Letters to Sarah
'It has been seventeen years since you went missing, princess. It has been twenty-five years since you were born. There have been too many Christmases without you...'
In the summer of 2000, schoolgirl Sarah Payne went missing from a beach where she played with her siblings.
The nation waited with her whole family as the search for the little girl touched the hearts of everyone in the country. After Sarah's body was found, abducted and murdered by convicted paedophile Roy Whiting, her mother, Sara, spoke of how she had survived those terrible times.
Now, seventeen years later, Sara wants to tell the full story of how she coped then, and how she has survived.
Through a series of letters to her beloved daughter, she takes the reader on a heart-breaking but uplifting journey through every parent's worst nightmare in a moving account of the ultimate emotional survival. It is a story for the little girl who was taken, but a reminder to us all that hope never dies – and love never ends.
5 Star Reviews ★★★★★
I read this book in two days. I could not put it down even though it was heartbreaking to read a lot of it. Sara is truly an amazing person (her partner’s words at the end tell you just that too). This book talks about the heartbreak of losing her daughter and the effect it had on her and her family, but also about the amazing work she has done to make our world a little safer for our children. All the while saying everything to Sarah in the book but she is speaking to us all. I admire her courage in releasing this book as it couldn't have been easy for her. A well recommended read by an inspirational lady.
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Sara Payne's letters to her daughter, Sarah, are a truly inspirational story of huge courage in the face of the most devastating loss of her little girl at only 8 years old. Sara has fought a magnificent battle for justice for her murdered daughter at the hands of paedophile Roy Whiting and for other children who have met a similar fate. Sara describes how her daughter's murder has impacted her health and that of Sarah's father Michael and the trauma it has caused Sarah's three siblings. Sara's story shows the strength of a mother's love despite her heartbreak and the determination to find justice for Sarah and for other children who have been murdered by paedophiles.
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At first I wondered whether I should be reading such private thoughts, but Dr Sara Payne has worked so hard, has gone through so much in the past 17 years that she deserves to be heard. These letters are her legacy of everything she and her family have endured since the tragic murder of her daughter Sarah and it shows the strength that is unending. This is the reality of life after such horrific events. I was left with the feeling of immense respect and admiration for all that Sara has done and continues to do for children everywhere, her daughter Sarah will be so proud of her mummy and siblings.