A powerful memoir of coercive control: abuse that leaves no physical mark but which leaves deep hidden scars.
Helen Walmsley-Johnson is the author of the Guardian's 'The Vintage Years' column, which has 65,000 regular readers. She worked for the Daily Telegraph, before joining the Guardian as Alan Rusbridger's PA for seven years, then began her column. Her book about middle-age, The Invisible Woman, was published to great acclaim in 2015. She lives in Rutland.
Powerful . . . every nerve ending was jangling . . . chilling
*Woman's Hour*
Coercive control may have recently been made illegal in Britain,
but not many women dare to open up about it. Helen Walmsley-Johson
is an exception
*The Times*
A hard book to read, harder I imagine to have written. But
absolutely necessary if you want to understand coercive control.
Read it.
*Suzanne Moore*
Brilliant and engrossing
*David Challen*
At first, Helen Walmsley-Johnson was so desperate to please her
boyfriend Franc that she overlooked his exacting standards, his
overbearing interest in what she wore and who she saw. But before
long, her every move was controlled by the man who claimed to love
her. The scariest part? How easily such behaviour – and worse –
became her new normal.
*You Magazine*
A piercingly accurate depiction of being in a controlling
relationship and how difficult it is to leave
*Dawn Foster*
A forensic investigation into how an intelligent and proud
forty-three year old woman became trapped in an abusive love affair
... a warming subtle realistic narrative of recovery
*TLS*
![]() |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
![]() |