The twenty-first-century challenges faced by many children and teenagers both here in the UK and around the world are increasingly brought to our notice. From the horrors of domestic child abuse and child sex trafficking to online grooming, self-harm, bullying and teenage stabbings, barely a day goes by without reference to the dangers some young people face.
The Runaway addresses these issues head on in a riveting story which focuses on fourteen-year-old Tiago, a teenager of Portuguese heritage who, having suffered multiple types of abuse in his home and bullying at school, runs away to the streets of London. As we follow his journey, these difficult social issues are portrayed in ways that educate and enlighten young readers.
Author Mary Weeks Millard says, ‘One reason I began writing this book was the rise of self-harm among teenagers. As well as having raised three children I worked as a school nursing sister and health educator in South London schools, and was the leader of a Covenanter group of more than thirty teenage girls in the 1980s. I became aware, even then, of some of the problems they faced in their everyday lives. As a counsellor, I met with many adults who were trying to deal with issues that had begun in their youth, and some regularly self-harmed. They gave me more insight into this condition, but also I saw healing and hope come through finding a real Christian faith.’
‘Run, run, as fast as you can,’ had become a mantra that rang in fourteen-year-old Tiago Costa’ s mind every day as he tried to escape from the gang of bullies at school and to burn away the pain of his intolerable situation at home. Could running away be the answer? Things go from bad to worse when, living rough as one of the ‘railway sleepers’ gang, he is made aware that he is wanted by the police as his mother’s boyfriend has accused him of a horrible crime, and he runs once more. Will he ever find peace and security and the love he craves, or see his sister or mother again? Maybe living in a rural place will keep him safe – or should he try to reach Portugal to find his grandparents? Through many difficult situations, Tiago’ s life is changed, and he finds the things for which he was searching.
Mary says, ‘One thing I want my readers to realise is that there is hope for everyone in the love of God, and growing to know and trust Him, whatever they may have faced in the past, have to deal with in the present or may have to overcome in the future. Each person is special to God.’
