Begging

by Mary Hayward

My name is Mary, and my brother was James Phelge of the rolling stones rock band. He lived with Mick Jagger and Kieth Richards in Edith Grove.The book gives a rare insight into the home life I shared with my brother. The story starts in Edmonton, London. It is the story of heartbreak and neglect in the relentless struggle for food amidst the filth of poverty. What is it like for a small girl to starve? When she needs help, she is abandoned and left to struggle alone. A powerful true story of this gutsy child fighting for the life of herself and her little 4 year old sister. At 8 Mary is begging for food and feeding the family. Yet something in Mary keeps going with sheer determination to win though using her own initiative, relying only on herself to keep herself under the social radar. This is the first of three books that chronicles this amazing story of courage and inventiveness, of this child.

Genres: Biography

132 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 3, 2011

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whilst I sympathise with the authors plight and appreciate what a difficult childhood she had, I did not find this to be well written, nor could I easily feel empathy for her level of anger at the world.

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reads like a Lifetime movie. It's a page turner, but in a sad and heartwrenching way. Anyone who's ever gone hungry, witnessed child abuse first hand, or even dealt with the horrible reality of addiction can relate to parts of this. Others can get a glimpse into a world most of us wish didn't exist. All of us could learn strength of character from this young girl. Wow...

[Susanmcquade · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sad story of a young girl with parents who aren't able to put their children's need before their own. The daughter at an early age is sent out to beg for food when her parents are unable or unwilling to provide it. The story isn't set during the Depression. It is during the 1960`s in Great Britain.

[Sherri Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written well

Written well

The was a good story. It kept me interested, but I seem to be always waiting on something big to happen. I would like to read the second book to find out what happens to Mary when she becomes an adult. How begging as a child affects her.

[Nat · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit in the style of Helen Forresters 'Mersey' series but nowhere near as much pathos or as coherently written.

[Jeanine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sad book; a young girl having to keep herself and her baby sister from starving to death or freezing to death no thanks to the drunken, lazy, dad. The parents just completely made me sick.