Abuse memoirs/abuse as part of a story

[aworklifebalance]

Are specific agents and publishers interested in abuse memoirs, or do people who want to write abuse memoirs usually self publish? Does it make a difference if the abuse is domestic violence or child abuse?

Also, if historic child or current DV abuse is part of a story, say one or two chapters worth, and so the book has other things going on, is that popular (for want of a better word) commercially or a bit of a no no? And again, would specific agents or publishers be more or less interested in stories like that, or does it just depend?

No clue about memoirs, though I imagine, as with anything, you’d need to pitch it well, and make a case for why it stands out in the market — which, if it’s about your own past, could be a traumatising and dispiriting experience.

I think child abuse is now very common in all kinds of novels to the extent that it’s now shorthand for ‘why Character X is like that’. Some hugely popular literary novels of the last few years have featured it as backstory to major characters. Again, a lot will depend on your genre — your hard-bitten detective having a background of child abuse in a foster home will go down more easily than an abused child showing up in a cheery chick lit novel that’s mostly about shopping and finding Mr Right...?

That all makes sense! Are you aware of any novels which covers abuse in children's homes, just out of interest? Or which involves the workings of child protection/social workers as part of the story?