Thanks to Mirror Books for sending me a physical copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
• Written by Hope Daniels, Sunday Times bestselling author of Hackney Child
• Co-written by the writer of Sunday Times bestsellers The Asylum, The Convent, Silent Sisters and Abandoned
• Inspirational tale of how Hope Daniels overcame her demons and rebuilt her life, winning justice after years of childhood abuse
“In that moment, a single atom of the shame which had weighed on me, and bent me double throughout my life, was lifted. This was the start of my healing.”
After a life in care, with both good and bad experiences of the system, Hope knows all too well what the risks are for children in care as they approach adolescence.
Lacking any sense of self-worth or belonging, children in care are often dismissed by the authorities as impossible to manage and, worse, perceived as children who have invited sexual abuse by placing themselves in ‘dangerous’ situations. They quickly become invisible to the authorities – too old to be perceived as ‘children’ by the system and yet, far too young to be safe in an adult world.
Hope was brought up in care from the age of nine. Until now, she has never spoken about what happened to her once she left the security of her children’s home at the age of 13 and moved into a ‘secure unit’. It may have been secure but it was never ‘safe’.
In this new book, she lifts the lid on this untold chapter of her story and the devastating effects she experienced when she reconnected with her past. This isn’t Love is a book that not only casts blame on the men and women who abuse children in care, but also on those who avert their gazes in the belief that these children are ‘asking for it’.
Hope’s story ends on a hopeful note, championing victims of abuse and encouraging others to tell their story.
A true story of a young girl called Hope Daniels. Heartbreaking and raw, while at the same time bravery shines from every word I read. Hope was born to parents who were addicts, alcohol the addiction of choice. As a young girl, she slept in the same room as her mother and was witness to her mother’s sex work. She was a child who grew up way too soon. She was so mature that she even handed herself and her siblings into the police when things got too bad.
The guilt she feels from requesting for them all to be taken into care is one that lingers today. It was the correct thing to do, but she didn’t realise the care system would chew her up and spit her out as it did. This Isn’t Love recounts her time in care. It is heartbreaking to read how the ststem let her down time and time again. The brutality of the system is clear. There is meant to be safety for vulnerable children, but this book tells a different story.
It made me angry that the UK’s care system let’s children down and, on the other hand its been well known since I was a teenager in the 1980s that the care system is a let down. Hope herself was used and abused even in a secure unit. It isn’t a comfortable read, but it’s one that everyone should read.
Ann Cusack
Ann Cusack is a busy mother of three. She is a hard working journalist and writer; helping people tell their stories to the world.
Ann works under her company name Focus Features and for the past 30 years has been supplying news and features to a wide range of national and international publications. Based in Manchester, she sources, develops, and writes original true-life material.
If you feel you have a book in you, please contact: ann.cusack@focusfeatures.co.uk
Ann has several ghost-written memoirs on the market with more coming soon:
Groomed by A Gang: June 2023
Abandoned: April 2023
A Mother’s Job: October 2022
A Boy with a Pound in his Pocket: April 2022
‘The Asylum‘ published May 2021 (SUNDAY TIMES BEST SELLER)
‘A Family Secret‘ published March 2021
‘The Convent’ – published May 2020 (SUNDAY TIMES BEST SELLER)
‘Silent Sisters’ – Published April 2019
‘Sold In Secret’ published November 2018
sharonbeyondthebooks.uk 