{"product_id":"brick-walls-and-broken-systems-annie-barrett-9781764277105","title":"Brick walls and broken systems: One woman's way through - Maxine Griffith's Story","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAt the age of 19 in the 1970s, Maxine Griffiths met three-year-old Don\u003c\/strong\u003e. He had been abandoned and placed in an\u003cstrong\u003e horrific institution\u003c\/strong\u003e. Don's body was twisted with cerebral palsy; he had no words and no hope. \u003cstrong\u003eAnd, when Don crept into Maxine's heart, he changed her life.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo save Don from a cruel future in the \u003cstrong\u003eRoyal Derwent Hospital\u003c\/strong\u003e, the old mental asylum where people with disabilities lived, Maxine fought to rescue and \u003cstrong\u003efoster\u003c\/strong\u003e Don. \u003cstrong\u003eSill young and single she took on Tasmania's conservative institutions, and became an advocate and pioneer for the rights of people with disabilities. She never took 'no' for an answer and helped Tasmania step out of its shocking past. \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMaxine had a shocking past of her own. \u003cstrong\u003eHer own experience of family poverty, along with the trauma of family violence and abuse spurred her on to fight injustice to make a difference for others.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDespite an interrupted education and leaving school after year ten, Maxine later became the CEO of various community organisations.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThemes of\u003cstrong\u003e loss and betrayal\u003c\/strong\u003e were threaded through Maxine's adulthood as she explored her \u003cstrong\u003esexuality and relationships\u003c\/strong\u003e. She did not want to be defined or labelled in any way and she didn't want that for Don either.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMaxine saved Don's life and he saved hers. \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis deeply moving story is about survival and redemption and what motivates us to save others. \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Annie Barrett\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1764277104\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781764277105\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Gaynor Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/28\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 268\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.80lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.61d","brand":"Annie Barrett","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48520260550911,"sku":"9781764277105","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_d8eeb05b-4096-4907-8b53-dd9956ffc255.jpg?v=1778741692","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/brick-walls-and-broken-systems-annie-barrett-9781764277105","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}