Vikie Shanks is a speaker, author and campaigner.
Described as a ‘super-mum’, Vikie’s book, Unravelled, sees Vikie left to raise her seven children – all with special needs – alone, after her husband tragically took his own life, leaving the family in a considerable amount of debt.
Her family star in a remarkable Netflix film, Kingdom Of Us.
She now campaigns for better awareness and understanding around autism, mental health, and suicide.
She’s also battling with HS2 who are acting unethically with regards to building the train line just metres from the family home in Kenilworth.
Vikie’s story
Vikie Shanks was born in 1958 in Aden (now South Yemen), where her father was stationed in the RAF, the youngest of three children, and lived from the age of five in Waterbeach near Cambridge.
At the age of seventeen she left home and moved to London to start work as a trainee buyer in Harrods but left after a year and became a croupier. After two years working in London and a further year in Spain she became a full time model back in the UK.
Aged twenty five she met Paul Shanks, who was to become her husband and father to her seven children. It transpired Paul was mentally very ill and he took his own life aged 51.
Since 2007 she has been a single mother to her seven children. Six of them are Autistic and one Dyslexic – plus the two youngest also have Cerebral Palsy. She now works full time writing, blogging, speaking and working with families affected by Autism.
Awards:
Vikie won Carer of the Year Award at the 2015 Touch Fm Pride of Warwick District Awards.
