Nobody's Child

by Michael Seed (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  2007

  $3.28

  Michael Seed should have received what every child deserves: love, care and attention, and the chance to be just what he was - an innocent young boy. Instead, from as far back as he can remember, Michael's childhood was nothing but a daily ordeal of unspeakable neglect, misery and abuse from a father whose tyranny of fear stole Michael's formative years from him and drove his wife and Michael's mother to suicide. After years of silence, he now feels ready to tell a story that, though shockingly painful, is a testament to one human's remarkable ability to triumph over the most appalling of circumstances. Living under the 'care' of his adoptive parents, life for Michael was hell from the start. Long before his school days, the only lesson he learned was to try and avoid being noticed by his alcoholic father. If he managed this, there was a chance of escaping the daily beatings and extreme verbal abuse he only assumed was part of normal childhood, and it would only be his mother that would receive whatever violence was meted out that day. More often than not, though, Daddy would find time to ensure that both Michael and his Mother felt his wrath together. Then, one awful night, Michael realized that the abuse was escalating to another level when his father began the sexual abuse that would continue for years. The abuse did not stop at home. Once he began school, Michael once again fell victim to terrible bullying and a teacher who violated him repeatedly. After his mother's death, he was sent to his grandmother who, it turned out, was prepared to show no mercy. Michael, it seemed, was destined for a life of inescapable misery. Yet, despite the horror of these years, Michael was ultimately saved by his own will to live, and the books which inspired him to move on and seek a better life. This is the remarkable story of an individual who, against all the odds, managed to preserve his own dignity and finally escape the horrors of a stolen childhood.

• Used

  Paperback
  2008

  $3.28

  'I found it difficult to understand when other children talked of having nightmares in their sleep. For me sleep was the only time when I felt truly safe. The nightmares I dreaded were always waiting for me when I awoke.'Michael Seed should have received what every child deserves: love, care and attention, and the chance to be just what he was - an innocent young boy. Instead, from as far back as he can remember, Michael's childhood was nothing but a daily ordeal. His fight for survival against a brutal and emotionally deranged father threatened to destroy his childish innocence and break his potent young spirit.He was starved, tortured, and forced to become a sex slave to his father at the age of five, and, after his mother's horrific suicide, fell victim to constant and terrible bullying at school. Grandparents, who might have offered protection and love, added to his misery and bruises with callous and calculated cruelty and for years he lived with the constant idea of his own suicide.Yet despite this appalling start in life Michael refused to surrender, and with incredible resilience and determination grew up to become hugely successful and influential in both the church and the secular world. After a lifetime of silence, he now feels able to tell a story that, although shockingly painful, is a blazing testament to one human's raw courage, and his remarkable ability to finally triumph over the horrors of a stolen childhood.This book will assist the NSPCC, the Cardinal Hume Centre for young people at risk and The Passage centre for the homeless.