Louise Forrest’s journey through life reads not just as a story of survival, but as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. Born into a world where her youthful exuberance was misunderstood as disruptive, Louise – dubbed ‘Dizzy Lizzy’ – was branded by her teachers as someone who wouldn’t amount to much. She was the child who would be told to sit on her hands, the teenager who was sent for a hearing test because of her supposed inattentiveness. Despite the labels, however, she persisted, even as she played into the expectations laid upon her by others.

Her adolescent years brought Louise into the company of older peers, some grappling with the chains of addiction – an experience she thankfully evaded. She ended up hanging out with this older crowd, selling magic mushrooms at school, and getting kicked out – not for the mushrooms, but for being a square peg in a round hole. At the tender age of 16, after a relationship with a 21-year-old, her life took a pivotal turn with the onset of motherhood, thrusting her into responsibilities that would shape her ensuing years.

Louise’s early adulthood was marked by a marriage that lasted eight years before they started drifting apart, leading to a divorce that was both an end and a beginning. Her next search for love led her into the arms of a man who would later become her tormentor.

For two years, Louise endured a physically abusive relationship that left her with more than just the physical bruises she wore. She was tossed out on a motorway in the middle of the night, strangled, suffocated, and beaten until she nearly blacked out. One night, thinking she had no way out, she found herself on the roof of her three-storey house, ready to jump. If it hadn’t been for her dad’s voice on the phone, talking her down, she might have.

She decided to leave the next day, but before she could, her partner grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed himself six times in the chest, narrowly avoiding his heart. Haunted by the terror of what might happen to her loved ones if she dared to leave, Louise remained trapped in a cycle of fear and abuse. The weight of outside judgement pressed heavily on her, as did the shame she felt for her situation. Consequently, she suffered from a nervous breakdown where she couldn’t physically talk for two weeks.Top of FormBottom of Form

But Louise Forrest is not a woman to be subdued by fear or tragedy. Her story is not defined by the violence she endured but by the courage with which she reclaimed her life. Rescued from the precipice of despair by her father’s timely intervention – and after being hit by her partner in the middle of the street, in front of her son – she left the relationship and began to rewrite her narrative.

With a newfound determination, Louise pursued education while balancing motherhood, enrolling in university to study television and film. Her passion led her to work on local film projects, an escape that offered her more than just a career – it gave her a lifeline. Her tenacity saw her working on and touring with some of the UK’s most prominent TV shows, from The X Factor to Britain’s Got Talent and One Born Every Minute to Vera.

After working in television for five years, Louise decided she needed to be back home, not travelling all over the UK. A return to academia to study teaching led her to the gates of Durham Men’s Prison, where she spent two years imparting knowledge to those on the fringes of society. She wanted to understand why some men turn violent. Yet, the call to forge her own path was irresistible; she wanted to work for herself, doing work she truly believed in.

So, Louise established her schools, an alternative provision for those expelled from – or unsuitable for – mainstream education. She believes in alternative provisions because not every child is academic, but once you give them a subject they’re interested in, they thrive. She crafted a sanctuary for young girls battling mental illness, for women who had survived domestic violence, and for teenage mothers, empowering them to build their own futures by starting businesses on social media. Now, she’s about to launch her third school.

Louise’s recent diagnosis of ADHD has offered her clarity on her childhood struggles, reinforcing her belief in the potential of every individual, regardless of the conventional metrics of success. Her upcoming book is not just her recounting the past; it’s a map of her journey from darkness to light, showing anyone who reads it that no matter how tough it gets, there’s always a way through