A Guilty Victim: Recovering Creativity after Trauma and Abuse

A Guilty Victim tells the true story of one man’s recovery from childhood trauma, grooming, and sexual abuse at a Catholic boarding school. This contemporary account of psychotherapy with an adult survivor is written with the client’s full consent. It includes nine moving and powerful illustrations created by the client to tell his life story.

The complex nature of grooming and abuse is often simplified by those who do not understand it and are left wondering why the victim allowed it to happen. A Guilty Victim challenges that misconception and explains how and why abuse continues and the impact it leaves on the victim’s life. It explains that we remain trapped in situations not because there is something wrong with us, but because of things that have happened to us.

It is unusual to have permission to be able to illustrate the process of psychotherapy in action. William Smith bravely suggested his story be told to help at-risk children by showing adults how to recognise the warning signs in children’s behaviour. His long journey to recovery is also an inspiration to others struggling to come to terms with childhood trauma.

The book is presented in five parts. The first details the start of William’s psychotherapy. Part II takes us back to William’s childhood, a time of traumatic experiences, culminating in him being sent away from England to a Catholic boarding school in Ireland where a priest exploits his vulnerability. Part III continues his life story past school to a life dominated by work and heavy drinking, and marked by his first suicide attempt. His fortunes change when he meets Meg and finds some stability. Years later, when his youngest child leaves home and he has time on his hands, his suicidal feelings return. It is at this point he starts psychotherapy. The penultimate part focuses on William’s creativity and his innovative illustrated timeline of his life. This creative project is a key part of his recovery. Once that is completed, his psychotherapy starts to come to an end, which is the final part of the book.

A Guilty Victim is a human story that will appeal to anyone with an interest in understanding trauma, psychotherapy, wellness and mental health. It is especially relevant to people with responsibility for safeguarding children and vulnerable people. It is a counter to a market saturated by vignettes, fictionalised stories, and life hacks.