This anthology portrays the experiences and perceptions of the authors while working with unhappy young people and their families. The poems and comments speak for 'the troubled child' and also voice the difficulties encountered by doctors and others who strive to help children in emotional distress. In many cases a satisfactory outcome hinges on successful mobilisation of the child's own hidden strengths of creativity, humour and resourcefulness. Though based on actual clinical experiences, narratives and situations are fictional in all the poems and names used have been chosen at random. Dr Joan Westaway worked as a consultant child psychiatrist both in Cape Town, South Africa and in London and the Midlands. Prof. Mick Leary was for many years head of the neurology service at the Children's Hospital in Cape Town and subsequently was consultant neurologist at Bristol Royal Children's Hospital.