‘Not all abusive relationships can be measured in broken bones and bruises. Not all abusive relationships are visible to the untrained eye.’ - Helen Walmsley-Johnson
For more than a year, the unfolding story of Helen Titchener has gripped the residents of Ambridge and, via Radio 4’s long-running drama The Archers, the nation. Now, found not guilty, freed from prison and with her children at last restored to her, Helen is free to get on with her life. But her abusive husband Rob is still in Ambridge and the story is not yet over.
As the story developed, one listener shuddered as what was happening to the fictional Helen brought back painful memories of what she herself had gone through. Not once, but twice. When Helen Walmsley-Johnson published a remarkably frank piece about her experiences as a victim of abuse in the New Statesman, she received an overwhelming response. Since then, Helen has been an active presence in the media as a commentator on coercive abuse. In her as yet untitled memoir, Helen will describe with typically clear-sighted candour how very easy it is to succumb to this form of domestic abuse, but – more importantly – how to survive it and rebuild your life.
Non-Fiction Editorial Director Georgina Morley said, ‘I am thrilled to be publishing Helen. We first met on Twitter, where her bracing tweetalong to the Archers omnibus has won her countless friends and fans. Now, she tells her own story – and the story of so many women who have suffered from abusive partners. Her book will find a wide readership and will, I have no doubt, help many women find the courage to tell their stories and to seek help.’
Helen Walmsley-Johnson said, ‘I hadn’t been able to give a name to my experiences until I read the Home Office list of typical behaviour in a coercive relationship; I read it because of Helen’s story in The Archers, and it rang a number of bells for me personally. I have to thank the women (and men) who got in touch after I wrote that first piece back in February, for starting me on the path to this book: I will endeavour to be as ‘bracing’ as my Twitter feed in seeing it through to completion under expert eye of George Morley and Pan Macmillan, and am delighted to be able to keep this important conversation going.’
Macmillan acquired UK & Commonwealth rights from Juliet Pickering at Blake Friedmann and will publish in early 2018.
For further information please contact Sarah Patel in the Pan Macmillan press office on 020 7014 6187 or email sarah.patel@macmillan.com
About Pan Macmillan
Pan Macmillan is the UK general book publishing arm of the Macmillan Group, which operates in over 70 countries. Its imprints include Macmillan, Mantle, Pan, Picador, Bluebird, Boxtree, Sidgwick & Jackson, Bello, Tor, Macmillan Children's Books, Campbell Books, Macmillan New Writing and Macmillan Digital Audio.