Author(s): Anne Thurston

NZ Biographies | Trauma | Sale Books

Notes from Inside is a narrative memoir about abuse, intergenerational trauma and mental illness – but it is also about how Anne Thurston managed to address and eventually cope with those issues. Her own stories are positioned in relation to those of other women in her family – both ancestors and descendants. She hopes that shedding light on these narratives will give others in similar situations the tools to begin to overcome their own struggles, escape the bonds of abuse and gain a sense of control over the trauma that remains. Anne’s story is powerful and fiercely honest, and it provides a window into a world that many people will recognise but so few are able to talk about. Violence and abuse that occurs within families – and the huge amount of mental distress and harm caused by violence against women and children – so often remains unspoken, unheard and misunderstood. This writing will illuminate the immediate and long-term trauma effects of living in an abusive relationship. These stories, neither sentimental or saccharine, are from one woman’s life, yet in their simplicity and honesty help us find compassion and understanding for those of our friends and family who have been similarly traumatised. — Debbie Hager