Episode 6
The Happiest Girl in the Room
From age four, she was groomed and sexually abused by her grandfather—seen by the family as gruff but loving. In plain sight, he pulled her onto his lap; no one noticed her terror. Alone, his abuse escalated, masked as “love” and “our secret.” When a cousin walked in, she hoped for rescue—but silence followed. She survived by dissociating, becoming the “happiest girl in the room,” enduring rape, stalking, and domestic violence while burying her pain. Even after escaping a controlling partner, she was drugged and raped by someone she trusted, told, “No one will believe you—you have a history.” At her lowest, her daughter’s words—“Mama, I’m so proud of you”—saved her. Now, she’s healing, understanding her compliance was survival, not weakness. This isn’t a story of brokenness, but of reclaiming her voice and choosing herself.
L-R: Producer Tanya Lee, Narrator Kathy Lette and the story-teller Melanie Jai.
Kathy Lette
Kathy Lette first achieved succès de scandale as a teenager with the novel Puberty Blues, which was made into a major film and a TV mini-series. She has written 20 bestselling books which have been translated into 19 languages.
Kathy, who divides her time between Sydney and London, is an autodidact (a word she taught herself) but has three honorary doctorates. She is a TV presenter, newspaper and magazine columnist and also an ambassador for Their World, the National Autistic Society and Ambitious About Autism.