Books by Polly Curtis
Polly Curtis is a British journalist and author. She is currently interim chief executive of UK think tank Demos.
Behind Closed Doors: Why We Break Up Families and How to Mend Them
by Polly Curtis
“Behind Closed Doors uncovers the grim realities of children being taken away from parents in Britain today. This is a story that is actually very difficult to get at because of legal restrictions on what you can report from family courts. The book uncovers a profoundly disfunctional system in which the state is prepared to spend money on taking children away from their parents, but not prepared to spend money on helping parents to look after their children properly. It is an oppressive state, no longer trusted by citizens, and one incapable of navigating the multiple complexities of poverty, gender, and race. The book is also an extraordinary study of the way in which class, race and gender interact in profoundly negative ways.
It’s a wonderful example of very long-form investigative reporting into something that people either don’t want investigated or by its nature is difficult to investigate. It’s a very subtle examination of what is a very, very difficult issue. This isn’t a book that is coming up with easy answers: it’s a book that really explains why the issue is so intractable.”
