Adam Rainford, author of The Seventh Magpie, was sexually abused as a child by his table tennis coach. Too ashamed to tell anyone, he buried his secret, which festered and grew. He’s now an Advocate.

Why The Seventh Magpie Was Written

For decades, I hid that I’d been abused as a child. As I grew into middle age, the seemingly constant stream of press revelations was increasingly difficult for me to emotionally cope with. I imagine many other victims, who are now middle-aged, are also in this position. I eventually reported that I was a victim to the police and immediately struggled even more which made no sense to me – surely I should have felt better? I’d finally admitted to someone what had happened. But I felt worse.

I looked for a book aimed at victims of historic abuse (i.e. me), who were trying to understand why admitting this so many years later was so difficult. I found books describing actual abuse, and textbooks that referred to psychological models that I didn’t know how to use. But I couldn’t find a single book that shared real life experience in a way I could relate to. I also tried to find a description of the legal process, which to me as a layman was baffling. The police were great, but unless I pressed for information, they tended only to highlight the next couple of steps in the process.

The police referred me to Survivors, a charity, and I wrote as I went through their support sessions. Initially, so I could answer, “So, what’s happened since you were last here”. But I discovered writing also helped me to turn raw emotions into rational sentences, which I used as prompts in the support sessions. The Seventh Magpie was written from these notes and describes my story as it happened, not in hindsight.

If I’d suffered these problems, then it’s inevitable that many child abuse victims, who are now adults, are also wondering, “What happens if I come forward? What help is there for me?” Hopefully my book answers at least some of their questions.

My own experience ended positively, I saw my abuser sent to prison for several years, which also meant that he couldn’t hurt anyone else (the police thought he may still be active).  I have the satisfaction of knowing that some children are protected now. If other victims see my story, and feel able to come forward, then we can protect more children.

I would like other people to know that there is a lot of help out there to support victims of abuse, even if it happened many years ago – my experience hopefully shows that people can get the help they need and that justice can still be done.

You can buy his book here.