Art in response to trauma: Louise Allen and Maude Julien
Louise Allen and Maude Julien discuss their new memoirs, in which they look back at their abusive childhoods and how art and literature provided a lifeline in very dark times.
The trauma of child abuse lies at the heart of two new memoirs - Louise Allen's Thrown Away Child, and The Only Girl in the World by the French writer Maude Julien.
As they look back over their years of mistreatment by the adults in their lives, they explain how they found solace in art and literature - which provided both a lifeline, and an escape from pain and deprivation that was being inflicted on them from a very early age.
Presenter Stig Abell
Producer Jerome Weatherald.
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Information and Support
If you have been affected by the issues raised in this edition of Front Row, there are organisations that can help:
- The National Association for People Abused in Childhood offers support, advice and guidance to adult survivors of any form if childhood abuse
Call: 0808 801 0331 (10am - 9pm Mon - Thur & 10am - 6pm on Fridays)
Visit the NACAP website
- Samaritans is available 24 hours a day for anyone struggling to cope, and provides a confidential place to talk
Call: 116 123
Visit the Samaritans website
- Childline is a free, 24-hour confidential helpline for children and young people who need to talk
Call: 0800 1111
Visit the Childline website
Louise Allen
Louise Allen's book: Thrown Away Child is available now in paperback, and as an audio download or an Ebook.
Images:
Main image above: Louise Allen with her painting Birth Mother in Ocelot
Image credit: Lloyd Allen
Image to the right: Louise Allen with Sir John Everett Millais' painting of Ophelia at Tate Britain
Maude Julien
The Only Girl in the World: A Memoir by Maude Julien, translated by Adriana Hunter is out now in hardback.
Image: Maude Julien
Image credit: Alain Schmidt
Maude Julien
Image: Maude Julien as a child with her father, Louis Didier
Image credit: Maude Julien
Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Interviewed Guest | Louisa Allen |
| Interviewed Guest | Maude Julien |
| Presenter | Stig Abell |
| Producer | Jerome Weatherald |
Broadcast
- Fri 16 Feb 2018 19:15BBC Radio 4
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Front Row
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
