A good 'study' of what I would call 'toxic shame'

And the redeeming power of love!

Friday 1st Dec Afternoon Play on Radio 4
You have until next Friday to 'listen again' to this broadcast. As they keep them online or 7 days.
See the right hand links menu for the radio 4 afternoon play link.

Wooden Heart: Hattie Naylor's drama is based on the true stories of Jenisch gypsy children who were forcibly removed from their parents by the Swiss authorities.

I'm a big fan of the afternoon play as it sometimes touches on some powerful emotional themes. Not always. But the good ones are very good.

I think its always useful to see these conditions as objectively as possible and stories sometimes help us do that. I loved this story. I think its very emotionally 'accurate', for want of a better word. That always impresses me when someone manages to capture an aspect of the human condition faithfully.
What I particularly like is the way the story shows the 'ordinariness' of the child's acceptance of her lot. This frequently happens with kids. People make the mistake of thinking kids deal really well with things because they do not appear to be passing judgment on their situation, but I see that as wrong. They are in pain, its just they don't realize that they are being persecuted and that they have a right to object. Obviously not all children are like this, but most take the blame for cruel treatment, or chaos around them. Whatever. The story explains it a lot better than I ever could.