Placed in care at a very early age, Paolo Hewitt went to live with a foster family where he endured extreme abuse and humiliation.

Following years of abuse he was sent to Burbank children's home at the age of ten where he met a gang of children. Like him, they were outsiders struggling to find their place in the world. Paolo paints a vivid picture of his coming of age in the children's home; of bruising fights, failed love, brushes with the law and enduring friendships, and describes how his salvation eventually comes through his passion for music and literature.

Gripping and perceptive, The Looked After Kid is a testament to the resilience of children who 'go to sleep at night believing the world to be a dark and terrible place', but wonderfully emerge from the darkness to shine their lights on all.