Glossop based author Madison Alexander Day has released a new book, “Despite it All” 

Madison Day is an author and public speaker on Munchausen by proxy and Childhood trauma. Her first release ‘Despite It All’, is a true story of trauma and triumph. 

The writer from Glossop looks back on her past in the memoir: “It’s about childhood trauma in general, but very specifically, it’s about kind of surviving a childhood of living with a mother with Munchausen by proxy.

“So, I’m trying to raise awareness of Munchausen by proxy.”

The book is about not only her story: “it’s actually the story of me and my brother who kind of survived that childhood together.”

Munchausen syndrome by proxy, also known as fabricated or induced illness (FII), is a mental illness and a form of child abuse where the caretaker of a child either makes up, fakes or causes symptoms to make it look like a child is sick. 

 When writing the book Madison worked close with many experts: “I liaised quite closely with Dr. Marc Feldman, who is a professor in psychiatry and psychology at the University of Alabama. He’s also an expert in Munchausen by proxy. 

 Madison has always wanted to write a book about her childhood because she didn’t know anyone who had a childhood like hers: “to be perfectly honest I didn’t even know what Munchausen by proxy was until my late 20’s. So I wanted to write about it as a concept. Before I even knew it had a name, I knew it was something that was different, and I wanted to share my story.

“I’ve not done that until now. It’s something I’ve wanted to do in my whole adulthood, and I’ve only just really had the time to do it in the last couple of years.” 

 Madison Day graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2001 with a degree in Applied Community Studies. She then became a senior lecturer and has taught worldwide. 

 “I taught in the Faculty of Education!largely around Childhood Studies, which is where I learned a lot of my own abuse if you like, and so I learned about complex trauma. I learned about myself as much as I learnt about the subject area.”

On the blurb for ‘Despite it all’ Madison describes her upbringing as a “tumultuous journey, marked by perpetual hunger and unrelenting fear.

 “A unique and honest account teeming with deception and cruelty, the book plunges the reader into a relentless whirlwind of secrets and betrayal, as it delves deep into the darkest corners of human nature.”

Madison has a book launch coming up at the Norfolk Arms in Glossop on Friday 10th November at 7:30pm.

 The event is free and a live band will also be there. Madison will be doing book signings andwill be available to have discussions around the topic on Friday evening.

 ‘Despite it all’ can be bought on Amazon, or if you’re heading to the book launch event Madison will have copies available to be bought from her.