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Autobiography/Memoir Windswept and Interesting. My Autobiography Billy Connolly 2021 "It's the first time I've done this. Other people have written about me - or for me - but this time, it's just my own life in my own words." In his first full-length autobiography, comedy legend and national treasure Billy Connolly reveals the truth behind his windswept and interesting life. Born in a tenement flat in Glasgow in 1942, orphaned by the age of four and a survivor of appalling abuse at the hands of his own family, Billy's life is a remarkable story of success against all the odds. Billy found his escape first as an apprentice welder in the shipyards of the River Clyde. Later he became a folk musician - a 'rambling man' - with a genuine talent for playing the banjo. But it was his ability to spin stories, tell jokes and hold an audience in the palm of his hand that truly set him apart. As a young comedian, Billy broke all the rules. He was fearless and outspoken - willing to call out hypocrisy wherever he saw it. But his stand-up was full of warmth, humility and silliness, too. His startling hairy 'glam-rock' stage appearance - wearing leotards, scissor suits and banana boots - only added to his appeal. It was an appearance on Michael Parkinson's chat show in 1975 - and one outrageous story in particular - that catapulted Billy from cult hero to national star. External Website

Children's Fiction The Invisible String (3-6 years) Patrice Karst 2018 Parents, educators, therapists, and social workers alike have declared The Invisible String the perfect tool for coping with all kinds of separation anxiety, loss, and grief. In this relatable and reassuring contemporary classic, a mother tells her two children that they're all connected by an invisible string. "That's impossible!" the children insist, but still they want to know more: "What kind of string?" The answer is the simple truth that binds us all: An Invisible String made of love. Even though you can't see it with your eyes, you can feel it deep in your heart, and know that you are always connected to the ones you love. Does everybody have an Invisible String? How far does it reach? Does it ever go away? This heartwarming picture book for all ages explores questions about the intangible yet unbreakable connections between us, and opens up deeper conversations about love. Recommended and adopted by parenting blogs, bereavement support groups, hospice centers, foster care and social service agencies, military library services, church groups, and educators, The Invisible String offers a very simple approach to overcoming loneliness, separation, or loss with an imaginative twist that children easily understand and embrace, and delivers a particularly compelling message in today's uncertain times. This special paperback edition includes includes vibrant new illustrations and an introduction from the author. External Website

Biography of Care Experienced People Crackers and Milk Arlene Nelson 2006 Sarah Richards, the oldest of five children growing up in the early 20th Century rural Midwest, struggles to hold her family together as she and her three siblings attempt to survive illness, abandonment, abuse, negelct, hunger, institutionalization, and loss. In Crackers and Milk, Arlene Nelson retells her mother's amazing story of an unusually tarnished childhood, as her mother told it to her many years ago. External Website

Blogs/Web Pages/Articles More than our childhoods More than our childhoods 2022 Hundreds of thousands of Australians spent part or all of their childhoods separated from their families for a range of reasons. Care Leavers have made extraordinary contributions to the Australian community – personally, politically and culturally. Through Activism and Advocacy many Care Leavers have led some of the most significant changes in social policy in Australian history. ‘More than our childhoods’ provides a place to collect and communicate these diverse experiences and achievements, in ways that will help inform and educate future generations of Care Leavers and activists. External Website

Blogs/Web Pages/Articles Find & Connect Find & Connect 2011 Find & Connect is a web resource for Australians who have been in Out of Home Care during their childhood. The site provides information about children's homes, orphanages and other institutions, and about relevant state agencies and legistlation. Find & Connect also offers online and face to face support for Australians wanting access to their records. External Website

Children's Fiction The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett 1974 At the turn of the 20th century, Mary Lennox is a neglected and unloved 10-year-old girl, born in British India to wealthy British parents who never wanted her and made an effort to ignore the girl. She is cared for primarily by native servants, who allow her to become spoiled, demanding, and self-centered. After a cholera epidemic kills Mary's parents, the few surviving servants flee the house without Mary. Mary is sent to Misselthwaite Manor, on the Yorkshire moors, to live with her uncle. There she discovers her sickly cousin Colin, who is equally obnoxious and imperious. Both love no one because they have never been loved. Mary finds a secret garden and with Colin and the help of the gardener they bring it back to its former glory. External Website

Fiction by Care Experienced authors Jae-Dee Survives the Home of Many Mothers: Jae-Dee Collier 2018 A Fictional Story Inspired by a Memoir. Jae-Dee is only three years old when she's abandoned by her parents into an all-girls orphanage and raised by Catholic nuns. A curious, cheeky, intelligent, and sometimes defiant child, she's forced to adapt to a life of abandonment, loss, and grief. In Jae-Dee Survives the Home of Many Mothers, she tells of her life experiences from the voice of her inner-child until she grows older and strong enough to express her life in a more mature and perceptively insightful manner. A fictional story inspired by real-life events, Jae-Dee shares her feelings of anxiety, loneliness, and chronic bed-wetting that stem from her abandonment, neglect, and abuse. Jae-Dee's parents suffered from alcoholism and drug abuse as well as financial and social poverty. But when her parents relinquish her, Jae-Dee is raised by Sister Grace, a Catholic Sister of Mercy and surrogate mother from hell, whose hatred and inability to demonstrate compassion or nurturing toward her wards is strongly depicted in her strong and sadistic character. Jae-Dee calls attention to the effects of this childhood trauma, and she shares how she developed skills to overcome those challenges. In addition, Jae-Dee Survives the Home of Many Mothers captures the cultural history of post-war families and offers reflections of the South Australian social welfare system during the 1950s to mid-1960s. External Website

Blogs/Web Pages/Articles Character Type: Orphan Scott Myers 2018 Scott Myers explores the orphan archetype in literature. External Website

Fiction by Care Experienced authors Careful, He Might Hear You (novel) Sumner Locke Elliott 1963 A small boy is living in kinship care with one aunt after his mother dies in childbirth birth. This story is the tussle between two aunts for the custody of the child. Autobiographical External Website

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Blogs/Web Pages/Articles Children in care need long-term support, not punishment | David Akinsanya David Akinsanya (Children in Care) 2016 Too often, kids in care are simply contained and criminalised. If a permanent home can’t be found, then having a mentor would make a huge difference to young people’s lives, writes David Akinsanya. External Website

Blogs/Web Pages/Articles When Ishbel met Lucy Bradt Holmes Guides et al. 2018 In an extract from Me, My Bike and a Street Dog Called Lucy, Ishbel Holmes - who was in foster care as a teenager - talks about finding Lucy for the first time. External Website

Children's Fiction Dennis and the Big Decisions (2-5 years) Paul Sambrooks 2011 This brightly illustrated picture book explains to young children who are living in foster care about why they have moved from their family, why they may have future moves, and who will make these decisions. It is the sequel to the ever-popular Dennis Duckling (BAAF 2009). The story follows Dennis, living in foster care, as important decisions are made about where he should live and who with. It looks at the range of adults who are involved in decision making, including social workers, foster carers, judges and birth parents, and emphasises how they all want to make the right choice for Dennis. The story can help children who have to be separated from their birth parents to understand what is happening to them and why, what the future may hold, and how they can be involved in making big decisions no matter how old or young they are. It clearly explains that children are not responsible for making decisions, or resolving the difficulties that surround them, but that their wishes and feelings are vitally important and will be listened to. Dennis Duckling and the Big Decisions does not have a set ending. It is left to the child and reader to imagine what happens next, hopefully reflecting the plan for the individual child. The story can be revisited and expanded many times as plans progress and decisions about the child s future become clearer. External Website

Blogs/Web Pages/Articles CELCIS Reach - article on the creative workshops run by Inspired Youth CELCIS 2018 Care Experienced young people have come together to produce a film to challenge negative stereotypes, low expectations and the stigma of having been in care. External Website

Autobiography/Memoir The Secret of the Daisy Carol Grace 1956 A novella based on Carol Grace's (b. 1924 – 2003) experiences as a foster child. This novella seems to be fragments of memory about Grace's time in foster care and search for connection and love: The first room was a hall — a long hall, empty and dark, except for the shafts of light that came from the Opened doors of the rooms that went up and down the hall. There were no windows. I don't know how old I was but it's my first remembered memory. I think I was a baby. I know that I knew that I was a stranger in a strange place, that my Mother was gone and that I wasn't home. External Website

Blogs/Web Pages/Articles Movies Christian Alliance for Orphans ​ A listing of Orphan Themed films by CAFO, the Christian Alliance for Orphans. External Website

Biography of Care Experienced People The Man Who Mistook His Wife for A Hat Oliver Sacks 1985 Oliver Sacks' well known book, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat (1985), contains 3 case histories of Care Experienced People. 2. Rebecca was raised by her grandmother and although many see her as deficient, theatre offers an important way for Rebecca to understand and express herself. When she's performing on stage, no one sees Rebecca as lacking. 2. Rebecca was raised by her grandmother and although many see her as deficient, theatre offers an important way for Rebecca to understand and express herself. When she's performing on stage, noone sees Rebecca as lacking. 3. Twins John and Michael have been in institutions since age 7. By the time they're 26 they're already famous because of their numerical prowess. However, when they're separated and living a semi-'normal' life, they lose their gift. External Website

Blogs/Web Pages/Articles Alan Turing (1912-1954) - noted Computer Scientist and Mathematician Alan Turing 2018 Alan Turing (1912-1954) was an English computer scientist and mathematician, played by Benedict Cumberbatch in the 2014 historical drama, The Imitation Game. Turing was in foster care for much of his first 10 years. His father, Julius Turing (1873-1947), was a public servant in the Indian Civil Service and insisted that he and his wife, Ethel (1881-1976), return to India without their two sons. Turing was given a posthumous royal pardon on 24 December 2013. In 1952 Turing had been arrested and convicted for having a sexual relationship with a man. Rather than go to prison he accepted a year’s treatment of oestrogen intended to decrease his libido. External Website

Blogs/Web Pages/Articles A Conversation about Tracy Beaker... ​ 2018 Back in early 2018, Rosie Canning started a conversation on Social Media about Tracy Beaker which kick-started a whole negative portrayals conversation and led to conversations with Jacqueline Wilson, the author. 'There are already a huge amount of negative care stereotypes in fiction, an over-abundance of kids from care or adopted who become serial killers in crime fiction. If writers must use ‘other’, then carrying out impeccable research and making a story believable, rather than lazy use of a stereotype, is a must.' Read the exciting follow-up to this conversation here. External Website

Children's Fiction Flying High: The Story of Gymnastics Champion Simone Biles (4-8 years) Michelle Meadows 2021 Before she was a record-breaking gymnast competing on the world stage, Simone Biles spent time in foster care as a young child. Nimble and boundlessly energetic, she cherished every playground and each new backyard. When she was six years old, Simone's family took shape in a different way. Her grandparents Ron and Nellie Biles adopted Simone and her sister Adria. Ron and Nellie became their parents. Simone was also introduced to gymnastics that same year, launching a lifelong passion fueled by remarkable talent, sacrifice, and the undying support of her family. From her athletic early childhood to the height of her success as an Olympic champion, Flying High is the story of the world's greatest gymnast from author Michelle Meadows and illustrator Ebony Glenn. External Website