7 May 2011
Daily Express
Padraic Flanagan and Tracey Kandohia
Friends revealed that GP Kate McCann, 43 spent five months on the book
Kate McCann reveals today how she forced herself to relive the torment of her daughter Madeleine’s disappearance in a bid to reignite the search.
Friends said she “went to hell and back” to write the book she hopes will find her daughter, recollecting every detail from those first terrifying days four years ago.
She is being thrown back into the global media spotlight as she prepares for the publication of her 400-page memoir titled Madeleine, billed as “the most heartbreaking book you will ever read”.
Friends revealed that GP Kate, 43 spent five months on the book – which goes on sale on Madeleine’s eighth birthday next Thursday – and often broke down reliving her nightmare.
She hopes its launch will be the key to the solution and is using it to appeal to the youngster’s kidnappers to “let her come home”.
“The whole family is undergoing great stress,” said a friend who has been consoling Kate at her home in Rothley, Leicestershire. “Kate’s been in pieces.”
She added: “Not only is the book about her darling daughter, which she never wanted to write, coming out but the family has also had to cope with the emotional fourth anniversary of her abduction.”
The friend said: “Kate is a very private person and doesn’t like being in the public spotlight.
“She only wrote the book because the Find Madeleine Fund set up to search for her daughter was running out of money.
“She has spent the last five months reliving every parent’s worst nightmare. She has only written the book because she feels it could help solve the mystery and could raise millions of pounds for the fund.
“At times it has been heartbreaking but she has tried to keep strong and carried on for Madeleine’s sake. She is now facing a week from hell as the book comes out and she has to do media interviews to keep it in the spotlight.”
The friend said Kate’s six-year-old twins, Sean and Amelie, helped their mother cope.
Family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: “At times reliving her nightmare has reduced her to tears. But it has also given her a great sense of focus and renewed hope that it could lead to her daughter being found.”
He added: “Kate is writing the book to raise awareness of her daughter’s disappearance and to pay private investigators to continue the search. Ultimately, she is hoping and praying it will lead to Madeleine being found alive.”
Three-year-old Madeleine disappeared from the family’s holiday flat in the resort of Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3 2007. Kate and her heart specialist husband Gerry, 42, are convinced the £20 book, to be published worldwide, will help to trigger new leads. They hope sales and syndication deals will raise more than £1million to boost the Find Madeleine fund.
The book was originally due to be released on April 28 but publishers Transworld delayed publication by a fortnight over fears it would clash with the “media frenzy” surrounding the Royal Wedding.
Mr Mitchell said: “We cannot predict if it will be a bestseller but Kate and Gerry are hoping it will sell very well. Every copy sold will assist the search for Madeleine.”
Kate still finds solace in sitting in Madeleine’s pretty pink bedroom twice a day, revealing: “It’s a comforting feeling. We haven’t changed anything.”
She admits she is stronger and her anger – “a horrible negative emotion” – which nearly destroyed her in the months after Madeleine’s disappearance has subsided. She said “The wounds are less raw but the pain doesn’t go away and the anxiety is always there. But I am definitely a lot stronger than a year ago.”
She added: “We’ve got a lot of hope that Madeleine is still alive. The difficult task is trying to find her but whilst there is hope we’ll keep going and will certainly never give up.”
Last Tuesday, the McCanns marked the anniversary with an open-air prayer vigil in their village, attended by relatives and well-wishers. Commenting on the painful experience of writing the book, devout Catholic Kate said: “We pray that it will bring us the result we long for and that not only the book but this whole ordeal and heartache will be behind us before too much longer.”
BOOK REIGNITED MADDIE AGONY
7 May 2011
Daily Express
Padraic Flanagan, Tracey Kandohla
Kate McCann has revealed how she forced herself to relive the torment of her daughter's disappearance to reignite the search for Madeleine.
The 43-year-old GP "went to Hell and back" to recollect every detail from those terrifying days after Madeleine vanished four years ago to write the book she hopes will help trace her missing girl.
The anguished mother is being thrown back into the global spotlight as she prepares for the publication of her 400-page memoir entitled "Madeleine" and billed as "the most heartbreaking book you will ever read".
Kate has spent five months writing the book - which goes on sale on Madeleine's eighth birthday this Thursday - and often broke down as she relived her nightmare.
She is hoping the heartrending account will be the key to unlock the mystery of her daughter's disappearance and is using it to appeal to whoever took the child to "let her come home". The publication is also aimed at keeping afloat the Madeleine Fund, which is steadily running out of money.
Kate and husband Gerry, 42, hope the £20 book will open up new leads in the hunt to find Madeleine.
Kate said: "We pray that it will bring us the result we long for and that not only the book but this whole ordeal and heartache will be behind us before too much longer.
"The wounds are less raw but the pain doesn't go away and the anxiety is always there. But I am definitely a lot stronger than I was a year ago."
She said that Gerry and her twins help her through her darkest days.
"They keep me going," she said. "We've got a lot of hope that Madeleine is still alive.
"The difficult task is trying to find her.
"But whilst there is hope we'll keep going and will certainly never give up."
Last week, the family marked the fourth anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, with a prayer vigil.
The hunt for Maddie has consumed Kate and Gerry McCann
MY TORTURE OVER HORRIBLE, VIVID FEAR THAT PERVERT TOOK MADELEINE, BY KATE MCCANN
7 May 2011
Padraic Flanagan, Tracey Kandohla
Daily Express
Kate McCann revealed last night her greatest fear is that her daughter Madeleine was "taken by a pervert".
The distraught mother, 43, said the thought of her daughter being the victim of a sexual predator used to "consume" her and keep her awake at night.
Kate, who has written a 400-page memoir titled Madeleine, said she had a sense of "dark and fear", adding: "I became consumed with it. It was torture for me. It was horrible, so vivid."
In an interview to promote the book, she opened up about how she still felt tormented about the night Madeleine went missing. She also recalls her fear when Portuguese police suggested she and husband Gerry had murdered her and urged them to confess.
Friends claim that twice a day for the past four years Kate has slipped into Madeleine's empty bedroom "just to say hello". To make her feel close to her missing daughter she sits among her toys and unopened birthday and Christmas presents.
At more desperate times Kate listens to music that reminds her of Madeleine. More recently, Kate revealed, she has been gaining comfort from the lyrics of Snow Patrol's Chasing Cars.
She said: "It's a special song, the lyrics… 'If I lay here, if I just lay here, would you lie with me'.
"Madeleine often used to say that at bedtime, 'Lie with me Mummy, lie with me Daddy', and they are special moments."
Nightmare
Kate revealed she forced herself to relive the torment of Madeleine's disappearance in a bid to reignite the search. Friends said she "went to hell and back" to write the book she hopes will find her daughter, recollecting every detail from those first terrifying days four years ago.
She is back in the media spotlight as she prepares for the publication of the memoir, billed as "the most heartbreaking book you will ever read".
Friends revealed that GP Kate spent five months writing the book - which goes on sale on Madeleine's eighth birthday next Thursday - and often broke down reliving her nightmare.
She hopes its launch will be the key to solving her daughter's disappearance and is using it to appeal to her kidnappers to "let her come home".
"The whole family is undergoing great stress," said a friend who has been consoling Kate at her home in Rothley, Leicestershire. "Kate's been in pieces."
She added: "Kate is a very private person and doesn't like being in the public spotlight. She only wrote the book because the Find Madeleine Fund set up to search for her daughter was running out of money. She has spent the last five months reliving every parent's worst nightmare.
"At times it has been heartbreaking but she has tried to keep strong and carried on for Madeleine's sake. She is now facing a week from hell as the book comes out and she has to do media interviews to keep it in the spotlight."
The friend added that Kate's six-yearold twins, Sean and Amelie, helped their mother cope.
Family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "At times reliving her nightmare has reduced her to tears. But it has also given her a great sense of focus and renewed hope that it could lead to her daughter being found.
"Kate is writing the book to raise awareness of her daughter's disappearance and to pay private investigators to continue the search. Ultimately, she is hoping and praying it will lead to Madeleine being found alive."
Three-year-old Madeleine disappeared from the family's holiday flat in the resort of Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3 2007. Kate and Gerry, 42, hope sales of the £20 book, to be published worldwide, will raise more than £1million to boost the Find Madeleine fund.
The book was originally due to be released on April 28 but publishers Transworld delayed it by a fortnight over fears it would clash with the "media frenzy" during the Royal Wedding.
Kate says she still finds solace in sitting in Madeleine's pretty pink bedroom twice a day, revealing: "It's a comforting feeling. We haven't changed anything."
She added: "The wounds are less raw but the pain doesn't go away and the anxiety is always there. But I am definitely a lot stronger than a year ago."
"We've got a lot of hope that Madeleine is still alive. The difficult task is trying to find her but whilst there is hope we'll keep going and will never give up."
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