Overview

This book is all about the care system, and it's written by people who have experienced it first-hand. Free Loaves on Fridays is an anthology of stories, poems, reflections and letters by more than 100 care-experienced people, which aims to challenge worn-out stereotypes. This collection gives voice to diverse experiences including foster care, adoption, kinship care and semi-independent living, among others. Headlines written about care often entrench negative ideas and dominate the narrative, leaving care-experienced people with nothing but crumbs. This anthology is an opportunity to redirect the dialogue and present a window into a world that has been overlooked for too long. Free Loaves on Fridays presents a spectrum of joy and sadness, laughter and tears, love and loss, and reminds us that bread tastes so much better when it’s been chosen. 'Incredible read and desperately important . . . This perfectly structured and perfectly edited collection should be on everybody’s must-read list for 2024’ Lucy Easthope, Sunday Times-bestselling author of When the Dust Settles 'The most important book you will read in 2024. Absolutely gripped from the first page. It is more than just a book’ Chris Wild, author of The State of It and Damaged 'Please do read Free Loaves on Fridays, it’s an emotional journey that will make you cry and laugh. But most of all understand the reality of our care system and why it absolutely must change' Emma Lewell-Buck, MP for South Shields and former social worker

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9781800183001

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Reviews

'A raw and emotive account of the real care sector and the most important book you will read in 2024. Absolutely gripped from the first page. It is more than just a book’ Chris Wild, author of The State of It and Damaged 'Free Loaves is an incredibly poignant and powerful book and shines a light on the courage, bravery, creativity and individual uniqueness of each care-experienced child, young person and adult contributor. It has been a privilege and honour to read this book. This is a must-read for every social worker, we must hear and learn from the voices of the care-experienced community, and influence and change practice and systems for the better’ Maris Stratulis, the national director for the British Association of Social Workers

'Free Loaves is an incredibly poignant and powerful book and shines a light on the courage, bravery, creativity and individual uniqueness of each care-experienced child, young person and adult contributor. It has been a privilege and honour to read this book. This is a must-read for every social worker, we must hear and learn from the voices of the care-experienced community, and influence and change practice and systems for the better. All of the contributors hold the reader's attention with their powerful testimonies, storytelling, humour and sharing the challenges that they have experienced. What makes this book so rich is its authenticity and the sense of connection with those with lived experience, a very emotive, rollercoaster read. The content of this book cannot be ignored, collectively we need to improve the lives and experiences of children in care, and actively listen to their voices’ Maris Stratulis, the national director for the British Association of Social Workers

Author Information

Rebekah Pierre lives in south London and is a care-experienced writer and campaigner with a background in child protection social work. She has written extensively about the care system, and has appeared in publications including the Guardian, the Independent, and on BBC Radio 4 among others. Rebekah has drawn upon her lived experience to expose wider policy failures. Her peer-reviewed journal, 'Revisiting Diary Entries from Care: An Exposition of the Challenges of Unregulated Placement Settings', is the first-known auto-ethnographic paper to feature childhood diary extracts written while in the care of the state. @RebekahPierre92

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