Donna Ford

Books by Donna Ford

What Daddy Did (written with Linda Watson-Brown)

In this haunting and frank account, Donna Ford, the best-selling author of “The Step Child”, writes about the horrific abuse she suffered as a child at the hands of her stepmother and, to a lesser extent, her father, and also about how this abuse continued even after her stepmother left the family home when she was eleven. Donna writes not just about her own traumatic childhood, but of the ill treatment meted out to her siblings and half siblings as well. Abandoned by her real mother when she was tiny, we also learn of Donna’s efforts to find the woman of whom she has only vague memories; the woman who might have made such a difference to Donna’s childhood if she had stayed… By telling the whole story of her Edinburgh childhood, Donna tries to understand why the man who should have loved her the most - her own father - betrayed her the most by allowing men to pay to abuse her and closing his eyes to all that went on. But most astonishing of all is the woman Donna has become: a devoted mother of three and a talented artist and writer.

She is living testament to the power of the human spirit and sincerely hopes that, by reading her story, people will realise that they can overcome anything, as long as they have hope.

Vermilion, August 2008

The Step-Child (written with Linda Watson-Brown)

This is the remarkable life story of Donna Ford who was abused as a young girl by her stepmother in Edinburgh in the 1960s. Donna – a child not yet at school – was beaten on a regular basis, starved, threatened with red-hot pokers, and excluded from all ‘normal’ life. Afraid to even look at her own reflection for years, this beautiful child was told she was lucky to be the victim of abuse – abuse which began as physical and mental, but progressed onto the most appalling sexual attacks. The stepmother was finally sentenced for procuring a minor for sexual abuse in 2003.

This is a harrowing story, but the difference between this account, and the stories of so many others, is that this has a happy ending. Now a successful artist and mother of three, Donna is an amazing woman with an enormous enthusiasm for life and an optimism which completely belies her experiences. The years she has spent restoring both herself and her memories have now come together in this memoir which offers hope through almost unimaginable horror and truly shows the resilience of the human spirit.

The book has been written by the journalist Linda Watson-Brown in full co-operation with Donna.

‘Shocking but profoundly moving’
Daily Mail

‘(Donna Ford) exudes an air of personal strength, a testament to her ability to rise above circumstances that could easily have destroyed her’
Sunday Times

‘Without a doubt, positivity is what flows from Donna Ford’
Edinburgh Evening News

Publication date : May 2006
World Rights: Ebury Press