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Authors R Devils, Lusts and Strange Desires ➝ Muhammad ➝ Charles Perkins: A Biography ➝ Chaplin: His Life & Art ➝ Back to Top

Fiction featuring Care Experience The Magician Colm Toibin 2021 The Magician (2021) by Irish writer Colm Toibin is the fictionalised biography of German great Thomas Mann (1875-1955). Early in the novel we learn that Thomas Mann’s mother moved from Brazil to Lubeck, Germany as a small child and was in kinship care. “In Lubeck, Julia was remembered as a small girl arriving with her sister and her three brothers after their mother had died. They were taken care of by an uncle…” (3). Later, we find out that after Thomas Mann’s father died when the boy was about 15, Thomas went into an informal foster care arrangement while his mother and 3 youngest children moved to Munich. “…leaving Thomas behind to complete his final year at school while boarding in the house of Doctor Timpe…” (19). Doctor Timpe was one of Thomas’ school teachers. The boy had “a small bedroom at the back of the top floor Doctor Timpe’s house” (23). External Website

Fiction featuring Care Experience Ordeal by Innocence (Novel) Agatha Christie 1958 Agatha Christie’s Ordeal by Innocence was first published in 1958. There are 5 adoptees in the novel, all now adults and adopted into the one family by Rachel Argyle. Rachel was killed 2 years before the story opens. Rachel Argyle had set up a refuge for children whose homes were bombed during WWII. She was so enthusiastic about her work she adopted 5 children, “those from particularly unsatisfactory homes or who were orphans” (53, 2017, HarperCollins). A central theme in Ordeal by Innocence is nature vs nurture, whether a privileged environment can overcome hereditary ‘weaknesses’. Christie’s psychological approach was, apparently, much criticised as was an element of racism in the story. Ordeal by Innocence was adapted for film in 1985 and for television in 2007 (ITV), 2009 (France) France, and 2018 (BBC One). External Website

Fiction featuring Care Experience Foundlings Anna Spargo-Ryan 2022 Foundlings is a work-in-progress. Following the lives of two women who hoped for more, it’s historical fiction set in the Adelaide Destitute Asylum on the cusp of women’s suffrage legislation in the late nineteenth century. Anna also has a short story called Foundling in The Saturday Paper (16 July 2022) which is behind a paywall. External Website

Authors B The Care-Experienced Graduates' Decision-Making, Choices and Destinations Project: Phase one report ➝ The Care-Experienced Graduates' Decision-Making, Choices and Destinations Project: Phase Three Report ➝ "One of Us": Orphaned Selves and Legitimacy in Australian Autobiography ➝ From Us to Us: A collection of advice from care-experienced graduates to care-experienced graduates ➝ Revealing the Profile of Foster Parents, Biological Parents, Foster Children and the Triadic Relationship amongst them ➝ Social Workers’ Involvement in Policy Practice in Portugal ➝ The Care-Experienced Graduates' Decision-Making, Choices and Destinations Project: Phase Two Report ➝ Review: Making Home: Orphanhood, kinship, and cultural memory in contemporary American novels. ➝ Back to Top

Fiction featuring Care Experience Wild Pork and Watercress Barry Crump 2016 This rattling good yarn has now been made into a major movie- Hunt For the Wilderpeople. When Social Welfare threatens to put Ricky into care, the overweight Maori boy and cantankerous Uncle Hec flee into the remote and rugged Ureweras. The impassable bush serves up perilous adventures, forcing the pair of misfits to use all their skills to survive hunger, wild pigs and the vagaries of the weather. Worse still are the authorities, determined to bring Ricky and Uncle Hec to justice. But despite the difficulties of life on the run, a bond of trust and love blossoms between the world-weary man and his withdrawn side-kick. External Website

Authors A Black and In Care ➝ Foster Reformer, author, artist ➝ Civil rights, social justice, and the empowerment of disenfranchised communities ➝ Back to Top

Autobiography/Memoir Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina Michaela Deprince 2014 Michaela Mabunty DePrince (1995-2024) was known as girl Number 27 at the orphanage, where she was abandoned at a young age and tormented as a "devil child" for a skin condition that makes her skin appear spotted. But it was at the orphanage that Michaela would find a picture of a beautiful ballerina en pointe that would help change the course of her life. Michaela DePrince was known as girl Number 27 at the orphanage, where she was abandoned at a young age and tormented as a "devil child" for a skin condition that makes her skin appear spotted. But it was at the orphanage that Michaela would find a picture of a beautiful ballerina en pointe that would help change the course of her life. At the age of four, Michaela was adopted by an American family, who encouraged her love of dancing and enrolled her in classes. She went on to study at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at the American Ballet Theatre and is now the youngest principal dancer with the Dance Theatre of Harlem. She has appeared in the ballet documentary First Position, as well as on Dancing with the Stars, Good Morning America, and Nightline. In this engaging, moving, and unforgettable memoir, Michaela shares her dramatic journey from an orphan in West Africa to becoming one of ballet's most exciting rising stars. Michaela Mabunty DePrince tragically died September 10th 2024 at the age of 29 and her mother Elaine DePrince, who adopted her as a young girl, died Sept. 11 "during a routine procedure in preparation for a surgery," according to a family statement shared on Facebook - the two deaths were not connected. To date no cause of death for Michaela has been shared. External Website

Authors D Parragirls: Reimagining Parramatta Girls Home through art and memory ➝ Contesting Childhood: Autobiography, Trauma, and Memory ➝ The Story of the Pink Cat: An Exploration of the Ways Care-Experienced People Navigate Inheritance by Delyth Edwards & Rosie Canning ➝ Back to Top

Television Shows The Bay 2018 The Bay, an ITV crime series starring Morven Christie, uses a foster care character in Series 2 (2019) as a courier for crimes. Cassie is a 12 year old in foster care who delivers a gun to a hitman. She's done other deliveries before but not for anything so serious. The character didn't need to have been in foster care. Already in Series 1 there was a police officer's 15-year-old acting as a courier for a drug dealer. External Website

Blogs/Web Pages/Articles Who Cares? Scotland project wins national campaign award Who Cares Scotland An announcement that Who Cares? Scotland’s Kenny Murray was recognised at National Campaigner Awards 2019 for his work in drawing attention to negative representations of Care Experienced People. External Website

Films/Videos Vidal Sassoon: The Movie 2010 Vidal Sassoon: The Movie (2010) recounts the story of Vidal Sassoon ((1928-2012) and his brother being put into a Jewish orphanage when their parent separated and because their mother was impoverished. They were in the orphanage for about 6 years and Vidal fondly remembers being in the choir. He also remembers running away from the orphanage and going to his dad’s house. His dad’s response, however, was to return Vidal to the orphanage as soon as possible. “I think that moment was when I lost any love that I had for him” says Vidal Sasson during the documentary. “I never saw him again.” Like other children during WWII, Vidal Sassoon was also evacuated to the countryside “…where we lived with cows and sheep for the next few years.” External Website

Blogs/Web Pages/Articles Lilian Bader: The First Black Woman to join the RAF Lillian Bader 2018 Lilian Bailey b.18 Feb 1918 d.13 Mar 2015 (aged 97) Liverpool, England. In 1927, Bader and her two brothers were orphaned when their father died. At the age of 9 she was separated from her brothers and placed in a convent, where she remained until she was 20 because no one would employ her because of racism. In 1939, at the onset of the Second World War, Bader enlisted in the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI) at Catterick Camp, When it was discovered that her father was not born in the United Kingdom, she was dismissed. On 28 March 1941, she enlisted in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), after she heard that the Royal Air Force (RAF) were taking citizens of West Indian descent. She trained in instrument repair, which was a trade newly opened to women. She then became a Leading Aircraft Woman and was eventually promoted to the rank of corporal. External Website

Authors G Grimm ➝ Greyzone ➝ Grace ➝ Good Witch (Season 1-7) ➝ Gone for Good ➝ Gen V ➝ A Gentleman in Moscow (TV series) ➝ Good American Family ➝ Grantchester ➝ Good Morning, Veronica ➝ Goliath ➝ Grey's Anatomy ➝ Great Expectations (adaptation) ➝ Back to Top

Autobiography/Memoir University Lectures and Lesson in Life Stacey Page 2015 After her mother had a serious accident, her family decided to care for Stacey who was "rotated" between them until she was 15. From age 15, Stacey worked in hairdressing salons. Encouraged by a client, she attended university as a mature age student and has now completed a degree in psychology. External Website

Authors U The wisdom of deep listening: Miriam Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann and Fleur Magick Dennis ➝ Back to Top

Activists Social justice and recognition for children in care Lemn Sissay 1967- Lemn Sissay was one of the first people to link orphan literary heroes with young heroes in the care system. He is a British poet and activist whose work is deeply rooted in his own experiences growing up in the UK care system. Through poetry, public speaking, and writing, he sheds light on the mistreatment of children in care and advocates for systemic reform. His activism includes legal action, public awareness campaigns, and founding the Christmas Dinners, a nationwide initiative for young care leavers. Sissay uses his platform to promote justice, empathy, and support for marginalized youth, making him a powerful voice for change in social care and beyond. External Website

Authors N Crackers and Milk ➝ Back to Top

Autobiography/Memoir Why Richard Kingsmill is is My God Davida Bache 2015 Davida Bache moved around in foster care as a child and as a consequence her schooling was disrupted. She entered university as a mature age student, doing a Bachelor of Visual Arts at the University of Adelaide. External Website

Authors H The Mythmakers ➝ Back to Top