Ffyona Campbell (Audio): The Sisters of Mercy: Hidden Abuse Behind a 20,000-Mile Walk

David Jones and Dr Naomi Murphy speak with Ffyona Campbell about her memoir ‘In Black and White’, which recounts the abuse she experienced as a child at the Sisters of Mercy convent boarding school in Midhurst, and the decades-long process of recovering those memories. The conversation explores her efforts to tell her story, find other survivors, and describes the psychological manipulation she says took place at the school.

This is a difficult but important discussion about trauma, memory, and the search for justice. Ffyona, known for her walks across Africa and the USA, also reflects on the girls who offered her support, her life after recovering memories, and why speaking out matters to her.

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Key topics

Ffyona discusses In Black and White, her memoir about being a junior boarder at Midhurst from age eight, and why she wrote it.

She describes a memory-recall process that brought back memories of abuse, and the difficulties she says followed when she tried to report it.

The conversation focuses on the “black and white” room, which Ffyona says was altered to confuse and condition children before abuse.

She recounts how changes to the room, courtyard, curtains, and furniture contributed to what she describes as a deliberate system of psychological manipulation.

Ffyona remembers George, an older girl who recognized that the nuns were “messing with our minds,” and whose resistance helped spark rebellion among the girls.

She recalls Grania, who gave her a tiny red crayon, as a rare source of kindness and solidarity.

Ffyona reflects on a painful incident involving her sister and why she no longer blames herself for it.

She discusses why some survivors find the book difficult to read and the challenges she sees in seeking justice without more corroborating testimony.

Ffyona says she has medical evidence of injuries she believes are consistent with abuse, and raises questions about the Sisters of Mercy’s financial records and assets.

She calls for scrutiny of the Sisters of Mercy and a wider network of religious institutions, and says she hopes survivors will know they are not alone.

Timestamps

00:00 - Introduction to Ffyona Campbell’s memoir and life’s work

02:16 - What In Black and White is about

05:02 - Why she decided to write the book now

06:56 - Writing as a path toward exposing the convent

08:19 - Recovering after homelessness and trauma

10:53 - The strange black and white room

17:19 - How the room was used to torment and confuse children

19:29 - Realizing George understood the abuse too

23:22 - The role of isolation, fear, and the red crayon

31:31 - George, Grania, and the emotional bonds between the girls

34:36 - George forced to fight Sister Catherine

37:14 - Moving into Bracken and new living arrangements

40:07 - Grania’s promise and the burden of memory

42:21 - Trying to tell her parents and being dismissed

47:47 - Why other survivors struggle to read the book

50:41 - Physical evidence and the injuries she says remain

54:13 - Financial concerns and the Sisters of Mercy’s assets

57:00 - How Ffyona believes the convent fit into a wider abuse network

61:14 - Following the money and demanding accountability

62:28 - Why the book matters even without a prosecution