Born in the Caribbean, Philomena Jones is abandoned by her mother and left to the mercy of her grandmother, who, after raising eight children and grandchildren, is not capable of dedicating herself to another child. Love-starved, Philomena is easy prey for the island’s new pastor. She leaves home for America, hoping to find her mother, but ends up drifting and battling mental illness.

Relocated to a supportive housing facility, Philomena meets a diverse cast of women who, despite their wildly differing backgrounds and difficulties, share one common bond; their history of abuse. In this most unexpected of places, will Philomena finally find the family she has been longing for?

Born in St. Kitts, Christene A. Browne moved to Regent Park, Canada’s oldest and largest low-income community, in 1970. There she became involved in making videos, going on to attend Ryerson University’s film program. Browne’s first dramatic feature, Another Planet, was the first feature film directed by a Black woman in Canada. In 2011 Browne was awarded the Documentary Filmmaker prize at the Women’s International Film and Television Showcase Visionary Awards. She lives in Toronto.

Christene A. Browne's profile page

This is a thought-provoking narrative that underscores the many ways people can undergo trauma and highlights the importance of mental health care...A good addition to most YA shelves.

School Library Journals

Philomena (Unloved) is mostly disturbing, but it is also encouraging and does have some humorous sections. Though it deals with very dark issues including sexual abuse, mental health, and suicide, in the end it presents a sense of hope and provides a definition of resilience that would otherwise be difficult to convey...Highly Recommended.

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

In her second novel, Philomena (Unloved), Christene A. Browne pushes the conversation around sexual violence and #MeToo forward to include vulnerable women who've not yet had their voices heard.

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