Max is a hospital doctor,
author and columnist. He
currently works full time in
mental health for the NHS.
His new book, The
Marvellous Adventure of
Being Human, is out nowA deeply traumatised young
patient is shown that her
life matters
L
ife is not fair, I conclude,
as I sit and listen to Joanna.
“It started after my mum
left”, she explains. “I was
just so scared he’d start
doing it to my sister, I let him keep
doing it to me”. For three years
Joanna’s father sexually abused her.
Eventually she told a teacher, who
reported it to the police. Joanna
and her younger sister were taken
into care. Late one night, before her
father was due in court, he took his
own life. Joanna has had no contactBreaking
The Cycle
with her mother since the day she
left and six months ago her sister was
killed in a road traffic accident. She is
now totally alone in the world. At the
tender age of 14, she has already had
to endure more horrors than most
people experience in a lifetime.
She blames herself for her mother
leaving, her father’s suicide and her
sister’s death. She is wracked with
guilt, yet the truth is that Joanna
is not to blame for any of this. She46 • DECEMBER 2021HEALTHEditor's note: This article contains frank discussion of suicide, self-harm,
abuse and other topics some readers may find upsetting