Order. There was a need for order. On the story of the “Forest Family” which since last November has filled newspapers, information sites, social media and even the political agenda of Ministers and State representatives, there was a need to rewind the thread and find meaning again, emerging from the labyrinth of words and comments. He thought about it Corrado Zuninothe correspondent of Republic responsible for following the case from the beginning, who wrote the book in the style of journalistic reporting The family in the woods. The story that divided the country and forced it to reflect (Diarkos Edizioni) collecting in chronological order all the facts, testimonies and judicial documents that led the Juvenile Court of L’Aquila to suspend the parental responsibility of the spouses Birmingham-Trevallion and to temporarily take the three minor children to a safe house in Vasto.
Beyond the known elements that have polarized the debate on this matter (the unsafe conditions of the farmhouse in structural and health terms, the children’s failure to comply with compulsory schooling, the almost absent socialization with peers) Zunino brings to light details that had been lost in the chaos of opinion in recent months. We go from the episode ofmushroom poisoning of September 2024 to the escape attempted by Catherine at the beginning of the investigation by the Social Services; from an in-depth study on Steiner-Waldorf educational method which the woman claimed to follow for the education of her children, up to the lies and numerous episodes of opposition which ended up in the records of the Prosecutor’s Office and the Juvenile Court. The same episodes that led to the intervention of Social Services in November 2025 and the temporary removal of minors to a facility, causing indignant reactions from public opinion and politicians.
«I felt the need to write this book to be able to delve deeper into some aspects that had become frayed over time and with the newsand at the same time to understand why the events of this family were arousing so much attention from people – explains Zunino – An attention that went well beyond the canonical “3 weeks of interest” that all the hottest news stories have, even those linked to dramatic events such as September 11th or the war in Ukraine. Even after 6 months, the family in the woods still generates curiosityvery high readership numbers, shares, comments, debates on social media. This is because every time social services get involved in the issues of families with minors, public opinion reacts as if faced with an raid by the Financial Police. It is not perceived as a security measure that the State implements to help families, but as an interference that causes a sensation, creates opposition and fear».
Yet all Western countries (France, Germany, Spain and Australia itself, from which Catherine Trevallion comes) have stringent regulations regarding compulsory education, health care and developmental parameters of minors, with social services legitimized to intervene without reservations. Rules so stringent that – we read in the book – will determine the choice of the Birmingham-Trevallion couple to remain in Palmoli and not move abroad to lead their life in the woods. «The difference with other Western countries lies in the fact that abroad certain rules are rigorously enforced and acquire criminal relevance – continues Zunino – The methods with which the Court and social services have intervened here in Italy have always been conciliatory and precautionary. The social worker met the parents 5 times, much more than in many other cases. And even in the case of compulsory education, attempts have been made to conciliate, listen and understand the methods unschooling used by the mother, despite the Government having approved the Caivano decree in 2023 which strengthens supervision and penalties linked to the fulfillment of compulsory education, with imprisonment of up to two years for parents who do not enroll their children in school or do not guarantee the minimum attendance of lessons”.
