Diane Mancuso Releases 'Australia's Shame'

Author Diane Mancuso is one of the 500,000 "Forgotten Australians"; she was removed by the state government and placed in an orphanage. She was only seven years old when all of her siblings were split apart, shattering the only family she knew. They all grew up in dysfunctional families where they were unwanted and grew up to become strangers to each other. Now, she tells her story, and those of countless others, unsung victims of the same system that produced the "Stolen Generations," those who lived through "Australia's Shame."

Despite enduring similar ordeals as the indigenous peoples constituting the "Stolen Generation," the "Forgotten Australians" are not as well known and, consequently, do not receive government compensation, unlike the former. Mancuso aims to redress this by showing the plight of her people, those whose childhoods were forever changed during the early 1950s to the 70s, youths who were subjected to cruelties with no one to turn to for aid. Mancuso's uncompromising account of her father, who abused her daughter for 10 years before taking his own life, and her best friend who committed suicide after being brutally raped, will show readers the true extent of the foster care system the author dubs as "Australia's Shame."

"I believe that the public should be made informed of what happened to all these children and maybe it will get them discussing the injustice of why the color of our skin should make a difference in determining our needs as adults when we all had the same exploitation," Mancuso proclaims.

Those familiar with the Royal Commission into child abuse will know that this is a highly relevant topic that affects not only the thousands of Forgotten Australians, but also their families and loved ones, those whose lives they have touched, and those who care for them and have witnessed the wounds they still bear.

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Australia's Shame * by Diane Mancuso and Simon Houlders
A Collaboration by Diane Mancuso and Simon Houlders
Publication Date: March 5, 2014
Trade Paperback; AU$29.99; 110 pages; 9781493133406
e-book; AU$21.30; 9781493133413

Members of the media who wish to review this book may request a complimentary paperback copy by contacting the publisher at 1-800-455-039. To purchase copies of the book for resale, please fax Xlibris at (02) 8088 6078 or call 1-800-455-039.

Xlibris books can be purchased at Xlibris bookstore. For more information, contact Xlibris at 1-800-455-039 or on the web at http://www.Xlibris.com.au.

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