by Zoë Lake (Editor), T. D. McKinnon (Author)
Beaten by his father from his earliest memories, sexually molested by his maternal grandfather and his maternal step-grandfather, Thomas McKinnon battled through his childhood, confronting serious challenges and learning from painful experiences how to be a survivor.'At the time it seemed I was always fighting: fighting off bullies trying to remove my helmet; fighting off groups of screaming kids shouting "Baldy "; fighting nurses, doctors and my father as they held me down to stick those bloody needles into me. In fact, I felt that I was fighting the whole world, all by myself.'As he pieces together fragments of his memories, from earliest school days to the pains of adolescence and the welcome freedom into young adulthood, the author paints a highly picturesque portrait of his developing personality.A poignant and very personal story, sensitively written, there is a lesson here for everyone. 'I think the lesson I learnt was one of facing my fears, and honouring myself.' Inspirational reading