Dave Pelzer is a real inspiration, isn't he? I love that uncomplicated, unpresumptuous way he writes, as though he doesn't think of himself as anything special. I'd love to meet him.
Kathy O'Beirne's 'Don't Ever Tell' is the story of a girl's life in the Magdalen laundries in Ireland. It is very harrowing, but Kathy has gone on to lead an influential campaign in support of the Magdalen girls.
In a similar vein, there's 'Rock Me Gently' by Judith Kelly, who was incarcerated in a Catholic orphanage by her unmarried mother. She and the other girls were horribly beaten and chastised, and when some of the girls were clearly drowning during a beach outing, all the nuns did was to pray, leaving the girls to die in the sea. There was a big press outcry at the time apparently, and the orphanage was eventually closed.