Ugly : [the true story of a loveless childhood

The sad story of the troubled childhood and youth of Constance Briscoe, first Black female judge in UK; and the first UK judge to be removed from office for perverting the course of justice. What's bred in the bone comes out in the flesh. I handed my school photograph to my mother. She stared from the photograph to me. `Lord, sweet Lord how come she so ugly. Ugly. Ugly.' These cruel words are just the beginning. Constance's mother systematically abused her daughter, both physically and emotionally, throughout her childhood. Regularly beaten and starved, the child was so desperate she took herself off to Social Services and tried to get taken into care. When Constance was thirteen, her mother simply moved out, leaving her daughter to fend for herself: there was no gas, no electricity and no food. But somehow Constance found the courage to survive her terrible start in life. This is her heartbreaking - and ultimately triumphant - story. [Back cover] Prologue. 1. My Family. 2. An Addition to the Family. 3. A New Father. 4. Christmas Cheer--1965. 5. Ugly--1966. 6. New Shoes--1967-8. 7. Witchcraft--1968. 8. A Good Catholic Girl--1968. 9. I Take the Law into My Own Hands--1969. 10. Jacksonmania--1969. 11. Cinderella Goes to the Ball--1969. 12. The Vanishing Bed--1969. 13. A Saturday Job--1969. 14. Hospital--1969. 15. A School Trip--1970. 16. Good Morning Heartache--1971. 17. A Taste of Paradise--1971. 18. Paradise Lost--1971. 19. Another Christmas--1971. 20. Bye Bye Bem--1972. 21. Home Alone--1972. 22 Playground Bullies--1972. 23. Money of My Own--1972. 24. Hard Times--1972. 25. A Ray of Hope--1972-5. Epilogue. Constance's mother systematically abused her daughter, both physically and emotionally, throughout her childhood. Regularly beaten and starved, the girl was so desperate she took herself off to Social Services and tried to get taken into care. When that failed, she swallowed bleach 'because it kills all known germs and my mother always told me I was a germ'. When Constance was thirteen, her mother simply moved out, leaving her daughter to fend for herself. There was no gas, no electricity and no food. But somehow Constance found the courage to survive her terrible start in life Constance's mother systematically abused her daughter throughout her childhood. Regularly beaten and starved, she tried to get herself taken into care without success and even drank bleach. When she was 13, her mother left her to fend for herself but Constance found the courage to survive and this is her story. The number one bestselling memoir, set to top the charts once more in paperback