THE UNTHINKABLE

David is one of the most courageous men I know His book is one that everyone should read to understand coercive control and what it is like to be a child growing up in a house where there is domestic abuse Melanie Brown MBE aka Mel B Unthinkable stares down horror and heartbreak A story told with unflinching courage and a compelling drive for the truth Laura Kuenssberg Beautifully written and deeply moving I found David s book so compelling I read it in one sitting It is a powerful call to action as much as a very personal memoir Samira Ahmed A devastating portrayal of coercive control as depicted by a son Irish Independent When my mum struck it was with the cumulative rage of thirty years of hurt David Challen grew up in the perfect home with the model family He also grew up inside a house which concealed his father s manipulation and control One Saturday in 2010 David s mother struck more than twenty blows to the back of her husband s head with a hammer after thirty years of abuse She then washed the dirty dishes from the lunch she had just cooked and left the house In those few minutes David s life was changed forever Over the next decade he led the fight to overturn her conviction and in doing so he not only freed his moth