FAMILY FALLOUT
Young Women Talk About Family Break-Up
Edited by Helen Hines
'People split up all the time. They grow apart or meet someone better or simply fall out of love. But 'people' is not supposed to mean my parents.'
'I was living with foster parents and things were going really well. Then my stepmother came back on the scene. This messed me up big time.'
'We dealt incredibly well with the announcement about our new half-sister. We were excited about her arrival, not jealous, and love her as if she were our real sister.'
In Family Fallout, young women describe what life is like for them when their family falls apart or goes through other big changes. They depict the many contradictory feelings and emotions that happen while learning to live with parents splitting up, adjusting to a step family, or even having to go into care.
Family Fallout shows in no uncertain terms the effect of relationship failure on teenagers today. Sometimes funny, sometimes angry, it lets you know you are not alone.
Helen Hines
worked for seven years at the National Council for One Parent Families, where she produced information for lone parents and jointly managed the Information Team. A published travel writer, she has run several writing workshops, including one for the Federation of Worker Writers, and now has a regular writing group at Walthamstow School for Girls. She loves painting and also works as an illustrator and muralist. In her spare time she helps to run self-development courses.