Blogs/Web Pages/Articles Tokyo Olympics: 'I just wanted a normal life' - Ireland's McFerran recalls childhood in foster care with BBC Sport NI's Nigel Ringland Ayeisha McFerran Ayeisha McFerran has so often been a star performer for Ireland, with the 25-year-old goalkeeper making crucial saves to help the side reach the World Cup final in 2019 and a first Olympics Games. The Larne woman, who made her senior debut a day after turning 18, is set to add to her 105 appearances when Ireland face South Africa in their Tokyo opener on 24 July. It is a story of success but also one of childhood trauma, with McFerran placed in foster care after her mother passed away. For the first time she speaks publicly about her experiences in foster care - both positive and negative - in a bid to show other children in a similar position that they can fulfil their dreams just like anyone else. External Website

Fiction featuring Care Experience Stepping Up Sarah Turner 2023 Stepping Up is Sarah Turner's debut novel. It is the heartwarming story of Beth whose life is irrecovably changed when she takes in and becomes the guardian for her niece and nephew because of a family tragedy. External Website

Blogs/Web Pages/Articles Orphans in Literature Dave Astor 2013 A review of major orphan characters in literature, including Topsy in Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harry Potter, Frodo Baggins in The Hobbitt, Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, and others. External Website

Authors W Blues singer, songwriter, musician ➝ American singer, founding member Supremes ➝ USA, Singer, Songwriter ➝ Welsh Singer ➝ Country Music, Singer-songwriter ➝ Back to Top

Fiction featuring Care Experience The Institute (Novel) Stephen King 2019 The Institute (2025) is a Stephen King novel about a 12-year-old, Luke Ellis, who is taken to a clandestine facility after he is abducted & his parents murdered. The facility is run by Ms Sigsby and children who have particular abilities are kidnapped by Sigsby’s staff and experimented on to exploit their powers. Tim Jamieson is a former cop who has taken a job in the town as a security guard. He becomes interested in The Institute & eventually provides Luke with the outside help the children need. The Institute was adapted for television in 2025. External Website

Autobiography/Memoir Charlie, the ratbag orphan: an orphan survivor in Australia Alan Walker Walker et al. 2010 Charlie was born in 1936. He was abandoned and raised in orphanages from when he was four days old. At age 15, Charlie was made to leave the only home he knew at St Augustine’s and had to take up what he described as slave labour. Because of the extreme abuse he suffered, Charlie fled his abusers and survived on the streets of Melbourne. Charlie worked hard to improve his life. He became an A grade jumping jockey, and later worked various jobs including being a bird smuggler. After his wife died, he was left to raise four daughters on his own; he was determined to give his daughters the love and protection he never experienced. External Website

Authors V Adoption, Memory, and Cold War Greece: Kid pro quo? ➝ Back to Top

Autobiography/Memoir Red Tape Rape. The Story of Ki Meekins Ki Meekins 2008 When he was a baby, Ki Meekins was placed in the 'care' of the South Australian Government. Ki tells the story of this 'care' and his challenge to the South Australian Government, which contributed in part to the Government calling for a significant inquiry into the sexual abuse of child in its care. External Website

News - broadcast, print, internet, magazine articles Khelsi Price Khelsi Price Khelsi Price first went into foster care on her seventh birthday. As a young child, she lived with two different foster carers during the first 12 months before moving to her forever home and into the care of special, long-term carers Jean and Taff. Khelsi stayed with the couple until she moved out to live independently as a teenager and is now running a successful party entertainment business. KP Kids, which started life as The Entertainment Eporium, launched seven years ago and Khelsi has been entertaining children with party games and tricks as well as making look-alike appearances as character favourites ever since. She wants to inspire children who are in the same position she was in when she was a child and encourage them to “aim high”. “Being in foster care can be such a positive experience for those children and young people who need it. "I know I would never have had the opportunities I have without it.’ External Website

Blogs/Web Pages/Articles Care leavers deserve to be seen for their talents Lucy Barnes 2022 University of Surrey launched a new scholarship to support students who've been in care. Law student Lucy Barnes, who graduated from Surrey in 2018 and has built up a successful career as a barrister, tells us how such an initiative would have made a huge difference to her... External Website

Writers Patricia Cornwell (writer) Patricia Carroll Daniels was born 1956 in Miami, Florida. Her father, lawyer Sam Daniels, left the family when Patricia was 5 years old. Several years later, Patricia stayed with friends of the evangelist, Billy Graham, while her mother, Marilyn Daniels, recovered from mental illness. Patricia Daniels had her own struggles with mental illness as a young woman studying at college in North Carolina. She married Charles Cornwell in 1979. Patricia Cornwell became interested in criminal behaviour while working first as a journalist for the Charlotte Observer and later for a medical examiner in Richmond, Virginia. She also undertook studies in forensic science, volunteered in the police force, and read endlessly in medical libraries. Cornwell’s writing career took off when she developed the Dr. Kay Scarpetta character for Postmortem (1990), a self-portrait some say. Prior to that she had written a biography of Billy Graham’s wife, Ruth Bell Graham, and had made a first attempt at writing crime. The Scarpetta series became immensely popular with sales at more than 100 million copies. External Website

Actors James McAvoy Scottish actor, James McAvoy (b. 1979), who was born in Glasgow, was in kinship care as a child. James was about 7 years of age when he went to live with grandparents. His parents had recently separated and his mother thought her son would be better off with her parents, Mary and James. His grandparents were important role models for James with him crediting his grandmother for his courage and self-confidence. External Website

Academic theses The Orhan Among Us: An Examination of Orphans in Newbery Award Winning Literature April A Mattix 2012 Orphan stories in children’s literature are rich and complex, and they have historically permeated the pages of children’s books. The purpose of this study was to explore the use of orphans as protagonists in children’s award-winning literature through content analysis. This study utilizes all the Newbery Award winning books (1922–2011) as well as the Newbery Honor books of the last decade (2002–2011) to provide a wide and deep swath of novels in order to present both historical perspective and attention to current trends. External Website

Films/Videos Jane Eyre (film) 2011 An adaptation of the classic novel by Charlotte Bronte (1847), the film is told in flashbacks to orphan Jane's childhood in kinship care and boarding school and as a governess at Thornfield Hall. 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

Television Shows Thou Shalt Not Steal 2024 Thou Shalt Not Steal (2024) is an Australian black comedy featuring the escape from youth detention of 17-year-old Aboriginal protagonist Robyn (Sherry-Lee Watson) who declares as she leaves: “Them missionaries reckon thou shalt not steal. Bit rich from the Bible-bashing bastards that stole our country!” Robyn teams up with Gidge (Will McDonald), the son of unscrupulous bible-bashing Robert (Noah Taylor) and the pair go in search for the father Robyn has never met. Robyn and Gidge are chased from Alice Springs to Adelaide by Robert and Maxine (Miranda Otto), a former sex worker turned cabbie & drug dealer. “Thou Shalt Not Steal has future classic written all over it” writes Luke Buckmaster in The Guardian (17 October 2024). External Website

Autobiography/Memoir Survivor: The Shocking and Inspiring Story of a True Champion Fatima Whitbread 2012 Fatima Whitbread had the worst possible start in life. Abandoned as a baby, she spent much of her childhood in and out of children's homes. A brief, disastrous stay with her birth mother saw her raped by her mother's drunken boyfriend - while her mother held a knife to her throat to 'quieten her down'. Fatima was only twelve at the time. Athletics was her saviour: local athletics coach Margaret Whitbread took the young Fatima under her wing, eventually adopting her. Fatima competed in three Olympics, winning bronze at the 1984 Los Angeles Games. In 1986 she set a world record, and the following year in Rome became world champion and was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year. But then Fatima faded from the public eye, leaving many to wonder where she had gone. After the cheering stopped, Fatima faced prejudice, penury, scandal and heartbreak. Survivor describes how she defeated all her demons to rise triumphantly from the ashes once again, this time as queen of the jungle. Almost 13 million people watched her on I'm a Celebrity, and after surviving 20 days in the Australian heat, she has millions of new fans eager to know more about Fatima the woman: the forthright, focused, slightly bossy, charismatic single mum who knows how to transform even the most devastating experiences into lessons in life. This is the unforgettable story of a true champion, who triumphed against the worst hardships imaginable. External Website

News - broadcast, print, internet, magazine articles Intelligent women are dangerous, no?’ Samantha Morton on sexism, success and survival The Guardian 2022 Taken into care, abused, objectified: the actor had a traumatic start to life – and her career. Why does she feel such a strong connection to her new TV role: privileged, notorious Catherine de Medici? External Website

Fiction featuring Care Experience The Strange Adventures of H Sarah Burton 2020 Orphaned at a young age, H is sent to London to live with her caring aunt. Her life is idyllic until tragedy strikes—her predatory cousin shatters her innocence, and the plague devastates the city, claiming the lives of those she loves. Cast out into the quarantined streets of London, H finds herself alone, destitute, and pregnant. Determined to reclaim her life, H must navigate a world fraught with danger. She faces a vengeful adversary, discovers love in the most unlikely of places, and endures a betrayal she never anticipated. Through cunning and resilience, H fights to carve out a life of freedom and independence. But will her charm and wit be enough to overcome the odds and secure the future she longs for? External Website

Television Shows Based on a True Story 2023 Based on a True Story (2023) is an American comedy drama series which includes a kinship care character. Ava Bartlett (Kaley Cuoco) and her husband Nathan Bartlett (Chris Messina) have been caring for Ava’s sister, Tory Thompson (Liana Liberator) since her mother died. Tory is a college student, preparing for her final exams. She watches on bemusedly as Ava and Nathan become involved in making a podcast with a serial killer. External Website