Search Results

Authors D Jenny Diski ➝ Alan Dapré ➝ Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) ➝ Charles Dickens ➝ Alan Duff ➝ Arthur Conan Doyle ➝ René Descartes ➝ Robert Dessaix ➝ Susan Huntington Gilbert Dickinson ➝ Wayne Dyer ➝ Mary Douglas ➝ Trent Dalton ➝ Philip Doddridge ➝ Stella Dadzie ➝ Henry Darger (writer) ➝ Back to Top

Autobiography/Memoir Out of Darkness. Growing up with the Christian Brothers Ivor A Knight 1998 Ivor Knight, born in 1934 in Perth, was declared a ‘neglected child’ in 1938 and placed in the custody of the Christian Brothers. He survived the Castledare, Clontarf and Tardun orphanages after which he worked on sheep and cattle stations. In 1968, he joined the Western Australian Prison Service and rose through the ranks to Superintendent. He took early retirement in 1991 External Website

Films/Videos Hostile Territory 2022 Hostile Territory (2022) is another, more recent film that takes up the topic of the Orphan Trains. During the Civil War, Union soldier Jack Calgrove (Brian Presley) is presumed dead. After his wife dies, the children, presumed orphans, are sent away on an Orphan Train. When the war is over, Jack Calgrove goes in search of his children. While Jack is successful in reuniting with his children, the film highlights the broader issues of families being torn apart by war. External Website

Cartoons Not all Superheroes wear capes! ➝ Not so broken - The Fostering Network ➝ Hey Arnold ➝ Animation - "Someone to..." a short film about foster care ➝ Dumbo ➝ Sesame Street - Foster Care ➝ Emily's Story: Haringey foster care guide ➝ Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends ➝ Back to Top

Autobiography/Memoir Borstal Boy Brendan Behan 1958 Borstal Boy (1958) is an autobiographical work by Irish writer Brendan Behan (b. Feb 9 1923-d. Mar 20 1964, Dublin). He was an Irish author noted for his earthy satire and powerful political commentary. The book recounts Behan’s youthful defiance, his commitment to the Irish Republican cause, and his subsequent imprisonment in an English Borstal (a reformatory) at the age of 16. Alongside accounts of harsh treatment, Behan vividly describes moments of camaraderie, dramatic and musical pursuits, as well as his engagement in gardening and handicrafts. Notable for its authentic dialogue, the book captures the raw and immediate exchanges between inmates. External Website

Performing Arts Guitarist-singer-songwriter B B King African American blues singer-song writer, BB King (1925-2015), was born Riley B King to sharecroppers in Mississippi. His father deserted the family when Riley was young and his mother died when he was 10. It’s not clear with whom Riley lived from then, some sources say his grandmother, others say other relatives. In 1949, King left for Memphis then went on to Chicago where he soon was regularly performing at a nightclub. The following year, King signed with a Los Angeles based label, Modern Records, which specialised in jazz. From the 1960s, BB King toured all over the world. He continued touring and recording until shortly before his death in 2015. External Website

Authors A Edward Albee ➝ Paul Abbott ➝ David Akinsanya ➝ Back to Top

Writers Lisa Cherry Lisa Cherry spent time in care from 13 years old. She later experienced homelessness before being picked up and supported by a charity. Cherry is an author and a leading international trainer and consultant, specialising in assisting those in Education, Social Care and Adoption and Fostering to understand trauma, recovery and resilience for vulnerable children, young people and their families. Lisa has over 30 years of experience in this field and combines academic knowledge and research with professional skills and personal experience. Lisa completed her DPhil research at The University of Oxford in the Department of Education. The research asked "How do care experienced adults who were also excluded from school make sense of belonging?" She has written 3 books: The Brightness of Stars; https://www.careexperienceandculture.com/master/conversations-that-make-a-difference-for-children-and-young-people%3A-relationship-focused-practice-from-the-frontline; and Weaving a Web of Belonging: Developing a Trauma-Informed Culture for All Children External Website

Authors D Teenage Tales: Sneaking Looks In Sexy Books ➝ That Reminds Me by Derek Owusu review – a fresh and powerful debut ➝ ‘Dream come true’: Orphans evacuated to Australia in perilous journey through Afghanistan ➝ Unbelievable review – grimly credible story of trauma, power and injustice ➝ What Would Gabriel García Márquez Have Thought of the Netflix Version of His Novel? ➝ A ladder to the stars: Ian Dickson’s reflections on 70 years of the care system ➝ Doctor Who: The Timeless Children or Dr Who was a foundling ➝ Back to Top

Autobiography/Memoir The Brightness of Stars: Stories of Adults Who Came Through the Care System Lisa Cherry 2022 In this poignant book, Lisa Cherry brings together a collection of candid and personal reflections on the care system in the UK, offering alternative ways of thinking about the care experience, supporting better ways of working, and providing justification for a trauma-informed lens to be applied to all forms of work with those in care. Through personal insights and reflections, the book brings often-unheard stories vividly to life, beginning with the author’s own. These are stories about love and pain; hurt and isolation; the depth of lived experience that makes up a life; how we live our lives through our relationships with others and where we feel we fit in. In this thoughtfully compiled third edition, original contributors such as Pav Akhtar, look back on their own reflections from the lives that they live now, new stories from activists Isabelle Kirkham; Rosie Canning, Sean Geoghegan, and others bring new perspectives, and discussion points provide the opportunity to consider the realities of the care experience as well as life beyond. Whilst each story is unique, shared themes reveal the truth of the care system and, coming at a time where there is a real opportunity for change, the narratives in this book are ultimately stories of hope and connection. This is crucial reading for policy makers, those working in social work, education and adoption, as well as care experienced adults. External Website

Authors M Lorraine Mafi-Williams ➝ Shane McCrae ➝ John Masefield poet) ➝ Yusuf P. McCormack (poet) ➝ Back to Top

Autobiography/Memoir Acceptance: A Memoir Emi Nietfeld 2022 Acceptance is a memoir of the author's journey through foster care and homelessness, interrogating the true meanings of resilience, ambition, and success. As a homeless teenager writing college essays in her rusty Toyota Corolla, Emi Nietfeld was convinced that the Ivy League was the only escape from her dysfunctional childhood. But upward mobility required crafting the perfect resilience narrative. She had to prove that she was an “overcomer,” made stronger by all that she had endured. The truth was more complicated. Emi’s mom was a charming hoarder who had her put on antipsychotics but believed in her daughter’s brilliance—unlike the Minnesotan foster family who banned her “pornographic” art history flash cards (of Michelangelo’s David). Emi’s other parent vanished shortly after coming out as trans, a situation few understood in the mid-2000s. Her own past was filled with secrets: mental health struggles, Adderall addiction, and the unbecoming desperation of a teenager fending for herself. And though Emi would go on to graduate from Harvard and become a software engineer at Google, she found that success didn’t necessarily mean safety. External Website

Actors Sophie Willan Sophie Willan was born 1987 and is a British actress and comedian. She has won three BAFTAs for her television sitcom Alma's Not Normal. She grew up in Bolton, and spent time in care as a child as her mother was a heroin addict. In 2016 she took her debut stand up show On Record, based on her experiences of growing up in and out of the care system, to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. A total sell out run and phenomenal critical acclaim followed, with a smash hit nationwide tour in 2017 and a commission to adapt the show into a BBC Radio 4 series. Sophie is a Care Leaver, who’s personal experiences are part of her life’s mission; to empower, represent and advocate for care experienced young people and marginalised children and adults. In 2015, Sophie founded non-profit organisation, Stories Of Care; a dynamic and rebellious writing and outreach organisation, that work exclusively with exceptional new writers, from diverse backgrounds. They offer long-term developmental support to their participants so that they can become creative leaders and make personal and political work that smashes through the glass ceilings across Theatre, Radio, Stand-Up, Television and Literature. As an Executive Producer on her BBC Two sitcom, Alma’s Not Normal, Sophie has also instigated a paid training programme for young people from low income and Care Experienced backgrounds on the production. External Website

Children's Fiction Understood Betsy Dorothy Canfield Fisher 1916 Understood Betsy is a novel for children written by American writer and activist, Dorothy Canfield Fisher (1879-1958). It was first published in 1916. Understood Betsy tells the story of 9-year-old orphan, Elizabeth Ann—Betsy—who lives first with her father’s aunt Harriet and cousin Frances in the city. She later moves to live a farm with her mother’s family, the Putneys. The child is clearly loved in both households but the parenting practices are markedly different. With aunt Harriet and cousin Frances is mollycoddled, whereas with the Putney’s Betsy is expected to walk to school and contribute to the household chores. When cousin Frances comes to collect Betsy, she is surprised to find Betsy thriving at the farm and wanting to stay there. External Website

Writers Edgar Wallace 1875-1932 Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1875 – 1932) was an English writer. Edgar Wallace was born Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace in London. His mother, Mary Jane ‘Polly’ Richards was a widow and actor who had a sexual encounter with the lead of a play she was in, Richard Horatio Edgar. Edgar denied all knowledge of the encounter and Polly gave birth to her son in secret. Soon after his birth, baby Richard was given over to a foster family in Billingsgate and raised as Richard Freeman. Richard’s foster father, George Freeman, worked at the Billingsgate Fish Market. Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was a war correspondent during the Second Boer War, for Reuters and the Daily Mail. Struggling with debt, he left South Africa, returned to London, and began writing thrillers to raise income, publishing books including The Four Just Men (1905). Drawing on his time as a reporter in the Congo, covering the Belgian atrocities, Wallace serialised short stories in magazines such as The Windsor Magazine and later published collections such as Sanders of the River (1911). He signed with Hodder and Stoughton in 1921 and became an internationally recognised author. After an unsuccessful bid to stand as Liberal MP for Blackpool (as one of David Lloyd George's Independent Liberals) in the 1931 general election, Wallace moved to Hollywood, where he worked as a script writer for RKO. External Website

Radio & Podcast Malik and Mark Descendants 2021 In the first half of this episode, Care Experienced poet and performer, Malik Al Nasir talks about his journey to Guyana and finding family members, and his tracing his heritage back to both slave owners and to slaves. External Website

Authors V The Extraordinary Adventures of Foundling Mick ➝ Back to Top

Authors Q AUTHORS Q ➝ Back to Top

Authors L Living in Adoption's Emotional Aftermath ➝ Care leaver Kerry Littleford: 'I want to give opportunities to people who haven’t had them' ➝ Back to Top

Performing Arts singer, songwriter, record producer, composer Trent Reznor Michael Trent Reznor (born 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer. He was born in Pennsylvania. After his parents divorced, he went to live with his maternal grandparents. While in high school he joined a band. He is the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and principal songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, which he founded in 1988 and of which he was the sole official member until 2016.He has contributed to the albums of artists such as Marilyn Manson, whom he mentored, and rapper Saul Williams. Alongside his wife Mariqueen Maandig and long-time Nine Inch Nails collaborators Atticus Ross and Rob Sheridan, he formed the post-industrial group How to Destroy Angels in 2009.Reznor and Ross scored David Fincher's films The Social Network (2010), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), Gone Girl (2014), and Mank (2020). They won the Academy Award for Best Original Score for The Social Network and the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The duo also scored the films Patriots Day (2016), mid90s, Bird Box (both 2018), Waves (2019) and Soul (2020), the documentaries Before the Flood (2016) and The Vietnam War (2017), and the TV series Watchmen (2019), winning a Primetime Emmy Award for the lattermost. In 1997, Reznor appeared on Time's list of the year's most influential people, and Spin magazine described him as "the most vital artist in music". External Website