Seven years ago today, Access Denied was released. A poignant, heart-felt story of the relationship between a father and his daughter, and the fight he had to undertake against the cruel, corrupt and dishonest Child Support Agency (CSA) and Family Courts.

It’s as relevant now as it was when it was first released. The travesties that had a life-long effect on the man and his child are still being experienced by those today that have to deal with the Child Maintenance System (CMS) and Family Courts who still lie and mislead people and make unjust and criminal judgements against them.

I’m still immensely proud of the book and how it has helped people – and even saved some of their lives – as they found themselves in the same situation I was in, without support or advice.

If you haven’t read it, you really should. With 100% positive reviews, it’s available in Audiobook, Paperback, Kindle, ePub, iBooks and all other eBook formats, and is a “must read“.

Here’s an excerpt from it:

One of my most precious memories is that of when Kelly and I went to Victoria Park, which leads down to Southampton water.

Kelly was not long at school and we walked along the nature path in the woods that would lead us down to the sea. As we walked through the woods, we came across a raised wooden pathway that enabled you to walk across the ponds and marshy environment.

It was quiet, the sound of traffic dulled into submission by the foliage and trees and only the sound of songbirds, likely warning of the invaders to their territories, could be heard.

Then, suddenly, a loud cracking sound from across the water which sat between the “bridges” we were on and the steep bank that went up several tens of feet opposite was heard. I held Kelly close to me and knelt down, hugging her close and pointing across the water to what I’d seen and urging her not to make any sound by placing my finger to my mouth.

Three deer stood upon the bank, about four feet higher up than we were, above the water line. A moment passed and I caught Kelly smiling, the wondrous sight of these beautiful animals in front of us.

Almost as soon as we’d seen them, they broke their stance and ran up the bank and deeper into the woods. Within seconds, they were gone from view.

It had been a magical moment that Kelly and I shared. Wondrous and almost dream-like in its perfection.

Even now, when I revisit the same spot, I remember that moment and what we shared that no-one else did.

©Copyright David E. Gates.