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The Asylum

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The Asylum

By: Ann Cusack - contributor, Carol Minto, Joe Cusack - contributor
Narrated by: Fiona McNeill
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About this listen

For 46 years, Carol Minto has quietly gone about her life, carrying with her the most extraordinary and heartbreaking secrets.

Born into poverty and with mostly absent parents, Carol helped to raise her nine siblings. But when she was just 11 years old, her older brother began to sexually abuse her. After four years, Carol managed to escape - and ran away from home.

Picked up by social services, they place her at Aston Hall in Derby, a psychiatric hospital now infamous for the ghoulish ‘truth serum’ experiments it carried out on children. Over three years, Carol was stripped, sedated, assaulted and raped by Kenneth Milner, the doctor in charge.

Eventually she is released back into the community, aged 18, and has a daughter. But the baby is taken away for adoption, and Carol’s trauma intensifies. In 2010, Carol finally plucked up the courage to speak out about the abuse she suffered - and received justice, at last.

In The Asylum, Carol tells the full story of how she overcame unimaginable suffering, to find the happiness and solace she has today as a mother and grandmother.

©2021 Ann Cusack (P)2021 W F Howes Abuse Adventurers, Explorers & Survival Relationships Sexual Abuse & Harassment Women Heartfelt
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I couldn’t stop listening there was so much emotion in this book I just want to hug her
LOVED THE BOOK

ABSOLUTELY AWESOME AND HEARTBREAKING

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wow, powerful, the accemt is sometimes hard to understand but it's read beautifully, kind of broken, like Carol

omg

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firstly I am so sorry this happened to you and happens to other girls still today. your story was sad but also showed such strength. xo

strength

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couldn't put it down, well written memory of an innocent child and the horrors many children endured at Aston hall. very sad times.

courageous writer.

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All Of it, I enjoyed the story even though it was very sad and was quite believable of the times.

The lilt of the Scottish accent was wonderful to listen to.

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Poor girl had nowhere to turn amazingly strong woman so glad you had a wonderful son that showed you what families should be 💙

Heart breaking

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So many adversities, it’s mind boggling how someone can have so much loss and rejection. I’m happy Carol experienced a good family although that was marred by loss too. In the end she found her way to heal and cope the best she could and the story forces some self reflection on the reader, along with gratitude. It was read well and with the same reader all the way through, it made the listener feel like the child inside of Carol was still the one looking for answers and finding her way at the end. It’s a recommended reading for sure.

Finding a way forward and not giving up

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Carol Minto tells her life story of hardship and heartache so eloquently and yet she has managed somehow to live through what seems a never ending nightmare. This story will have you in tears and almost feeling her despair, and you keep willing her to reach a peace within herself. After the loss of her husband and his courage he passed to her she has gone on to be a formidable woman, mother & grandmother. I wish her peace and happiness, and thank you for sharing your life.

A True Survivor

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I couldn’t put this book down. I’m so pleased it had a good ending. Three hallelujahs to you Carol for all of your courage. I really wish you all the happiness for the rest of your life.

Amazing very very sad story

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What a brave woman to make a stance and to her son. What a wonderful man.

How lucky are we to not have to go through what those poor people did.

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