The Unthinkable
A Story of Control, Violence and My Mother
$27.02
- Paperback
288 pages
- Release Date
10 June 2025
Summary
“When [my mother] struck, it was with the cumulative rage of 30 years of hurt.”
David Challen grew up in the perfect home with the model family.
David Challen also grew up inside a house which concealed his father’s manipulation and control.
On a Saturday in 2010, his mother struck twenty blows to the back of her husband’s head with a hammer after 35 years of abuse. She then turned off the stove she had been cooking his lunch on and washed the dirty dishes and left the…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781914240270 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1914240278 |
| Author: | David Challen |
| Publisher: | Octopus Publishing Group |
| Imprint: | BRAZEN |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 288 |
| Release Date: | 10 June 2025 |
| Weight: | 276g |
| Dimensions: | 30mm x 236mm x 136mm |
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What They're Saying
Critics Review
‘a devastating portrayal of coercive control as depicted by a son’ * Irish Independent *
‘Unthinkable stares down horror and heartbreak. A story told with unflinching courage and a compelling drive for the truth.’ – Laura Kuenssberg
‘David is one of the most courageous men I know, and I met him when he was campaigning for his mum while she was still in prison. His book is one that everyone should read to understand coercive control, and what it is like to be a child growing up in a house where there is domestic abuse.’ – Melanie Brown OBE, aka Mel B
‘Beautifully written and deeply moving, I found David’s book so compelling I read it in one sitting. It is a powerful call to action as much as a very personal memoir.’ – Samira Ahmed
About The Author
David Challen
David Challen is a domestic abuse campaigner. He successfully campaigned to free his mother in a landmark appeal recognising the lifetime of coercive control she suffered. David continues to speak out against violence against women and is a Prison Advice and Care Trust Ambassador (PACT).
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