The Unmarried Mother
By (Author) Sheila Tofield
Penguin Books Ltd
Penguin Books Ltd
22nd May 2013
28th March 2013
United Kingdom
General
Non Fiction
Relationships and families: advice and issues
306.87432092
Paperback
272
Width 129mm, Height 198mm, Spine 17mm
203g
It was a different, less tolerant age . . . Sheila grew up in Rotherham, the daughter of an uncaring mother who made her believe she was useless, stupid and - most painfully of all - unlovable. As a young woman, her worst childhood fears were confirmed when her fianc broke off their engagement without an explanation. Heartbroken and vulnerable, Sheila was easy prey to the worst type of man - a man who turned his back on her when she told him she was carrying his child. In Fifties Britain, an unmarried, pregnant girl received, not sympathy, but censure and contempt. Shunned by most of her family, Sheila ended up in a Church of England home for unmarried mothers, with no apparent alternative than to give up her child for adoption. But when she held her newborn daughter in her arms for the first time, Sheila knew she had to do the unthinkable- bring up her baby on her own in a society that would condemn her for it.
Sheila Tofield was an entrant in Penguin and Saga magazine's hugely successful life story competition. She is a proud grandmother who lives in Chichester. This is her first book.