With no-one to talk to throughout the trauma, I became isolated. Segregated. My family became strangers unaware of the inner torment I was facing.

Invisible Scars: Maggie Gallagher: 9781800743946: Telegraph Invisible Scars: Maggie Gallagher: 9781800743946: Telegraph

I was unaware of the consequence and the bitter family feud that was developing before my very eyes. I had counselling and they said to write everything down, so it was pen and paper at my dining room table when my children were small and I wrote when they were at school and it just carried on from there. The book is about the first 30 years of my life which I wasn't in control of at that time, there were outside obstacles that I had to try and overcome.Protecting one another through those early traumas seemed impossible as those new nightmares continued within. All the details are in the book and I don't want to give too much away but I wrote quite a lot about the Johnson Fold estate where we were growing up. The book was published two weeks ago and people are buying it I believe, I didn't have much confidence because I know it was trauma to me but I didn't think anybody else would be interested in it but it's been well recieved. I just hope I've given Johnson Fold the justice because it's getting a bad reputation at the minute but it's just absolutely lovely. I desperately fought to keep hold of my own children for what seemed like a lifetime. My heart ached for them. I would have died without my children in my arms.