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Saving Danny
by Cathy GlassDanny was petrified and clung to me in desperation as I carried him to my car. Trapped in his own dark world, he couldn't understand why his parents no longer loved or wanted him, and were sending him away. While Danny's parents have everything they could wish for in material terms, they are unable to care for their only child. This is where Cathy comes in. On a cold dark evening Danny finds a place in her home where he can be himself; away from his parents' impatience and frustration. Often in his own little world, six-year-old Danny finds it difficult to communicate, finding solace in his best friend and confidant George - his rabbit. Cathy quickly becomes aware of his obsessively meticulous behaviour in addition to his love of patterns, he sees them everywhere and creates them at any opportunity - in his play and also with his food. She realises that patience is the key to looking after Danny as well as her well-tried strategies for managing children's behaviour. With his father refusing to cooperate, it becomes increasingly likely that Danny will be living with Cathy permanently until she gets an opportunity to speak her piece.
Torn: A Terrified Girl. A Shocking Secret. A Terrible Choice
by Rosie LewisFoster carer Rosie Lewis faces a battle to uncover the dark family secret that is tearing a family apart. Experienced foster carer, Rosie Lewis, is used to looking after children from difficult home situations, but she finds herself struggling when she agrees to take in Taylor and her younger brother, Reece, for a short while. Taylor tries desperately not to fit in, to be the tough young teen that she has had to become, making it clear that she cares about nothing and no-one, while Reece is just desperate for someone to love him. Rosie finds herself battling an unknown monster in their past, as social media and the Internet become a means to control and manipulate the siblings while in her care. And then a more sinister turn of events causes Rosie to dig into their past, desperate to discover the truth before her time with them is over and they must be returned to their family.
Skin Deep
by Casey WatsonRejected by her mother and excluded by her school, Flip is a little girl desperate to be loved. Am I ugly, Mummy? are the first words that little Phillipa says to Mike and Casey as she stomps into their lives on a hot August afternoon. She has a Barbie doll in one hand and a pink vanity case in the other and the bemused Watsons can only stare in amazement at this tiny eight year old girl who is being guided into the room by her social worker. Phillipa, known as Flip has Foetal Alcohol Syndrome and life with her single mother has come to an abrupt end after a fire burned the house down. When Casey meets Flip, the child seems remarkably unfazed by what has happened and the thing that seems to worry her is that Casey might find her ugly. Casey has come across children with FAS in her previous job in a high school behaviour unit, but is now realising that fostering Flip is going to be full of challenges which will test her and Mike s skills to the limit. "
Daddy's Little Princess
by Cathy GlassLittle Beth, aged 7, had been brought up by her father after her mother left when she was a toddler. But when he's suddenly admitted to hospital with psychiatric problems Beth is taken into care. Beth is a sweet-natured child who appears to have been well looked after. But it isn't long before Cathy begins to have concerns that the relationship between Beth and her father is not as it should be. They clearly love each other very much and Derek spoils his daughter, treating her like a princess, but there is something bothering Cathy, something she can't quite put her finger on. But, despite Cathy flagging her concerns to the social worker Jessie, no action is taken. Until Jessie accompanies Beth to the hospital to see her father. . . Then, suddenly, everything changes. All contact is stopped and Cathy is left to help pick up the pieces as poor Beth struggles to understand what her daddy has done wrong.
A Stolen Childhood
by Casey WatsonBestselling author and teacher Casey Watson shares the horrifying true story of Kiera Bentley, a 12-year-old girl with a deeply shocking secret she's too young to even understand. When Casey first meets Kiera, a small slight girl who's just lashed out at a fellow pupil in assembly, she immediately senses something's wrong. Something in Kiera's eyes alerts Casey that this is an "old head on young shoulders", and with Kiera's constant tiredness and self-soothing habit of pulling her hair out, she follows her instinct and takes Kiera under her wing. At first the answer seems simple enough; Kiera's parents aren't together and they don't get on, which makes life hard for Kiera as she's so close to her dad. But as the weeks roll on, Casey begins to understand that there's something much darker going on behind closed doors. And when she finally learns the truth, she's terrified she won't be able to save Kiera from it.
Nowhere to Go
by Casey WatsonFoster carer Casey Watson shares the shocking true story of Tyler, an abused eleven-year-old who, after stabbing his step-mother, had nowhere else to go.
Betrayed: One Girl's Struggle to Escape a Cruel Life Defined By Family Honour
by Rosie LewisIn the much-anticipated follow-up to Sunday Times bestseller Trapped, foster carer Rosie Lewis tells the heartbreaking true story of 13-year-old Zadie. When the young teenage girl runs away from home and is discovered hiding on the city streets by the police, it is clear that all is not as it should be. Taught to believe that Westerners should not be trusted, when Zadie is initially delivered into the experienced hands of foster carer Rosie she is polite and well-behaved, but understandably suspicious of the family around her. Through Rosie’s support and understanding, gradually Zadie begins to settle into her new surroundings, but loyalty to her relatives, and fear of bringing shame on those around her, prevents her from confessing the horrifying truth about her troubled past. When the shocking truth finally emerges, Rosie and her family can hardly believe that Zadie had managed to keep the shocking secrets to herself for so long.
Trapped: The Terrifying True Story of a Young Girl's Secret World of Abuse
by Rosie LewisLocked for nine years in a secret world of severe abuse, as Phoebe opens up about her horrific past, her foster carer begins to suspect that Phoebe may not be suffering from autism at all.
Will You Love Me?
by Cathy GlassLucy was born to a single mother who had been abused and neglected for most of her own childhood. Right from the beginning Lucy's mother couldn't cope, but it wasn't until Lucy reached eight years old that she was finally taken into permanent foster care. By the time Lucy is brought to live with Cathy she is eleven years old and severely distressed after being moved from one foster home to another. Withdrawn, refusing to eat and three years behind in her schooling, it is thought that the damage Lucy has suffered is irreversible. But Cathy and her two children bond with Lucy quickly, and break through to Lucy in a way no-one else has been able to, finally showing her the loving home she never believed existed. Cathy and Lucy believe they were always destined to be mother and daughter - it just took them a little while to find each other.
Please Don't Take My Baby
by Cathy Glass17-year-old Jade is pregnant and homeless when she is brought to live with foster carer Cathy. She stays out late, drinks heavily and smokes, but deep down she is desperate to hold on to her baby. As soon as Jade arrives Cathy is worried; she has never looked after a pregnant teenager before, but all the specialist mother and baby carers are full, and--seventeen years old, seven months pregnant and homeless--Jade is in a desperate situation. Her behavior immediately gives Cathy cause for concern, but she clearly doesn't want to listen and it isn't long after the baby is born before Jade is in trouble with the police. Social services plan to take baby Courtney away from Jade and place her up for adoption. Cathy knows that Jade loves her daughter with all her heart, but will she be able to get through to Jade in time to make her realize what she might lose?
A Last Kiss for Mummy: A Teenage Mum, A Tiny Infant, A Terrible Choice
by Casey WatsonAt fourteen, Emma is just a child herself - and one who's never been properly mothered. She has been in foster care several times already and when she discovered she was pregnant, and refused to have an abortion, her mother threw her out of the house. Casey and her family instantly form a strong bond with Emma's baby Roman, but dealing with Emma's behaviour and constant lack of responsibility is a far tougher challenge. And before long Casey finds she's doing something she never thought she would - covering up for Emma's shortcomings as she allows her personal involvement to colour her judgement. But the more Casey gets to know Emma the more she's convinced that with the right help and guidance this lonely and unsupported girl can become a good mother to her gorgeous little boy. That's what makes it even harder when Casey and her family have to make a stark choice: to hold on to Emma or look after Roman; to help a teenage girl desperate to turn her life around, or offer an innocent baby a safe home and much-needed good start in life.
The Girl Without a Voice
by Casey WatsonCasey has been in the post for six months when thirteen-year-old Imogen joins her class. One of six children Casey is teaching, Imogen has selective mutism. She's a bright girl, but her speech problems have been making mainstream lessons difficult. Life at home is also hard for Imogen. Her mum walked out on her a few years earlier and she's never got along with her dad's new girlfriend. She's now living with her grandparents. There's no physical explanation for Imogen's condition, and her family insist she's never had troubles like this before. Everyone thinks Imogen is just playing up - except the member of staff closest to her, her teacher Casey Watson. It is the deadpan expression she constantly has on her face that is most disturbing to Casey. Determined there must be more to it, Casey starts digging and it's not long before she starts to discover a very different side to Imogen's character. A visit to her grandparents' reveals that Imogen is anything but silent at home. In fact she's prone to violent outbursts; her elderly grandparents are terrified of her. Eventually Casey's hard work starts to pay off. After months of silence, Imogen utters her first, terrified, words to Casey: -I thought she was going to burn me. ' Dark, shocking and deeply disturbing, Casey begins to uncover the reality of what Imogen has been subjected to for years.
Another Forgotten Child
by Cathy GlassEight-year-old Aimee was on the child protection register at birth. Her five older siblings were taken into care many years ago. So no one can understand why she was left at home to suffer for so long. It seems Aimee was forgotten. The social services are looking for a very experienced foster carer to look after Aimee and, when she reads the referral, Cathy understands why. Despite her reservations, Cathy agrees to Aimee on - there is something about her that reminds Cathy of Jodie (the subject of 'Damaged' and the most disturbed child Cathy has cared for), and reading the report instantly tugs at her heart strings. When she arrives, Aimee is angry. And she has every right to be. She has spent the first eight years of her life living with her drug-dependent mother in a flat that the social worker described as 'not fit for human habitation'. Aimee is so grateful as she snuggles into her bed at Cathy's house on the first night that it brings Cathy to tears. Aimee's aggressive mother is constantly causing trouble at contact, and makes sweeping allegations against Cathy and her family in front of her daughter as well. It is a trying time for Cathy, and it makes it difficult for Aimee to settle. But as Aimee begins to trust Cathy, she starts to open up. And the more Cathy learns about Aimee's life before she came into care, the more horrified she becomes. It's clear that Aimee should have been rescued much sooner and as her journey seems to be coming to a happy end, Cathy can't help but reflect on all the other 'forgotten children' that are still suffering...
Breaking the Silence
by Casey WatsonThis is the sixth title in the series. The Watsons are astonished when they answer their front door to find their case worker with a small boy on the doorstep. Jenson is just nine years old. He was removed from his home thirty minutes earlier when it was discovered his mother had left him at home while she went on holiday with her boyfriend. A couple of weeks later Casey is in for a second shock when she is asked to take a second nine-year-old boy, Georgie. Georgie is autistic and has been in a children’s home since he was a toddler. The home is closing and social services need somewhere temporary for him to stay. With her own grown up son, Kieron, having Asperger’s (a mild form of autism), Casey knows this is one child she cannot say no to. The relationship between Jenson and Georgie is difficult from the outset. Jenson is rebellious and full of attitude and he kicks off at anything, constantly winding Georgie up. Georgie doesn’t cope well with change and is soon in a permanent state of stress. Despite Casey’s best efforts, her innate love for the children is being tested and she begins to question if she can handle Jenson’s cruelty. But overtime it becomes clear that the boys have formed an unlikely bond. Could this be the solution to all of their troubles?
Mummy's Little Helper
by Casey WatsonThe fifth book from bestselling author and specialist foster carer Casey Watson. A recent census shows that there are at least 175,000 child carers in the UK, 13,000 of whom care for more than 50 hours a week. Many remain invisible to a system that would otherwise help them. Abigail is one of those children. This is her story. Ten-year-old Abigail has never known her father. Her mother, Sarah, has multiple sclerosis, and Abigail has been her carer since she was a toddler shopping, cooking, cleaning and attending to her personal needs. When Sarah is rushed to hospital, suddenly this comes to the attention of the social services, and Abigail has nowhere to go. Though she doesn't fit the usual profile of a child that specialist foster carers Casey and Mike Watson would take on, they are happy to step in and look after Abigail. It s an emergency, after all and all that s needed is a loving temporary home, while social services look into how to support the family so that they can be reunited. But it soon becomes clear that this isn't going to happen. Sarah s MS is now at a very advanced stage, and the doctors are certain that there will no longer be periods of remission. Abigail's emotional state starts to spiral out of control as she struggles to let go of the burden of responsibilities she has carried for so long. Sarah and Abigail insist that they do not need help, but with no other family to contact, social services are left with no choice but to find long-term care for Abigail, against their wishes. But Casey never gives up on a child in need, and she knows there must be another solution "
A Baby's Cry
by Cathy GlassWhen Cathy is first asked to foster one-day old Harrison her only concern is if she will remember how to look after a baby. But upon collecting Harrison from the hospital, Cathy realises she has more to worry than she thought when she discovers that his background is shrouded in secrecy. She isn't told why Harrison is in foster care and his social worker says only a few are aware of his very existence, and if his whereabouts became known his life, and that of his parents, could be in danger. Cathy tries to put her worries aside as she looks after Harrison, a beautiful baby, who is alert and engaging. Cathy and her children quickly bond with Harrison although they know that, inevitably, he will eventually be adopted. But when a woman Cathy doesn't know starts appearing in the street outside her house acting suspiciously, Cathy fears for her own family's safety and demands some answers from Harrison's social worker. The social worker tells Cathy a little but what she says is very disturbing. How is this woman connected to Harrison and can she answer the questions that will affect Harrison's whole life?
The Night the Angels Came
by Cathy GlassEight year old Michael is part of a family of two, but with his beloved father given only months to live and his mother having died when he was a toddler, he could soon become an orphan. Will Cathy's own young family be able to handle a child in mourning? To Cathy's surprise, her children insist that this boy deserves to be as happy as they are, prompting Cathy to welcome Michael into her home. A cheerful and carefree new member of the family, Michael devotedly prays every night, believing that when the time is right, angels will come and take his Daddy to be with his Mummy in heaven. However, incredibly, in the weeks that pass, the bond between Cathy's family, Michael and his kind and loving father Patrick grows. Even more promising, Patrick is looking healthier than he's done in weeks. But just as they are settling into a routine of blissful normality, an unexpected and disastrous event shatters the happy group, shaking Cathy to the core. Cathy can only hope that her family and Michael's admirable faith will keep him strong enough to rebuild his life.
Too Hurt to Stay: The True Story of a Troubled Boy's Desperate Search for a Loving Home
by Casey WatsonEight-year-old Spencer takes himself to social services and demands to be taken into care.Casey is determined to try and understand what Spencer is going through and help him find the loving home he is so desperately searching for.
Little Prisoners: A Tragic Story of Siblings Trapped in a World of Abuse and Suffering
by Casey Watson<P>From the Sunday Times bestselling author comes a harrowing and moving memoir about two innocent and frightened unfosterable children who do not know what it means to be loved. This is the third book in the series. <P>The shock that strikes Casey and her family when Ashton and Olivia arrive is immeasurable. <P>Two dirty, frightened little waifs stand before them, huge eyes staring around their new surroundings. Ashton 9, Olivia 6, have the same urchin look; hair running wild with head lice, filthy nails and skin covered in scabs. And the smell is horrific. <P>The eldest two children of a group of five siblings, Casey had only been told they were coming two days earlier. But it was an emergency, temporary placement, and they were only due to stay a couple of weeks. <P> Casey is desperate to help these poor, lost children, who have been taken away from their family because they were considered at risk, but before she can even start to understand the horrific things that have happened in the past, she has to teach them the most basic of behaviours. <P> Ashton and Olivia have no barriers and no sense of what s right and wrong her challenges begin with the toilet and eating habits. The weeks roll into months and the months roll on, but bit by bit the children are starting to feel like they truly belong to a family, for the first time. <P>With this new found security and love, gradually they start to reveal what really happened to them and their siblings at home, and slowly Casey can help them start to rebuild their young lives. " <P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
Crying for Help: The Shocking True Story of a Damaged Girl with a Dark Past
by Casey WatsonThe second book from Sunday Times bestselling author Casey Watson. Two weeks after saying farewell to her first foster child, Casey is asked to look after Sophia, a troubled 12-year-old with a sad past. Sophia s actions are disturbing and provocative and, before long, Casey and her family find themselves in a dark and dangerous situation. Two years ago Sophia s mother had a terrible accident. Sophia has been in care ever since. Right away, Casey feels something isn t right. Sophia s a well-developed girl, who looks more like 18 than 12. She only seems to have eyes and ears for men, and treats all women with contempt and disgust. And she has everyone around her jumping through hoops. Over time, as more details begin to emerge about Sophia s past, it becomes clear that her behaviour is a front for an early life filled with pain and suffering. But although Casey feels she is gradually breaking through to Sophia and getting her to open up about things she has never spoken about before, her violence is threatening the safety of the whole family, forcing Casey to question whether she can really handle this lost and damaged girl. Both shocking and inspiring, this true story will shed new light on the extreme and sometimes dangerous nature of foster care. "
The Boy No One Loved
by Casey WatsonThe first in a series of books from foster carer Casey Watson. ‘We’re hungry,’ his brother cried. ‘We’re hungry, Justin. Please find us some food.’ Justin was five years old; his brothers two and three. Their mother, a heroin addict, had left them alone again. Later that day, after trying to burn down the family home, Justin was taken into care. Justin was taken into care at the age of five after deliberately burning down his family home. Six years on, after 20 failed placements, Justin arrives at Casey’s home. Casey and her husband Mike are specialist foster carers. They practice a new style of foster care that focuses on modifying the behaviour of profoundly damaged children. They are Justin’s last hope, and it quickly becomes clear that they are facing a big challenge. Try as they might to make him welcome, he seems determined to strip his life of all the comforts they bring him, violently lashing out at schoolmates and family and throwing any affection they offer him back in their faces. After a childhood filled with hurt and rejection, Justin simply doesn’t want to know. But, as it soon emerges, this is only the tip of a chilling iceberg. A visit to Justin’s mother on Boxing Day reveals that there are some very dark underlying problems that Justin has never spoken about. As the full picture becomes clearer, and the horrific truth of Justin’s early life is revealed, Casey and her family finally start to understand the pain he has suffered…
Mummy Told Me Not to Tell: The True Story of a Troubled Boy with a Dark Secret
by Cathy GlassReece is the last of six siblings to be fostered. Having been in care for four months his aggressive and disruptive behaviour has seen him passed from carer to carer. Although only 7, he has been excluded from school, and bites people so often that his mother calls him 'Sharky'. Cathy wants to find the answers for Reece's distressing behaviour, but he has been sworn to secrecy by his mother, and will not tell them anything. As the social worker prepares for the final hearing, he finds five different files on Reece's family, and is incredulous that he had not been removed from them as a baby. When the darkest of family secrets is revealed to Cathy, Reece's behaviour suddenly starts to make sense, and together they can begin to rebuild his life.
Daphne Du Maurier and Her Sisters: The Hidden Lives of Piffy, Bird, and Bing
by Jane DunnCelebrated novelist Daphne Du Maurier and her sisters, eclipsed by her fame, are revealed in all their surprising complexity in this riveting new biography. The middle sister in a famous artistic dynasty, Daphne du Maurier is one of the master storytellers of our time, author of 'Rebecca,' 'Jamaica Inn,' 'My Cousin Rachel,' and short stories, 'Don't Look Now' and the terrifying 'The Birds,' among many. Her stories were made memorable by the iconic films they inspired, three of them classic Hitchcock chillers. But her sisters Angela and Jeanne, a writer and an artist of talent, had creative and romantic lives even more bold and unconventional than Daphne's own. In this group biography they are considered side by side, as they were in life, three sisters who grew up during the 20th century in the glamorous hothouse of a theatrical family dominated by a charismatic and powerful father. This family dynamic reveals the hidden lives of Piffy, Bird & Bing, full of social non-conformity, love, rivalry and compulsive make-believe, their lives as psychologically complex as a Daphne du Maurier novel.
The Saddest Girl in the World
by Cathy GlassThe bestselling author of Damaged tells the true story of Donna, who came into foster care aged ten, having been abused, victimised and rejected by her family. Donna had been in foster care with her two young brothers for three weeks when she is abruptly moved to Cathy's. When Donna arrives she is silent, withdrawn and walks with her shoulders hunched forward and her head down. Donna is clearly a very haunted child and refuses to interact with Cathy's children Adrian and Paula. After patience and encouragement from Cathy, Donna slowly starts to talk and tells Cathy that she blames herself for her and her brothers being placed in care. The social services were aware that Donna and her brothers had been neglected by their alcoholic mother, but no one realised the extent of the abuse they were forced to suffer. The truth of the physical torment she was put through slowly emerges, and as Donna grows to trust Cathy she tells her how her mother used to make her wash herself with wire wool so that she could get rid of her skin colour as her mother was so ashamed that Donna was mixed race. The psychological wounds caused by the bullying she received also start to resurface when Donna starts reenacting the ways she was treated at home by hitting and bullying Paula, so much so that Cathy can't let Donna out of her sight. As the pressure begins to mount on Cathy to help this child, things start to get worse and Donna begins behaving in erratic ways, trashing her bedroom and being regularly abusive towards Cathy's children. Cathy begins to wonder if she can find a way to help this child or if Donna's scars run too deep.
Cut: The True Story of an Abandoned, Abused Little Girl Who Was Desperate to Be Part of a Family
by Cathy GlassDawn was the first girl Cathy Glass ever fostered. A sweet and seemingly well balanced girl, Dawn's outward appearance masked a traumatic childhood so awful, that even she could not remember it. During the first night, Cathy awoke to see Dawn looming above Cathy's baby's cot, her eyes staring and blank. She sleepwalks--which Cathy learns is often a manifestation in disturbed children. It becomes a regular and frightening occurrence, and Cathy is horrified to find Dawn lighting a match whilst mumbling "It's not my fault" in her sleep one night. Cathy discovers Dawn is playing truant from school, and struggling to make friends. More worryingly she finds her room empty one night, and her pillow covered in blood. Dawn has been self-harming in order to release the pain of her past. When Dawn attempts suicide, Cathy realises that she needs more help than she can give. Dawn's mother eventually confides in her that Dawn was sent away to relatives in Ireland between the ages of 5 and 9, and came back very disturbed. She also sheds light on the reason for Dawn's fascination with matches and Cathy's baby. *SPOILER ALERT*SPOILER INFO FOLLOWS* Eventually Dawn is placed in a psychiatric home for children, and five years later she gets in touch with Cathy. She has been reconciled with her mother and is now training to become a teacher.