Finding Our Way Home: Women's Accounts of Being Sent to Boarding School

Finding Our Way Home: Women’s Accounts of Being Sent to Boarding School shares the personal stories of sixteen women, all of whom were sent away to board at an early age. Their accounts delve into the depths of long suppressed emotions and feelings, and the lifelong impact that the early separation from their families has had. Much has been written about the impact of ‘boarding school syndrome’ on male boarders, but less about their female counterparts. This book is the first to explore the experience from a purely female perspective, and offers an intriguing insight into the world of boarding schools and the upbringing of girls born in the mid-to-late 20th century. Finding Our Way Home is a book for everyone who ever attended boarding school, as well as psychotherapists and counsellors working with boarding school survivors.

Table of Contents:
Table of Contents Foreword Joy Schaverien Introduction Nikki Simpson Chapter 1: On Becoming a Boarder Louise Sinclair Chapter 2: Skinny Dipping in the Rhine Frances Den Hollander Chapter 3: My Story Natasha Wilson Chapter 4: Being Sent, Then and Now Caroline Giddens Chapter 5: Finding My Way Home Nikki Simpson Chapter 6: Memories From My Formative Years Marianne Simpson Chapter 7: Give and Take Alison Higgs Chapter 8: The Story of a Little Girl Lost Colette Knight Chapter 9: Paradise Lost Isobel Henderson Chapter 10: Sometimes Jo Trotter Chapter 11: Boarding School Musings Margot Oakenby Chapter 12: Privileged Deprivation Marcia Turner Chapter 13: Coming in From the Cold Susanna Hoare Chapter 14: Severe Housemistress Patricia Morris Chapter 15: The Trunk Margaret Laughton Chapter 16: Whispering Walls Elizabeth Routledge Afterword Jane Barclay Afterword: A Psychotherapist’s Reflections Pippa Foster Help and Support/More Information Editor’s Note and Acknowledgements Nikki Simpson

About the Author :
Nikki Simpson is an accredited person-centred counsellor working in private practice with adults and adolescents. Prior to training as a therapist, she worked for Social Services in the Adoption Support Team. She has a passion for photography, nature and mindfulness and lives in Stroud with her partner.

Review :
The stories in this volume contribute women’s voices to the more well known ones of men who suffered in boarding schools. A compelling read; each individual history adds to the picture of the trauma inflicted on children by the separation from their families. These tales from different generations build a picture of the ubiquity of the enduring emotional damage of this tradition. Professor Joy Schaverien Author of Boarding School Syndrome: The Psychological Trauma of the ‘Privileged’ Child. ‘Finding Our Way Home’ is a wonderful resource for those wanting to know more about how boarding school affects people when they are in an institution and what happens to them in life beyond. The evidence provided by these stories very much enriches our understanding of females who have boarded in the last 60 years and more recently. I would highly recommend it to anyone researching this field and who seeks authentic voices of those who have lived through this experience. Allison Paech, Educationalist, Cambridge Every child has the right to be small, dependent and living with their loved ones at home. In this collection of women’s stories each one evokes the voice of her young self as she writes about her boarding school experiences. This can help us gain some insight into the ‘madness’ and at times, unspeakable cruelty that boarding means to many. . . By speaking out, these women will hopefully move and inspire others who seek to understand why their symptoms of being a boarding school survivor will not simply go away. Nicola Miller, Psychotherapist & Boarding School Survivors Facilitation Team