The Unthinkable

A Story of Control, Violence and My Mother

By: David Challen

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Paperback | 10 June 2025 | Edition Number 1

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'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 mother and helped change the legal system, but also became a voice for the countless victims of coercive control across the country.

This is a powerful story of a son's love for his mother; of an insidious form of abuse that must be better understood if we are to truly tackle it; and fight that reshaped how society understands domestic abuse.

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