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The Adventures of Bradford References

References & Publications

This page includes published work, presentations, media features, and references that underpin the StoryQuest™ framework and The Adventures of Gabriel. These resources support the mission of empowering children and families through storytelling.

Empowering Stories & Research

  • Markland, K. & Markland, G. (2024). The Adventures of Gabriel. Babysteps Publishing. ISBN: 9798340794543. Website: theadventuresofgabriel.com

  • Markland, K. (2024). From Adversity to Agency: Storytelling as a Tool for Building Children’s Resilience. Journal of Novel Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, ISSN 2573-6264.

  • Markland, K. (Forthcoming, Spring 2025). Storytelling as a Tool for Building Children’s Resilience. Canadian Teacher Magazine (Spring 2025 Edition).

Presentations & Conferences

  • Markland, K. (January 2025).
    From Adversity to Agency: Storytelling as a Tool for Building Children’s Resilience.
    Presented at the British Psychological Society.

  • Markland, K. (Upcoming, Summer 2025).
    From Adversity to Agency: Storytelling as a Tool for Building Children’s Resilience.
    Accepted for presentation at The 13th European Conference on Education (ECE2025).

In the Media

  • Markland, K. (October 2024).
    Featured on Times Radio during the Cheltenham Literature Festival.

  • SHERA Research Group (2024). The Adventures of Gabriel: Stories of Resilience for Children and Mothers in the Family Courts. Published online at: shera-research.com

Foundational Research on Resilience & Narrative Healing

These studies underpin the psychological and therapeutic value of storytelling, emotional expression, and identity-building in children and families.

  • The Enduring Effects of Childhood Abuse (Anda, R.F. et al., 2006) European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 256(3), 174–186.
  • The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study (Felitti, V.J. et al., 1998) American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 14(4), 245–258
  • Narrative Identity: What Is It? What Does It Do? (McAdams, D.P., 2018)
    Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 37(4), 359–372.
  •  Opening Up by Writing It Down: Expressive Writing & Emotional Pain (Pennebaker, J.W., Smyth, J.M., 2016) The Guilford Press.

  •  Neuroscience, Molecular Biology & the Roots of Health Disparities (Shonkoff, J.P., 2012) JAMA, 301(21).

Systemic Challenges & Advocacy Resources

Reports and media that highlight the institutional barriers families face in seeking justice, protection, and voice.

Critical Perspectives on Health & Wellbeing

This section offers resources that question the over-medicalisation of childhood, systemic issues within mental health services, and the institutional framing of wellbeing. These references support broader critiques within The Adventures of Gabriel project, particularly where medical, educational, and judicial systems fail to protect or empower children and families.

  • Deadly Medicines and Organised Crime: How Big Pharma Has Corrupted Healthcare. Gøtzsche, P. C. (2013).  London: Radcliffe Publishing. ISBN: 9781846198847

Written by a Cochrane Collaboration co-founder, this book exposes systemic corruption within the pharmaceutical industry and challenges how modern medicine prioritises profit over health.

  • Limits to Medicine: Medical Nemesis – The Expropriation of Health. Illich, I. (1976).  London: Marion Boyars. ISBN: 0714525138

A foundational critique of institutionalised medicine, arguing that healthcare systems often cause more harm than good by medicalising normal human experiences and eroding self-care.

  • The Myth of the Chemical Cure: A Critique of Psychiatric Drug Treatment. Moncrieff, J. (2009). London: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN: 9780230574310

A rigorous academic deconstruction of psychiatric drug use, challenging the idea that mental illness is caused by chemical imbalances and questioning modern treatment paradigms.

  • The Myth of Autism: Medicalising Men’s and Boys’ Social and Emotional Competence. Timimi, S. (2010). London: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN: 9780230243841

Dr. Sami Timimi, a child psychiatrist, offers a powerful argument against the rapid medicalisation of children, particularly around neurodivergence and social behaviour.

  • Therapy Culture: Cultivating Vulnerability in an Uncertain Age. Furedi, F. (2003). London: Routledge. ISBN: 9780415321595

Explores how modern institutions foster dependency and emotional fragility, often reinforcing the very issues they aim to treat.