Say Nothing: The Harrowing Truth about Auntie's Children

by Josephine Duthie

Say Nothing is the moving true story of four neglected siblings who were uprooted from their Glasgow home and sent to a small croft in the north-east of Scotland. They became trapped in what seemed like a bygone era with an old woman devoid of any emotion, compassion or understanding. For ten years, they endured daily beatings, an onslaught of physical and mental abuse, and dealt with every aspect of mistreatment at the hands of an inexperienced foster mother.  The lack of nourishment and affection disturbed every minute of their day; they ate cat food and hugged any animal that would let them. They came to depend on the friendship and loyalty of a collie dog, who cried and whined with them when they were locked in a shed and lay in the fields with them when they were hiding from "Auntie." The children's cries for help were ignored and misunderstood in the naive social-work climate of the late 1950s, and this heartbreaking personal account of cruelty and neglect reveals the effect this maltreatment had on their ability to adjust to a normal adult life. Say Nothing was written as a voice of support for all abused children who were afraid or never had the chance to tell their story.

336 pages, Paperback

First published February 2, 2012

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the story compelling in that it shows the power of the human spirit to overcome hopelessness, and all kinds of abuse and adversity. I found it not to be well written, in that there is not much sense of chronology. Since it is a memoir it may reflect how the memories came back, but a good editor should have made it more, shall I say coherent?

[Fionna Judith Kinghorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

Very good book and easy to read. I live in the area so know a lot of the places mentioned.

[Karen Barber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

Very good read. Sad story to read as its a true one. Hard to believe people can be so cruel