Out of the Shadows

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I suppose in a way, it will always seem as if it’s a dream. I do tend to find myself sometimes, it’s as if I’m above myself looking down onto me. I’m still trying to come to terms with accepting that my father and Rosemary are murderers. It’s very hard to deal with, and to take in, and some people say that I deal with it very well. I don’t cry for me, I cry for the loss of the families, their children, and I know in every tear I may shed, it’s not going to change anything, but I can honestly say I know how they feel, because even though it was my dad and stepmum, I lost loved ones. I lost my mum, I lost my sisters. So I can say I know how they feel, and maybe some people say I haven’t got a right to say that, but I do. I feel I can see it on both sides, so to speak, and if I have offended anybody by saying that I’m so sorry. I haven’t meant to. Anne experienced her childhood along with her other sibling Heather West. Both of them were subjected to the cruelty of their parents. During this time, her parents were known for the deaths of 10 victims spanning three decades. The second half of Out of the Shadows follows Anne Marie’s transition into adulthood as she confronts her abusers, learns to trust again, and eventually finds happiness in a new life. This section of the book is particularly inspiring as we see Anne Marie reclaim control over her own story and build a better future for herself. It’s an incredible demonstration of strength and courage that will leave readers feeling motivated to conquer their own struggles. When I was eight, I remember very well we had a basement, which was made into a play area, and I was told to go downstairs and to tidy the toys away, the children had been down. I went down, and my father and Rosemary came down, and I felt quite apprehensive, I just didn’t feel right, I felt frightened. I was told that I had to take my clothes off, and I, “Oh, why?” And I just thought, “Don’t ask questions, just do it.” And I was made to lie down, and suddenly these things appeared on the floor. There was a bowl, some towels, ripped sheets, and what I now know as being a vibrator. I asked what they were doing, and they said that all parents did this to their children when they got to that age, and it was to help me, and it would make me a better person, and a better mother and a better wife when I get older.

Out of the Shadows - Anne Marie West, Virginia Hill - Google

Really from then onwards it progressed, and by the age of 10 I was actually made to have sexual intercourse with a gentleman, colored gentleman. And I remember the one time I wasn’t allowed to speak or say anything and I just had to do as I was told, and the one time this gentleman was so big he actually ripped me, and it was so painful and so sore, and Rosemary run me a bath and put salt water in and … never made an issue of anything, so I didn’t … being told that it was happening, it was a norm, and I just accepted it. As a result, Anne ran from the home after Rose gave her a severe stomach beating. This was after she was discharged from the hospital for treatment of an ectopic pregnancy. Likewise, she was raped by her dad who claimed that it was every father’s duty to do that to his daughters. As a result, they had one of the most notorious and chilling cases of modern times. Further information regarding herfamilyin detail is currently under review and will be updated as soon as it is available. Siblings It is known that Anne’s book was released in 1995. Most noteworthy, the book is about her horrifying life story. She was brought up by Fred and Rose West until the age of 15 when she ran away from home. The abuse carried on from the age of eight up until I was 15. When I say abuse, I don’t just mean sexual abuse, it was mental and physical. That’s all in the same. I remember this one time I actually had my cycle, and it had been going on for about three months, and Rosemary eventually decided she better take me to the doctors. I went to the doctors, I was admitted to the hospital. Nothing was said to me, nobody spoke to me. Rosemary didn’t come and see me, my dad didn’t. I was there for a week and they told me that they were going to put me to sleep and have a little look in my tummy, and when I came round, I woke up, I had a drip in my arm, and I had metal clips along the base of my stomach, and it was only when the police with their investigations that I actually found out that I was pregnant off my father, and also I had venereal disease.I felt the writing improved in the second half of the book, Anne Marie West appears to have calmed herself and seems more confident and surer of herself as she expresses how her life has been since leaving home and her first husband. She is now building a new life with her best friend (her partner) and her two children. As this book is now getting older (and more difficult to find a copy of that doesn’t cost a fortune!) I wonder how Anne Marie West is getting on with things now and how her life continues to improve.

Anne Marie West, Fred and Rose Wests Daughter, Interview Anne Marie West, Fred and Rose Wests Daughter, Interview

So maybe they were only acquaintances, I don’t know, or maybe the scale of it, they were frightened. And I was literally being taken pieces out from here, there, and everywhere, I would go up town, I would get spat at, I’d be called a slut, nigger lover, and I had my children with me. It was very, very hard. And I would basically go around in a daze. Marie Westexperienced her childhood along with her other sibling Heather West.Both of them were subjected to the cruelty of their parents. During this time, her parents were known for the deaths of 10 victims spanning three decades. So it wasn’t an unnatural occurrence. That’s the hardest thing I try to get across to people, that I’m here, I’m sat here now, I’m a grown woman. I was only a child at the time, and I didn’t know any different. What actually come to light was the fact that because Charmaine went missing we were both on a register with social services, basically they couldn’t afford to have us both go missing, because Charmaine was, I’ll say the troublesome one, I class her as the brave one, they decided on her. Whereas they needed me to look after the children, and to I suppose put a front up. Anne Marie’s writing style is simple yet effective; it does not attempt to be flashy or overly poetic but rather captures the reader’s attention with its straightforwardness and sincerity. There are some points where the pacing feels slightly rushed – especially during the initial recounting of events – but overall, this serves to make the narrative even more powerful as we feel swept up in Anna Marie’s intense emotions during these moments. It also must have been terribly difficult to put down on paper having had to relive her horrors.I would cry at the slightest thing, and Rosemary did have a temper on her, and like I say, Charmaine would antagonize her, and I would get the brunt of it, and I would … anything just for a bit of peace and quiet, peaceful life. And as regards with dad, I was very much a daddy’s girl. I idolized my dad, whereas Charmaine really was a mummy’s girl. And I loved my dad to bits. We were very close, and jealousy came in when Rosemary came, and she actually put a wedge between us. She would say that I was doing things that I hadn’t, and then Dad would have a go at me, and the closeness did actually … there was a split in it, which was very sad. But a lot of people don’t know as such what happened to me, they didn’t take it in. They’ve just read the headlines about the murders. So they tend to focus on just that side of things, and me being a daughter, the eldest daughter, I have no right to have any feelings, or even have a life. I go to work, I do enjoy my job, I do the best of my ability, I come home, and some nights I’ll sit and cry and I will drink, and that’s nothing to be proud of, I know. But you are always … I have problems sleeping, so partly I drink and I go to sleep, and I do go to work, but the way I feel inside, the pain, I would never ever want anybody to feel. It’s, I can’t even describe how I feel.