My story begins aged 3, when my mother abandoned me and left me with my brutal father to raise me. Nobody knew the secrets that went on inside that house, or the journey that I travelled on after leaving it, until now. This is the story of my survival. What do you do when no one wants you? How many people need to destroy a child until that child wants to destroy herself? What if social services always got told a different story?
What would you do if you were in my position?
Survival is key.
What Nobody Knew by Amelia Hendrey was originally published in December 2017 and is the author's own account of her traumatic childhood. My thanks to the author who sent my copy for review, and to Sarah from Book on the Bright Side Publicity who invited me to take part on this Blog Tour
I do read a lot of non-fiction and memoirs but it's been quite some time since I read a 'misery memoir' (I don't particularly like that description of genre, but it seems to be the acknowledged name within bookselling). I remember 'A Man Named Dave' by Dave Pelzer, and the incredible 'Angela's Ashes' by Frank McCourt well, and for quite a few years, there seemed to be shelf upon shelf of books of the same ilk.
At that time I was working in psychiatric care and then went on to work with children in the looked-after system and it felt like my whole life was consumed by fear, misery, abuse and violence. It began to feel as though nothing could shock me anymore, so I took a break from reading about it.
When I read the information about What Nobody Knew by Amelia Hendrey, I was immediately drawn to it. Whilst I am glad that I've read her story, it would be very difficult to say that I enjoyed reading it. Even if it were a work of fiction, it would be almost impossible to describe this book as something to read for pleasure. However, I would urge people to pick up this book and to read it, although I'd warn anyone who may have experienced a similar situation to be prepared; don't read it if you think it will harm you.
Amelia's story is certainly one of survival. Her mother abandoned her when she was aged just three and her father was a brutal, violent man who abused her constantly. Interwoven through Amelia's own memories are excerpts from official papers, and it is when these are examined that the reader realises just how terribly this poor child was let down by those who are there to protect.
This is a heartbreaking, shocking and horrific story of how a child can slip through the net. It defies belief that humans can treat other humans in such a way, especially their own child. I have much admiration for the author and hope that being able to write her story down and tell others has helped her through her journey.
Amelia is a mum and a survivor.
She wrote her book What Nobody Knew to help other people who have been through similar experiences and to educate people who are unaware of what goes on behind closed doors.
She has no previous writing experience, she’s just one person who wants to change the world for the better.
She also loves cats and reading In her spare time.
Twitter: @AmeliaHendrey
iBooks: What Nobody Knew by Amelia Hendreyhttps://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/what-nobody-knew/id1321875003?mt=1
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