The Forgotten Child, Richard Gallear
The Forgotten Child, Richard Gallear
20 Rating(s)
List: $24.99 | Sale: $17.50
Club: $12.49

The Forgotten Child

Author: Richard Gallear

Narrator: Mark Elstob

Unabridged: 7 hr 47 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 03/21/2019


Synopsis

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.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Rosina Jones on January 26, 2020

I found this story so difficult to read... Particularly his transition from Field House to the Foster family... I was right there in his shoes. I nearly didn't read on after that journey to his new home but I'm glad I did. Really rather unbelievable story. Soap opera ending for a real life tale.......more

Goodreads review by Maxine-Eloise on January 10, 2025

Based on a true story. This breaks my heart. Very well written and really gripping. Such a sad sad story.......more

Goodreads review by Rosemary on March 10, 2020

So disappointed in this book. As I was reading it, I was continually waiting for Richard to beginning acting out, display some behavioural problems at school, crying, depression or complete mental illness due to the abuse he was suffering. But rather we get a surfacey, cheery, pointless telling of h......more

Goodreads review by Garth on January 24, 2020

This is a story of a newborn’s abandonment in the dead of winter. The unwed mother’s story would be quite another tale and may appear later. The tale is told in the first person as an autobiographical memoir. As with many orphans he has good experiences and bad. After an idyllic experience at a cari......more

Goodreads review by Sara on September 06, 2024

I enjoyed the book but I really would have liked to learn more about Arnold and Pearl and why they even adopted him. It doesn’t make sense that Pearl would bring a young child into an abusive home. What was it that made Arnold such a monster? I really expected to learn that. I realize it’s a memoir......more


Quotes

‘An incredible story of survival.’ The Sun