Fear to Fearless

Every Parent's Fear #5

by Joanna Warrington

Toby’s journey into adulthood is loaded with risk, reward, and resilience.

Book 5 in the hugely popular series on the thalidomide scandal. 100,000 copies sold!

As the children affected by the drug thalidomide move into adulthood, 'Fear to Fearless' explores the impact on families and the unique challenges they faced.

In the summer of 1977, Toby, now a 6th form student is on holiday in Jersey with his thalidomide friends when he finds himself thrust into the limelight during the nation’s celebration of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. Amidst the fun and entertainment and stunning coastal views, Jasper and Toby uncover dark secrets of Bonaparte House where the group are staying.

Back at college, the hidden mysteries captivate Toby’s mind and propel him into the world of public speaking and story writing.

While delving into the history of the house and its wartime connections, Jasper raises potential questions surrounding the origins of thalidomide.

Toby's journey into adulthood is paved with crossroads where tough decisions are made and doors of opportunity open. Along the way he discovers his competitive edge and a hidden talent. This leads to internal conflict as he tries to decide which path to take.

Toby's affection blossoms for the women in his life and he is forced to navigate the complexities of love and relationships.

'Fear to Fearless' is part of the series, Every Parent's Fear, a story inspired by the thalidomide scandal. It can be enjoyed standalone, or part of the series.

294 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 20, 2024

About the author

Joanna Warrington is a divorced mother to three children. Two have flown the nest. She has written seven books and writing is now firmly in her blood. She began writing as a cathartic exercise when her first child died and it snowballed from there.

She lives in West Sussex England and is a frequent visitor to various local cafes where she enjoys reading and eating cake.

Reviews

[Helen Christmas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have followed Toby's story from the beginning, from his birth to his teens. Toby is an intriguing, likeable character, but added to the pressures of growing up, he has had to overcome the struggles of disability, as well as prejudices in society. The Thalidomide scandal is a shocking one, in which the author delves deep into the lives of survivors and families affected. However, at times it seemed a little overloaded with information about disability, and to me, read more like an essay than a novel. I like to be informed, but somehow it didn't quite have the momentum of the last 2 books, which were filled with more drama and excitement. The author has obviously done a lot of research and it was interesting to see how Toby evolved as a person. There were some loose ends and the book was left hanging, so I look forward to discovering what happens in the next instalment.

[Wendy Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is what I thought was the final book of Every Parent’s Fear series based mostly on the thalidomide scandal. This book mostly follows Toby, the one that was born with just flaps for arms as a result of his biological mother taking this drug for morning sickness. This series has been very interesting and thought provoking. My original interest was due to my youngest sister being a thalidomides baby born quite prematurely but with no handicap. My thought so far his the books could have been combined into a shorter series and the writing a little smoother. It felt kind of jumpy at times but let’s read book 6 first. I do recommend educating yourself on this black mark in history

[Annette O'grady]

found this book rather interesting to read and shows how the different people that were affected have tried to get past their difficulties not only with their disability but the family life and other people prejudices of their disability. even today their are still people that are prejudice around disabilities.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book of 6 follows the life of Toby from a new born baby through to his adult life and all the fears and worries he comes across has a boy with no arms caused by his mother taking the drug that caused lots of babies to be born with defects

[j connolly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Enjoyed all five books is there a book six would love to know what happened after this was horrible how they were treated

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book although it would of been good to here more on what Jasper did with the tower he inherited and it would of been good to of had more from Bill and Sandy's account as well.