Co-written by Ann Cusack, the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Asylum, The Convent, Silent Sisters and Abandoned
A woman who was sexually abused by her own father and later gave birth to his daughter is now running a support group which spans 30 countries and has tens of thousands of supporters.
Stace Don, now 36, was taken into foster care as a baby after being neglected by her parents. For seven years, she lived an idyllic life, believing her foster parents were her real parents. But a chance encounter with her natural father, Nigel Taylor, shattered her happiness and she was later moved from her foster home, away from the family she loved.
Upset and angry that she had been lied to, and confused about her own identity, Stace spent the remainder of her childhood flipping between different homes. Aged 17, she visited Nigel Taylor and he refused to let her leave. Over six months, he sexually, physically, and mentally abused her, forcing her to behave in a 'wifely' role; cooking, cleaning, washing.
He paraded her as his partner in pubs and in shops, and even took her house-hunting, claiming they would live as a couple. She was also expected to have sex with him and endure sickening levels of intimacy. Stace fell pregnant aged 18 and, despite her loathing for her father, was determined to keep her baby.
Nigel Taylor was jailed for seven years in April 2011 at Basildon Crown Court after admitting sexual activity with a child family member. Stace now runs a blog and support group for other survivors of sexual abuse. Her daughter, aged 16, is fully supportive of her mother's work.