Author and Consultant | Diana J English, PhD

Life in Words and Pictures

As a scholar on child welfare, abuse and neglect, I have spent a lifetime focused on my work. Now in retirement, I am enjoying writing and photography. My debut memoir The Well of Sorrow shares the ups and downs of my young life, and finding hope, which ultimately led me to dedicate my profession to researching the consequences of child maltreatment and the need for protection.

Portfolio of Work

Past. Present. Future.

Young girl walking away, cloudy sky, with sun peaking through on the horizon

Pre-order Now Available

Publication Date: April 29, 2025

After a distinguished career in child welfare research, Diana English has written a captivating story of survival of family violence and trauma. The Well of Sorrow, set in California and England in the 1960s - 1970s.

English takes the reader along as she deconstructs an early life torn between two countries and estranged parents, one abusive and exploitive, the other neglectful and dismissive. While the journey is somber and, at times, jarring, the message is ultimately uplifting as the author gives grace and finds gratitude.

-- Sue Steib, Ph.D Child Welfare Consultant

The Well of Sorrow is a testimony to the importance of sibling connections and to acts of random kindness of both children and adults. One of the most important lessons of Diana English's memoir is that suffering and trauma, "stuffed" for most of a lifetime, can be faced without drowning in grief...