Robert J Brennan
Three sisters. A brutal childhood. A bond that couldn’t be broken.Growing up in an impoverished Catholic family in North Liverpool, sisters Maureen, Michelle, and Josie know only the harsh, unforgiving realities of a world that turns a blind eye. Behind closed doors, their upbringing is marked by severe mental and physical abuse-hidden in an era when authorities readily accept every parental excuse for the 'accidents' in the home.The sisters’ only lifeline is their beloved Aunt Flo. Religion means little to Flo, but survival means everything. Her hands are cruelly tied; she knows that speaking out or pushing too hard will get her banished from the family forever, leaving her nieces completely unprotected. Forced to walk a tightrope, she does what she can from the sidelines, terrified of losing the girls entirely.From the vulnerability of their early years through the turbulent storms of adolescence, Maureen, Michelle, and Josie have nobody to truly rely on but each other. Together, they must navigate a minefield of trauma and neglect, using their shared love as a shield against the darkness.Three Girls from Bootle is a deeply moving, nostalgic, and triumphant story of survival. It tracks the incredible strength of three young girls who, against all odds, guided each other through the pain of their past toward a hard-won, beautiful absolution.