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Autobiography/Memoir Nine Clouds Amanda Gargula 2010 Amanda tells the story of her time in the Moralta Childrens Home, in a cottage home and on her own after she left state care. External Website

Blogs/Web Pages/Articles Logan Steiner on Learning Life Lessons from Anne of Green Gables Literary Hub (4) 2023 In this reflection on reading Anne of Green Gables, lawyer-by-day and writer-by-night, American Logan Steiner asks why it is that this Canadian character has resonated for so long and so far. Steiner – who has written a novel about Lucy Maud Montgomery (called After Anne and published by William Morrow) - includes Maud (she preferred Maud to Lucy) in her reflection. She recalls that Maud was raised in kinship care and reading and writing fiction became a source of joy in a dour environment. Life was often difficult for Maud. Even though she didn’t become a writer, it was Anne who “found the happiness in life that often eluded Maud.” External Website

Films/Videos You be the Judge 2021 In this video, Australian survivor of child sexual abuse, Marita Murphy, tells of being raped as a 7-year-old while in an informal foster care situation. Although adults - including her mother - were told of what happened, there was no redress for Marita. Resultant behaviour problems led to Marita leaving school at the age of 12. She went on to have a successful career in the house racing industry. Marita reported the rape to police in 2013. After the police dropped the criminal case (insufficient evidence) Marita brought a civil case against the alleged rapist; the judge decided the events happened too long ago. External Website

Television Shows Criminal Record 2024 Criminal Record (2024) is a British crime series created by Paul Rutman. After an anonymous phone call, an early career detective (Cush Jumbo) confronts seasoned detective (Peter Capaldi) over an old case in which the Peter Capaldi character has been part of a team responsible for apprehending a man later convicted for the murder of his partner. In the background is the son of the murdered woman who ends up in the state care system. Rasaq Kukoyi plays the role of the young Patrick Burrowes. External Website

Autobiography/Memoir Mini & Me Michael Cooper 2013 Michael 'Mini' Cooper knew he was different from an early age. Fiercely independent, he challenged injustice and questioned what he perceived to be the irrational belief systems of both parents and teachers alike. But no one wanted to listen and they didn't want him heard. After several failed attempts at beating him into submission, he fought back with devastating consequences. Michael Cooper didn't always know the truth but he understood the lie. Some have described him as a warrior of justice but for him it was always about the human spirit and the right to let breathe freely. External Website

Television Shows The Promised Neverland TV series 2019-2021 The Promised Neverland was adapted into an anime television series produced by CloverWorks and broadcast on Fuji TV's Noitamina programming block. The series' first season ran for 12 episodes from January to March 2019. A second season ran for 11 episodes from January to March 2021. A live-action film adaptation was released in December 2020. At Grace Field House, life couldn't be better for the orphans. Though they have no parents, together with the other kids and a kind "Mama" who cares for them, they form one big, happy family. No child is ever overlooked, especially since they are all adopted by the age of 12. Their daily lives involve rigorous tests, but afterwards, they are allowed to play outside. There is only one rule they must obey: do not leave the orphanage. When three gifted kids at an isolated idyllic orphanage discover the secret and sinister purpose they were raised for, they look for a way to escape from their evil caretaker and lead the other children in a risky escape plan. External Website

Blogs/Web Pages/Articles Category:Fictional orphans Anon 2020 This category is for fictional orphans, i.e. characters who have had one or both parent(s) and/or legal guardian(s) die or otherwise abandoning them permanently, during the character's childhood. External Website

Films/Videos The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes 2022 The documentary was directed by filmmaker Emma Cooper for Netflix. It features Irish journalist and Marilyn Monroe expert going through archival footage and interviews he conducted with people over a 3 year period 20 years after Monroe's death. Summer's conclusion is that Marilyn Monroe accidentently or deliberately killed herself with an overdose of drugs and alcohol. External Website

Performing Arts American singer, founding member Supremes Mary Wilson Mary Wilson (1944 – 2021) was an American singer. Born in Greenville, Mississippi, but at age three was taken in by aunt and unclue in Detroit, believing them to be her parents. Mary Wilson gained worldwide recognition as a founding member of The Supremes, the most successful Motown act of the 1960s and the best-charting female group in U.S. chart history, as well as one of the best-selling girl groups of all-time. The trio reached number one on Billboard's Hot 100 with 12 of their singles, ten of which feature Wilson on backing vocals. Wilson remained with the group following the departures of the other two original members Florence Ballard (in 1967) and Diana Ross (in 1970), though the trio disbanded following Wilson's own departure in 1977. Wilson later became a New York Times best-selling author in 1986 with the release of her first autobiography, Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme, which set records for sales in its genre, and later for the autobiography Supreme Faith: Someday We'll Be Together. Continuing a successful career as a concert performer in Las Vegas, Wilson also worked in activism, fighting to pass Truth in Music Advertising bills and donating to various charities. Wilson was inducted along with Ross and Ballard (as members of the Supremes) into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. External Website

Blogs/Web Pages/Articles Kirsty Capes | 'It’s important to have stories about the care experience that are positive' | The Bookseller Charlotte Eyre 2021 An interview with Kirsty Capes about her new novel, Careless, and the importance of positive representations of Care Experienced people. External Website

Children's Fiction Coram Boy Jamila Gavin 2015 The Coram man takes babies and money from desperate mothers, promising to deliver them safely to a Foundling Hospital in London. Instead, he murders them and buries them by the roadside, to the helpless horror of his mentally ill son, Mish. Mish saves one, Aaron, who grows up happily unaware of his history, proving himself a promising musician. External Website

Television Shows Ratched 2020 Ratched is a TV series starring Sarah Paulson, Finn Wittrock, and Cynthia Nixon. In 1947, Mildred Ratched begins working as a nurse at Lucia State Hospital, a mental institution in Northern California. As the story progresses, we find out that Mildred was in the foster care system as a child, as was her 'brother', Edmund Tolleson who is also in the facility and who has recently murdered 4 priests. External Website

Blogs/Web Pages/Articles 12 Best Movies About Orphans Biplab Mazumder 2018 There are a plethora of films about children and family relationship. But how many out there deals with Orphans? Here’s a list of movies you can put on your must watch list. External Website

Autobiography/Memoir The Convent Marie Hargreaves 2020 When a fancy car pulls up outside six-year-old Marie's home in 1959, her dad tells her she is going on holiday. But little does she know she will not see her home again for four long years. Her family cannot afford to keep her at home. Marie tells the story of how she was taken away from a poor, but happy and loving home life, to live in a convent - away from everyone and everything she holds dear. Her hair is bluntly chopped, her clothes are taken away, and her name is changed. Then a horrific ritual of physical, sexual and mental abuse begins. Even after the convent closes, Marie is unable to share details of her suffering with anyone. But when a police investigation is launched, and she realises that the time has finally come to tell the truth... External Website

Films/Videos The Boxcar Children (film) 2014 The Boxcar Children (1924) is a children’s book series written by American teacher Gertrude Chandler Warner In 2014 the film, The Boxcar Children, was released and won Best Animated Feature Film at the 2015 St Tropez International Film Festival. The Boxcar Children tells the story of four orphaned children: Henry, Jessie (or Jess), Violet, and Benny who make a home for themselves in an abandoned box car or railway wagon. After they meet and move in with their grandfather, the grandfather transfers the boxcar to his backyard so the children can play in it. In 2018, the sequel film, The Boxcar Children: Surprise Island, was released. External Website

Autobiography/Memoir Family Secrets: A Writer's Search for His Parents and His Past David Leitch 1986 Recounts a true-life detective story about the author's search for his natural parents, the discovery of skeletons in the family closet, and his struggle with emotional turmoil, disappointment, and parental disapproval External Website

Writers Bertrand Russell 1872-1970 Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British polymath, philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, writer, social critic, political activist, and Nobel laureate. Russell was born into the British aristocracy. His mother died when he was 2 and his father 2 years later. From then his paternal grandmother had the primary care of the child. Throughout his life, Russell considered himself a liberal, a socialist and a pacifist, although he sometimes suggested that his sceptical nature had led him to feel that he had "never been any of these things, in any profound sense". He is considered one of the founders of analytic philosophy along with his predecessor Gottlob Frege, colleague G. E. Moore and protégé Ludwig Wittgenstein. He is widely held to be one of the 20th century's premier logicians. With A. N. Whitehead he wrote Principia Mathematica, an attempt to create a logical basis for mathematics, the quintessential work of classical logic. His philosophical essay "On Denoting" has been considered a "paradigm of philosophy". His work has had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, artificial intelligence, cognitive science, computer science (see type theory and type system) and philosophy, especially the philosophy of language, epistemology and metaphysics. Russell was a prominent anti-war activist, championed anti-imperialism, and chaired the India League. External Website

Writers Yukio Mishima 1925-1970 Yukio Mishima (1925 – 1970) was a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor, model, Shintoist, nationalist, and founder of the Tatenokai, an unarmed civilian militia. Yukio Mishima was born Kimitake Hiraoka in Tokyo. His parents, Azusa Hiraoka and Shizue, were living with Azusa’s parents—Natsuko and Sadataro Hiraoka—when Kimitake was born because the family fortunes had been considerably reduced. Embittered and unwell, the once aristocratic but now middle-class Natsuko took control of baby Kimitake. After her one-year-old grandson fell on the stairs on the way to see his mother, Natsuko banned any further contact between Kimitake and his mother. When Azusa and Shizue had more children, Kimitake was kept from his siblings. Shizue was only allowed to take her eldest son for a walk to the park, or to school when he commenced at age six. In 1937 everything changed. Natsuko was too ill to continue caring for Kimitake and allowed the boy to be returned to his parents. Kimitake Mishima is considered one of the most important Japanese authors of the 20th century. He was considered for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1968, but the award went to his countryman and benefactor Yasunari Kawabata. External Website

Fiction featuring Care Experience Political Suicide Michael Palmer 2014 When high-society doctor Gary McHugh believes he will be arrested for murder, he turns to old friend Dr Lou Welcome for help. Lou Welcome's best friend and AA sponsor is a care experienced character. Cap Duncan is a former professional boxer and now runs a gym, training Lou and Lou's 13 year old daughter, Emily. Cap doesn't feature heavily in the story but is there in pivotal moments. External Website

Autobiography/Memoir Keeping in step George V Martin 1995 George Martin and his brothers and sisters grew up in a Salvation Army Orphanage. External Website