fostered since birth.

Innocent is the shocking true story of little Molly and Kit, siblings, aged 3 years and 18 months, who are brought into care as an emergency after suffering non-accidental injuries. Aneta and Filip, the children’s parents, are distraught when their children are taken into care. Aneta maintains...

When six-week-old Jasmine is placed in her care, foster mother Maggie Hartley is delighted to have a baby in the house again. Maggie's been given temporary custody of Jasmine after social services were concerned that the baby was failing to thrive and develop. With Maggie's love and care, Jasmine soon flourishes into a healthy, happy baby - but it is clear that all is not quite as it seems with her mum, Hailey.

'One of the funniest books I have ever read' HADLEY FREEMAN ‘A masterpiece’ SATHNAM SANGHERA 'The read of the summer' THE SUNDAY TIMES 'Brilliant … funny and moving' ADAM KAY A searingly honest, funny and moving family memoir in which David Baddiel exposes his mother’s idiosyncratic sex...

Thirty years since the death of Fred West and the conviction of his wife Rose, in 1995, the West murder case exerts a magnetic fascination for true crime listeners. The Wests claimed twelve victims, young women and girls including members of their own family. Nine mutilated bodies were found buried under their home at 25 Cromwell St, Gloucester, the so-called House of Horrors. The Fred West Tapes incorporates remarkable new evidence and primary source testimony, including the experiences of the West children and victim families.

The eleventh memoir and latest title from the internationally bestselling author and foster carer Cathy Glass. This book tells the true story of Cathy’s adopted daughter Lucy. Lucy was born to a single mother who had been abused and neglected for most of her own childhood. Right from the...

Ten years ago, Helen Naylor discovered her mother, Elinor, had been faking debilitating illnesses for 30 years. After Elinor’s self-induced death, Helen found her diaries, which Elinor wrote daily for more than 50 years. The diaries reveal not only the inner workings of Elinor’s twisted mind and self-delusion, but also shocking revelations about Helen’s childhood. Everything Helen knew about herself and her upbringing was founded on a lie.

Following her disastrous first year in the adult world, it's hard to imagine how seventeen-year-old Keri's life could possibly get any worse. However, as anyone who's ever been down can attest to, getting back up can often be difficult without a helping hand...But what if all the hands around you only want to push you down further?

For fans of Educated and Invisible Child, David Sussillo combines memoir and cutting-edge neuroscience to tell the story of his unlikely journey from group homes and drug-addicted parents to the scientific elite—exploring why, and how, he managed to succeed against all odds. David Sussillo has...

Tilly hates her stepfather, Dave. He abuses her mother, but she refuses to leave him. Frightened for her own safety, Tilly asks to go into foster care and is placed with Cathy. Tilly arrives with a graze on her cheek and Cathy becomes increasingly concerned by Dave’s behaviour, especially when...

Aged nine Joss came home from school to discover her father's suicide. She's never gotten over it. This is the true story of Joss, 13 who is angry and out of control. At the age of nine, Joss finds her father’s dead body. He has committed suicide. Then her mother remarries and Joss bitterly...

In this groundbreaking bestseller, Lundy Bancroft—a counselor who specializes in working with abusive men—uses his knowledge about how abusers think to help women recognize when they are being controlled or devalued, and to find ways to get free of an abusive relationship. He says he loves...

In her new book, Cathy Glass, the no.1 bestselling author of Damaged, tells the story of the Alice, a young and vulnerable girl who is desperate to return home to her mother. Alice, aged four, is snatched by her mother the day she is due to arrive at Cathy's house. Drug-dependent and mentally...

This second volume of Kat Ward’s sensational autobiography covers her plight as she grew in stature, and began to challenge the authority structures that had ruled over her young life so cruelly up until that point.

ONE REMARKABLE WOMAN OVER 30 YEARS OF FOSTERING CARER TO MORE THAN 150 CHILDREN Betrayed. Exploited. Forgotten. Can one boy overcome the odds stacked against him? Tayo was surprisingly well-spoken boy when he arrived at Cathy's but something about his story didn't add up. Tayo has no past...

Change your present and seize your exceptional future by escaping your painful trauma bond, healing, and thriving! Listen to the audiobook narrated by the author, Dr. Nadine Macaluso. At age twenty-two, Nadine married Jordan Belfort, the nefarious stockbroker portrayed in the Hollywood blockbuster The Wolf of Wall Street. Their marriage began as a fairy tale, but once they were bonded, Jordan’s “mask” began to slip, and acts of infidelity, narcissistic abuse, insatiable greed, and uncontrollable drug addiction became Nadine’s nightmare.

The true story of Melody, aged 8, the last of five siblings to be taken from her drug dependent single mother and brought into care. When Cathy is told about Melody’s terrible childhood, she is sure she’s heard it all before. But it isn’t long before she feels there is more going on than...

Gaia was groomed, abused and enslaved – but then she fought back Gaia Cooper is just 14 years old when she is groomed by a criminal gang and forced to commit organised credit card fraud. Despite being placed in care – somewhere Gaia should feel safe – she is left even more vulnerable, and...

Stephen Smith is the boy who did not exist. Born out of wedlock in the early 1960s, Steve's parents - both devout Catholics - had felt so 'shamed' by their son's illegitimate birth that they hid him away from the world by locking him in the cellar...for 13 years. Apart from a few admissions to hospital as a result of his 'imprisonment', Steve remained in the coal cellar of the family home where he was deprived of daylight, his childhood, school and human contact until he'd reached his teenage years.