The Brightness of Stars: Stories from Care Experienced Adults to Inspire Change

In this poignant book, Lisa Cherry brings together a collection of candid and personal reflections on the care system in the UK, offering alternative ways of thinking about the care experience, supporting better ways of working, and providing justification for a trauma-informed lens to be applied to all forms of work with those in care.

Lisa Cherry is not only a great thinker and writer, she's a deeply wise, insightful, courageous, lovingand humane presence, with a truly remarkable capacity to communicate how she transformed her childhood of neglect, pain and trauma, including being in care from the age of 13, into a life of personal growth, healing and helping the vulnerable. The other immensely impressive care experienced adults she brings together to tell their stories in this wonderful book do the same. The result [This] is a truly inspirational book that provides the vital ingredient of hope that is usually missing from such analyses, along with countless insights into how vulnerable children, adults and families can be helped. Professor Harry Ferguson, Department of Social Work and Social Care, University of Birmingham This new edition of the 'The Brightness of Stars' powerfully captures the lives of adults who have experienced care. It is an enlightening book which includes their current reflections on their original stories told in 2013, as well as additional contributions. There is much to learn in these stories about how care casts a long shadow on their adult lives, as well the development of resilience in adulthood through love, education, human agency, support and self-fulfilment. This book is essential reading for all those who work with care experienced young people and adults, as well as those who care about how society does or does not care for its most vulnerable children. Professor Mike Stein, University of York, author of 'Care Less Lives: The Story of the Rights Movement of Young People in Care' Profound and deeply moving, these personal accounts of care experienced individuals speak of their courage, strength and resilience in the face of adversity. Skilfully and sensitively curated by Lisa Cherry, who also shares her own story, this is a masterclass for those of us seeking to learn by walking in the shoes of those with lived experience. Please do read this book. It has given me new insight into myself and into the work that has been my life's passion. Charlotte Ramsden, Strategic Director for People, Salford City Council The contributors to this collection (all, but one, raised in care as children) are of various ages and cross the generations. Their chapters are like a Christmas bran tub, full of gifts of different shapes and sizes. That the stories also run the gamut of care experiences, from the positive to the traumatic, reflects the kaleidoscopic reality of that experience. It is a particularly welcome feature of the book, since it challenges the tendency to stereotype both the care experience and those who go through it. For me, having read through the chapters was like sitting there as a child, on Christmas morning, surrounded by wrapping paper and delighted by the variety of presents I'd uncovered. Dr Jim Goddard, Chair of The Care Leavers Association

Autorentext

Lisa Cherry is a leading international trainer and consultant, specialising in assisting professionals working with vulnerable children and families to understand trauma, recovery and resilience. Lisa brings nearly three decades of working in educational and social care settings and a 30-year journey of recovery in overcoming her own experiences of trauma.

Inhalt

Foreword, Preface, References, Acknowledgements, Contributors, Care Home Flickerings, Introduction, 1970-1980, 1980-1983, 1983, 1984-1985, 1986, 1987-1989, 1990, 2021, Tim - Education, Jane - Recovery, Noel - Identity, Dianne - Connection, Carrie - Strength, Pav - Integrity, Siani - Visibility, Rosie - Literature, Isabelle - Love, Sean - Care Activism, Jamie - Growth, Shaunna - Relationships, Conclusion, Mentors, Index