Unmarried Mother

Sheila Tofield tells her moving true story about being a single mother in 1950s Britain, in The Unmarried Mother. "A searing, honest testimony". (Lesley Pearse). Sheila grew up in Rotherham, daughter of an uncaring mother who made her believe she was useless, stupid and - most painfully of all - unlovable. Her worst childhood fears where confirmed when, as a young woman, her fiancee left her without an explanation. Heartbroken and vulnerable, she was easy prey to the worst type of man. Someone who walked out when she told him she carried his child. In Fifties Britain, an unmarried, pregnant girl received not sympathy but contempt. When Sheila told her family they turned their backs on her. She ended up in a Church of England home for unmarried mothers, about to give up her child for adoption. But when she saw her daughter's sparkling eyes she knew she had to do the unthinkable: to bring up the baby on her own in a world which would condemn her for it. In The Unmarried Mother - the shocking, powerful memoir - Sheila Tofield describes the harsh reality of being a single mum in the 1950s, with the challenges of finding work, acceptance and, ultimately, the love of a good man. Sheila Tofield is a proud grandmother living in Chichester and The Unmarried Mother is her first book. Her touching story was picked up by Penguin when she entered the hugely successful life story competition with Saga Magazine.