The Forgotten Child - The powerful true story of a boy abandoned as a baby and left to die

Based on a true story, The Forgotten Child is a heart-breaking memoir of an abandoned newborn baby left to die, his tempestuous upbringing, and how he came through the other side.
It's a freezing winter's night in 1954. A baby boy, a few hours old, is left by his mother, wrapped in nothing but two sheets of newspaper and hidden amongst the undergrowth by a canal bank. An hour later, a late-shift postman is walking wearily home when he hears a faint cry. He finds the newspaper parcel and discovers the newborn, white-cold and whimpering, inside.
After being rushed to hospital and against all odds, the baby survives. He's baptised by the hospital chaplain as Richard.
Everything feels as though it's looking up; Richard is put into local authority care and regains his health. However, after nearly five blissful years in a rural care home filled with loving friends, it soon unfolds that his turbulent start in life is only the beginning...
Based on a devastating true story, this inspirational memoir follows Richard's traumatic birth, abusive childhood, and search for the truth.

About the author

Richard was the name given to the baby found by the canal by the hospital staff. Gallear was the surname of his adoptive abuser. Throughout the trials and terrors of his childhood, Richard survived to tell the tale in The Forgotten Child.

Summary

Based on a true story, The Forgotten Child is a heart-breaking memoir of an abandoned newborn baby left to die, his tempestuous upbringing, and how he came through the other side.

Report

'An incredible story of survival.' The Sun

Product details

• Authors: R. Gallear, Richard Gallear
• Publisher: Element Books
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback
• Released: 31.03.2019
• EAN: 9780008320768
• ISBN: 978-0-00-832076-8
• Dimensions: 129 mm x 198 mm x 21 mm
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature > Letters, diaries; Non-fiction book > Politics, society, business > Biographies, autobiographies; BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Survival, Memoirs, FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS / Adoption & Fostering, FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS / Abuse / Child Abuse, TRUE CRIME / Abductions, Kidnappings & Missing Persons, True stories of heroism, endurance & survival, True stories of heroism, endurance and survival, Child abuse, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Memoirs