In There’s a Glob on My Wing, Marion Joile Lincoln delivers a raw and unflinching account of her fight to protect her daughter from an abusive father. As a child protection expert, she found herself confronting the very systems she helped develop. Through a deeply personal lens, the book reveals the devastating failures of the Australian Family Court and Child Protection Services, which prioritized parental rights over the safety of vulnerable children.

Told from multiple perspectives—The Woman, The Narrator, The Doctor, and The Child—this compelling narrative captures the harrowing realities of abuse, trauma, and systemic injustice. Lincoln shares her daughter Tulsi’s growing distress, the behavioural changes that exposed her trauma, and the profound challenges of proving abuse in a system riddled with bias. The story highlights the resilience of a mother’s love and her unyielding determination to advocate for her child, even when dismissed as vindictive or over-anxious.

Lincoln’s journey is both heartbreaking and illuminating, offering insights into the psychology of trauma and the courage it takes to seek justice against insurmountable odds. This powerful memoir underscores the urgent need for systemic reform and stands as a testament to the enduring strength of a mother fighting for her child’s safety.

Marion Joile Lincoln grew up in Africa. She was born in rural Kenya, in a tiny village wedged into the eastern scarp of the Great Rift Valley. Her father was the regional Government Law Officer. She loved going with him in the dusty Land Rover to settle some dispute or other, such as which tribe owned the meat of a newly dead elephant. At night, she and her sister could hear the lions roaring, and the alarm of weaver birds if a snake slithered into their nests. Later, the family migrated to Australia, where Marion completed her schooling and medical training. She continues to work as a trauma counsellor and family therapist. She attends to small tasks of funding bread for children in war zones and scooping bees struggling in rain puddles.