A mother tells the tragic story of her children who were sexually abused by her brother – their uncle – over a number of years without her knowing.

She writes in the hope that other parents may learn from her experience

• to recognize the signs that sexual abuse may be occurring
• to know what steps to take if such abuse is discovered
• to care in the best way for an abused child
• to move forward to a stage of recovery.

Her personal anguish, shame and grief at her children’s suffering and her own failure to see what was happening – and her struggle with forgiveness – are expressed powerfully through a series of poems scattered through the narrative.

B J Harvey is a pseudonym