Book Description
Maria lost her legs when she was five years old, falling between a train and the platform. At 15, she was kidnapped by a group of Gypsies and smuggled to Moscow, where she was forced to beg. She was forced into a Gypsy marriage, repeatedly raped, and eventually fell pregnant. She finally managed to escape to the outskirts of Moscow, where she gave birth to a baby boy. In 2003, the authors met Maria and started an appeal to help her. Heather Mills got involved and Maria was provided with prosthetic legs and was able to change her life around.
From the Publisher
This book will be published April 2005. Royalties from the sale of the book will go towards helping Maria re-build her life.
From the Author
This wonderful, yet heartbreaking true story. Working with Maria has been a life changing experience and we are hoping to bring Maria to the UK for the launch of this book.
About the Author
Freelance Journalists and writers, Robin and Inna Barratt were based in Moscow for almost two years. Robin Barratt won an award for his editorial on Russia's Racism published in 2003 by IMPACT magazine, and has also covered other controversial topics including a look at the life of two gay women struggling in a society where, until recently, being gay was punishable by imprisonment
