Damaged

by Cathy Glass

Although Jodie is only eight years old, she is violent, aggressive, and has already been through numerous foster families. Her last hope is Cathy Glass. At the Social Services office, Cathy (an experienced foster carer) is pressured into taking Jodie as a new placement. Jodie's challenging behaviour has seen off five carers in four months. Despite her reservations, Cathy decides to accept Jodie to protect her from being placed in an institution. Jodie arrives, and her first act is to soil herself, and then wipe it on her face, grinning wickedly. Jodie meets Cathy's teenage children, and greets them with a sharp kick to the shins. That night, Cathy finds Jodie covered in blood, having cut her own wrist, and smeared the blood over her face. As Jodie begins to trust Cathy her behaviour improves. Over time, with childish honesty, she reveals details of her abuse at the hands of her parents and others. It becomes clear that Jodie's parents were involved in a sickening paedophile ring, with neighbours and Social Services not seeing what should have been obvious signs. Unfortunately Jodie becomes increasingly withdrawn, and it's clear she needs psychiatric therapy. Cathy urges the Social Services to provide funding, but instead they decide to take Jodie away from her, and place her in a residential unit. Although the paedophile ring is investigated and brought to justice, Jodie's future is still up in the air. Cathy promises that she will stand by her no matter what -- her love for the abandoned Jodie is unbreakable.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Abuse, Psychology, True Crime, Fostering

339 pages, Hardcover

First published February 5, 2007

About the author

Cathy Glass is a bestselling British author, freelance writer and foster carer.
Her work is strongly identified with both the True Life Stories and Inspirational Memoirs genres, and she has also written a parenting guide to bringing up children, Happy Kids, and a novel, The Girl in the Mirror, based on a true story.
Glass has worked as a foster career for more than 20 years, during which time she has fostered more than 50 children. Her fostering memoirs tell the stories of some of the children who came in to her care, many of whom had suffered abuse.
The first title, Damaged, was number 1 in the Sunday Times bestsellers charts in hardback and paperback. Her next three titles, Hidden, Cut and The Saddest Girl in the World, were similarly successful, all reaching the bestseller charts.
The name "Cathy Glass" is a pseudonym for author Lisa Stone.

Reviews

[Maria Espadinha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Perfeição dum Mundo Imperfeito

Crianças maltratadas ficam psicologicamente afetadas e são muitas as que devolvem à sociedade a violência que as traumatizou. Quando assim acontece, em regra, são tratadas como um “lixo” social a reciclar, pois no estado em que se encontram, são tidas como seres socialmente indesejáveis. A dita reciclagem será, obviamente, todo um processo de reabilitação almejando a sua inserção social. Há casos mais bicudos que outros, e... o caso concreto não é dos fáceis!...
Porém, há perfeição neste nosso mundo imperfeito, pois todo o problema tem solução e... por tentativa erro, lá se vai aproximando do(s) ente(s) capaz(es) de o resolver...

[Paul Bryant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Are we now living in the age of Full Disclosure when everything is revealed about what people do to each other, the real truth about what human beings are? When it comes to dresses being paraded with presidential semen stains still upon them, or the latest youtube viral video horrors, you may think so. But - although it seems we have reached a plateau I think there is a way to go. The misery memoir, of which A Boy Called It is the ur-text, is a step along the way. Misery memoirs - my Waterstone's has a whole wall of them. Damaged was one of the first.

But here's what is still to be revealed: the perpetrators' stories. We might be talking about domestic abuse or rape or war crimes, but there's nothing from them ever. Ever. Probably on the very reasonable grounds that they're all nauseating lowlifes who should be given rat poison rather than a pen and paper, and also that they'll lie and try to make out it was all because of their own painful childhoods or that the rape and the war crime was consensual. The depraved are either smart enough to know they really shouldn't tell the truth, or stupid enough not to be able to anyway. So it seems that at present we believe that victims always tell the truth and perpetrators always lie. Can this be true? Probably not, but I think we'll have to live with that for a long time yet. I doubt that we'll ever get the perpetrator's stories. Why would we want to? Because no man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; because I am involved in mankind. (That last bit's by John Donne, not me!)

As regards Damaged, as I read I found the good angel of belief and the bad angel of unbelief grappling with each other in the space just behind my left ear. Alas for Cathy Glass, she writes very dully and competently except when it comes to dialogue, when we get stuff that sounds straight out of The Exorcist :

Jodie [aged 8] spun round to face me. Her features were hard and distorted. "No" she shouted, in a gruff masculine voice. "Get out or I'll rip you to pieces. Get out bitch!"... She advanced towards me with her hands clawed, baring her teeth. "I'm not Jodie" she growled, "I'm Reg. Get out or I'll fucking kill you."'

I know there are abuse cases as bad as this one but this kind of stuff inadvertently gives the abuse the patina of bad fiction. Exactly what the perps count on, of course - No one will believe you . Anyway, this is a straightforward account of one foster woman's total nightmare, the nastiest most ungovernable 8 year old which everyone else had given up on. Once again the social workers get it in the neck - all the signs of familial abuse were there for years and were not spotted, the stupid feeble social workers were intimidated by the family, same old same old. I would have been interested in more detail about the degenerate birth family but Cathy Glass would not have had any access to that info. And I would have liked an uplifting and hopeful end to this revolting tale. So here's my full disclosure: there isn't one. This damaged child was not healed. Life's like that.

[Love · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book it is kind of hard to describe how it made me feel....Mad, sad. How could any system just kind of look over things like this. Out of all the books I have read on this subject matter, this has touched beyond belief. I understand a little more about post tramatic disorder because of it though. I don't want to spoil it for anyone just think anyone that can handle reading such descriptive accounts of abuse should read it. I do like the writing style and the author makes you feel the pain of that poor little girl. Cathy Glass what an amazing women to help children like this. I have takin in a couple of children with similar backgrounds but never had to deal with any reactions from it at this kind of levels.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not sure of any other way to rate this book.

This book is about a girl named, Jodi, who enters the foster care system at the age of 7. Within 4mo she has already been through 5 foster homes. There is little hope for her, until Cathy steps up and agrees to take Jodi in.

When Jodi first enters Cathy's home she is very violent and rude. In fact, over the year that she is with Cathy that never completely goes away and as time goes on we start to see other disturbing behaviours from Jodi.

We will also start to learn and start to understand why Jodi is acting the way that she does. The reason(s) are so horrible that I had to stop reading and just take some time to digest what I just read. There were some parts that I had to literally re-read to see if I read it correctly.

Remember that this is a true story, so if you are overly sensitive or are weak at heart you may not want to read this book. This book will make you cry, it will make you very angry, it will make you sick to your stomach. But, you will also read about the amazing heart one foster mother had. The patience, the love, the toughness that she had and that she gave this little girl. Jodi was passed from one foster home to another because nobody could handle her. Cathy Glass was determined to help her and she seen it through to the end. Even though there were times she wanted to throw in the towel, when she was frustrated at her situation and at social services, she was overly exhausted and running on empty, she still found just a little bit more inside her to keep going.

So besides for the hurt you will feel from reading this book, you will also know that there are still angels out there.

[Jody Skalski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book pretty quickly as I couldn't put it down. This is a disturbing story to read. I am sometimes asked why I read such "deep" books. I have always had an interest in troubled, needy children/teenagers; the way the brain functions just fascinates me. I always find the books such a wealth of information when dealing with children with difficult pasts. I will say that this story and its details was very difficult for me to read, in relation to this young child and what she has endured. It is unimaginable and incomprehensible what happened to this little girl. I have been involved with the foster care system and could relate with this foster mom and her frustrations of the system, etc. I can only say that Cathy Glass is an incredible human being, along with her children. I'm not sure I know of anyone that could do what she has done for so many and especially what she did for this little girl. I have the highest respect for her and learned much in reading this book. Thank you Cathy for sharing this story. This book made me cry and I will think about for long after finishing it.

[Lola Willis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though not eloquent, Glass's writing is sensitive and solid. The sheer depth of the experience is the crown of this book. I couldn't put it down. I was desperate to read Glass's conclusion, for better or worse.

The chronology is tight and thorough, fulfilling the reader's need for detail. Glass exposes her experience honestly, which allows us to inhabit her home during her tumultuous time with "Jodie," the abused child in her care.

On the downside, Glass made it almost too clear her strong feelings of distaste for one of the individuals involved in the legal process. I understand her negativity, but I felt the portrayal of those feelings was at times a bit over the top, and it became distracting.

I come away from this book with intensified hatred for sexual predators, deeper respect for foster parents and the unfathomable challenges they face, and a raw ache for the suffering so many children endure at the hands of people who should be their protectors.

A recommended read for people who have a special concern for the welfare of children. Pre-requisite: strong stomach.

[Deb · Rating 1 out of 5]

First, this author clearly is not a writer. Simply put, it's poorly written. Simplistic, repetitive, not at all engaging.

I also find it abhorrent that Ms. Glass, while portraying herself as apparently the only one capable of getting through to the children is these difficult cases ("yay me, after 5 carers in 6 weeks, I was able to deal with this kid for over a year, at the expense of my actual children and myself...aren't you impressed?"), she then goes and exploits these same children by writing salacious books so that she can make a profit by revealing every morbid detail of their horrific abuse. Yes, very admirable and altruistic of her.

I also question much of the information she provides. First, whether or not D.I.D. even exists is controversial, and certainly isn't as cut and dry as presented in this book. Second, how exactly did Ms. Glass or "Jill" become qualified to make such a diagnosis? Ms. Glass witnesses a behavior, mentions it to Jill, and BAM!, we have a diagnosis of D.I.D. Seriously?

Finally, I can't help wondering how much this story is embellished. It seemed like every other page this poor little girl was disclosing yet another horrible aspect of her abuse (only to Ms. Glass of course, because no one else could ever establish that level of trust with her), until we apparently have a whole ring of pedophiles including both parents, numerous "aunts" and "uncles", "grandfathers" and apparently even neighbors who are willing to allow a child to continue to be abused in order to "not get involved." Let alone that this abuse supposedly went on for who knows how many years, despite Social Services supposed ongoing involvement in this family. Of course, none of these disclosures are ever repeated to anyone other than Ms. Glass. It wreaked of the 1980s - 1990s epidemic of satanic pedophile rings leading to multiple trials on the U.S. that were later revealed to be utter B.S. So yeah, I'm skeptical with regard to how true this story is. (Sure, ,maybe this is simply a result of my desire to believe that no child should ever be exposed to any of these horrors, let alone horribly abused by every single adult she has encountered in her young life.

The one thing I will give Ms. Glass is her portrayal of the inability of Social Services to adequately meet the needs of these children. Unfortunately, in my experience, the "Eileens" of social workers are far too common. Not surprising when you consider how overworked and underpaid social workers generally are.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm very conflicted by this book. I think the author did a good job writing the story and I found it relatively fast and easy to read. But the content of the story is so disturbing that I also found it very difficult to read. I know these awful things happen, I really don't understand the lack of humanity in some people.

My main gripe with this book is that it seemed somewhat exploitative of the child's situation - granted names, dates, places were changed to protect her privacy. But still - why write this book? A catharsis maybe? From my reader's perspective, I felt like a spectator watching something I had no business seeing, and there was no takeaway st the end about how to help kids like this, how to protect your own kid, how to recognize signs, etc. It just seemed like "Woohoo I'm a wonderful carer, everybody thinks the world of me, and look what an awful life THIS kid had..."

[k · Rating 3 out of 5]

Generally, I don't write reviews, but in this case, I feel torn about this book.

I found this book incredibly intriguing. I was hooked and couldn't stop reading it. While the writing does come of as a bit self-congratulatory a lot of the time, the story is mesmerizing and if it is true, the author should be praised for her astounding patience. At the same time, I found my interest in this book disturbing. Our society's rapt attention for reading about or watching news stories related to pedophiles and child abuse seems almost perverted itself.

Cathy Glass has written nearly a dozen or so of these novels; at this point, she is profiting greatly from these children's' sufferings. What of the children's confidentiality? It doesn't seem like Jodie could have consented to her story being told to the world. If it had been a single memoir from Cathy Glass, the story of her lifetime, I would have understood, but writing continually about it? That seems like exploitation of the children and a reflection of society's perversions that they continue to sell well.

I don't plan to read another of Cathy Glass's novels. One misery memoir was certainly enough to expose me to this horrendous side of humanity.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cathy Glass is an angel on earth and has loved and cared for so many very special children who are lucky to have her. I find each and every one of their stories fascinating and heartwarming.

[Gabriela Couto · Rating 5 out of 5]

13/50

⭐️ 5.0 ⭐️

Apesar da classificação, eu só aconselho este livro a pessoas que gostam de sofrer, tal como eu.
Sabem o trauma que todos tivemos ao ler “A Little Life”? Peguem nesse e multipliquem por 100, e terão o resultado final do trauma que este livro me trouxe.
Isto é uma história REAL, de uma criança REAL, que foi torturadas por pessoas REAIS, e ficou com mazelas REAIS para a vida toda.
Não querendo dar muita ênfase ao facto de ser uma história REAL, senti-me enojada pelo ser humano e pelo o que o ser humano é capaz de fazer a uma criança.
A família falhou. O sistema falhou. E a Cathy, mesmo tendo-se esforçado ao máximo, acabou por falhar também, porque não havia forma no mundo de curar a Jodie.

PROTECT THE CHILDREN AT ALL COSTS

“As I came out of her room I heard Amy telling Jodie ‘You can trust Cathy. Really, you can’” - quando eu li isto, a minha vontade de chorar aumentou abruptamente.

E finalmente, a frase que melhor descreve tudo isto - “Jodie is a damaged child. She has been vandalized. Her mental processes and her emotions have been destroyed. She has been condemned to an endless punishment by the very people who should have cared for her the most. To me, that is the wrist crime imaginable”.

[Ève Aboussafy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Très difficile à lire 💔

[Kristina Dostálová · Rating 5 out of 5]

Možná vás ani nebude recenze zajímat. Možná vám ani tohle téma nic nebude říkat. Možná jen přejdete očima po obálce a půjdete se raději podívat na nějakou tu dystopii či fantasy. Možná byste se ale měli zastavit a věnovat se chvíli následujícím řádkům, protože dost možná, se něco podobného může dít pár metrů od vás.

Když se mě přítel zeptal, zda je tahle kniha opravdu tak dobrá, že jsem ji - na můj vkus - přečetla v rekordním čase, nevěděla jsem, co odpovědět.

Cathy Glass je pseudonym, pod kterým vystupuje profesionální pěstounka, u které se za dvacet let "rodičování" vystřídalo asi padesát různých dětí. Rozbitá je přitom příběh vyprávěný z jejího pohledu v momentě, kdy se má do její rodiny nastěhovat osmiletá holčička Jodie. Jodie je problémové dítě, za poslední čtyři měsíce vystřídala pět rodin. Je nezvladatelná, agresivní, hrubá, vulgární, bez emocí, bez nadšení. Nikdo však netuší, proč tomu tak je. Nebýt Cathy, nikdo by se zřejmě nikdy nedozvěděl, že byla Jodie od útlého dětství pohlavně zneužíváná. Nikdo netušil, v jakém měřítku. Úřady v jejím případě totálně po celou dobu selhávaly a sociální pracovníci si Jodie přehazovali jako horký brambor. Tahle kniha vás donutí přemýšlet nad tím, jaká zvěrstva se možná dějí dětem hned vedle za zdí u sousedů. Zastrašit děti, aby mlčely, je snadné. My dospělí máme své techniky a víme, čeho se děti bojí. Hnus je, když se zastrašování stane pro dítě noční můrou a to je pak - dost pravděpodobně - do konce života odsouzeno pouze trpět a nikdy se nedat jako člověk do pořádku.

Tohle je tak citlivý a na mou emotivní stránku silný příběh, že jsem nedokázala určit, zda je tedy "tak dobrý" nebo "tak strašný". Cathy Glass rozhodně není povoláním autorka, takže to jde na stylu, jakým píše, znát. Píše jednoduše, ale jde vidět, že své práci rozumí a za svůj spisovatelský um se nemusí absolutně vůbec stydět. Naopak, ve vyprávění, jako je tohle, je to dokonce v pořádku.

Nebudu vám zde psát, jaké hrůznosti si malá Jodie musela vytrpět a jakým způsobem to jako malá holčička vnímala. Občas to na mne, jako na matku, bylo dost silné kafe a několikrát jsem se snažila sama sebe přesvědčit, že to je všechno smyšlené a že se tohle nikdy neodehrálo. Bohužel.

Je velká škoda, že Cathy Glass u nás má pouze jednu knihu a tou je právě Rozbitá. Přitom je autorkou skoro dvaceti knih a já bych si je všechny hrozně ráda přečetla. Budu muset tedy využít zřejmě svého nadání v angličtině a přelouskat její knihy v původním jazyce.

Jestli bych tuhle knihu doporučila? Rozhodně ano! Myslím, že je důležité vědět, co se až příliš často děje za dveřmi některých bytů a domů. A dost možná tato kniha pomůže otevřít oči spoustě lidem. Mně tedy rozhodně. Jak vlastně poznáte zneužívané dítě, pokud vám nic neřekne?

[Alicia Castilleja · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story about a young girl named Jodie. She is an eight year old girl, who is mellow and isn't outgoing what so ever. She is going through a very difficult time. Jodie has had to move in to a foster home, due to the troubles with her parents and many of the other problems throughout her childhood. It is very sad, because of the fact that Jodie is only eight years old.

In this story you will learn that Jodie has been keeping some things(secrets) from her assigned social worker,that should've been told in the beginning. Jodie kept these things from her, because she didn't want her mom to be upset with her, although if Jodie didn't speak up any sooner, something terrible could've happened to her. As this story progresses you will see that her social worker has a special bond with her and that she has helped Jodie improve so much. Jodie is getting involved with others and getting friends that are helping her to become more social.

I like this book, because it involves the courageous heart of social worker, and how she helps this young girls life change from bad to good. I would recommend this book to anyone who wishes to pursuit a career of a social worker, or anyone who would like to be encouraged by a woman with a good mind.

[Sammi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so easy, yet so hard to read.
The writing flows well and isn't too intricate, but the material it covers makes it incredibly hard to read without feeling completely upset or disgusted.

This true story follows the life of Jodie, a troubled girl with a terrible past - but is shown through the eyes of her Carer. This, to me, was quite refreshing. When reading books of this nature I have generally only read from the point of view of the child, so this new perspective was very interesting. It really pulled at my heart strings and made me want to consider becoming a carer myself, no matter how hard it may be.

############ SPOILERS #############

What really did it for me in this book, is the letter Jodie gets Paula to write for Cathy. It brang tears to my eyes.
Whereas Jodie usually is pretty shut off emotionally, thus letter is so vulnerable and emotional and shows how she did truly love and appriciate her carer.

A brilliant book.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always hate saying that I really liked a book like this. It was an awful, sad, tragic story that made me so angry and made my stomach turn. But it was well written and told a necessary story of a child who went through unspeakable abuse by her parents. Her foster mom, Cathy was so patient and kind and gave so much of herself to the care of Jodie. I admire anyone who could do that. I for one would have found the parents and shot them on sight. Working in an educational setting I think teachers, aides, administrators, etc. should read this book and others like it. It gives an insight into behavior that is so disturbed and disturbing and possibly could help "good" adults recognize some of the signs of abuse in their students if they come across it.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has got to be one of the most heart breaking stories of abuse I've read. Jodie the 8 year old girl Cathy is fostering is to badly damaged and even Cathy can't break through to her. The level of abuse that Jodie had to endure is just horrendous. Makes you realise what a cruel evil world we live in and for many there is no happy ending.

[Kristina Mathioudakis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a quick read and a powerful story. Laughed and cried, and can't wait to pick up more from this author.

[Inês · Rating 4 out of 5]

Damaged: The Heartbreaking True Story of a Forgotten Child by Cathy Glass

Although Jodie is only eight years old, she is violent, aggressive, and her challenging behaviour has sent her off to five carers in four months. Her last hope is Cathy Glass, an experienced foster carer that decides to take her on and protect her from being placed in an institution.
As Jodie begins to trust Cathy, her behaviour improves. Over time, with childish honesty, she reveals details of the abuses she suffered at the hands of her parents and others.
It becomes clear that the Social Services are not seeing what should have been obvious signs. Now, Jodie lost her childhood and her development may be forever compromised.


I would like to start by saying that I'm quite a sensitive person, so I was a bit nervous going into it. My mom had already read it and warn me about the subject matter. I didn't know if I could do it but, in the end, I'm so glad I did. This is a disturbing true story. Jodie experienced many things that kids, at this age, shouldn't even have to hear about.
If you're like me and need it: trigger warning for self harm, child abuse, sexual abuse, rape and aggressive behaviour.

Although the author's writing isn't something too special, it kept me turning pages, always wanting to know more about the story, even it being difficult to read at times. In my opinion, it was a solid book about fostering damaged children. It sounds a bit wrong to say, but I think it was because everything was so interesting. In addition to being a really eye opening book, it is also extremely educational without seeming to be teaching you anything.

Cathy Glass is a foster carer with twenty years of experience and said: "Jodie was the most disturbed and abused child I had ever looked after". I appreciate how much the author tried to help Jodie by, obviously, doing her job. I found her to be an amazing person with an amazing heart.
It's also great that we get to see the impact that all of this fostering situation and, specialty, Jodie had on Cathy's own children.
The importance that love, harmony and boundaries have in a child's life and how sometimes, in delicate situations, it isn't enough.

I don't know if you're aware, but abilities such as reading or writing can only be correctly developed after a certain age because that's when the brain reaches the maturity needed. It's also true that others, like language, if not developed in a critical period, cause the brain to interpret this ability as "unnecessary" and it atrophies the area responsible for it. The latest was exactly what happened to Jodie. Her development was compromise; not impossible to reach but extremely hard.

I liked how therapy was addressed to start helping Jodie on a deeper level.
Over time she revels, in a very innocent way, the abuses she has suffered. What makes it more devastating is the fact that she doesn't recognize them as nasty acts. Jodie's behavior and empathy gets an explanation as well as the surface approach to the dissociative identity disorder.

We all know how flawed can Social Services be so its reference was important since they're as impactful as the child's parents or foster carers .
I read in another review that, in stories like this one, we never get the aggressors' point of view. What leads people to do such horrible things to kids? Or why would parents do it to their own children?. I think it would be certainly more disturbing but extremely interesting.

Ending by stating that this is the authr's first published work, though not the first chronologically. I would be really interested in picking up the book Cathy Glass wrote about one of her three children, Lucy, who she ended up adopting.

*Unfortunately, I didn't find any quotes or mark them myself.*

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 'first' (as in the first written, not chronologically) book by foster carer Cathy Glass, and of the three I have read so far this is by far the most harrowing.

The story concerns an eight year old girl named Jodie, who has come into Cathy's care after being kicked out of 5 other foster homes in four months. She is an extremely disturbed child, and we don't fully begin to understand the reasons for this disturbance until some way into the book, when she begins to disclose the horrors of her past to Cathy. This little girl has suffered so much in her short life, including severe emotional, physical and utterly horrific sexual abuse that at times it was a real struggle to carry on reading. It made me very sad, and I cried a few times during it but it was a very interesting insight into the world of social care and the failings of the social services; Jodie had been on the 'at risk' register for her whole life and yet she still suffered in this horrendous way, despite social workers supposedly checking up on her every few months.

Despite the shocking nature of the book, as always with Cathy Glass it is very accessible and well-written and, unlike other so called 'misery memoirs' because it is written by a carer rather than the abused child themselves it is a lot more detailed and a lot less formulaic. If you're going to read any true life stories, make sure you start with those that Cathy Glass has written.

[Lola · Rating 5 out of 5]

You'll like the picture on the book cover of the pretty little girl; then you'll notice the tear
on her cheek. Cathy Glass has fostered over 50 children but this story of Jodie may be her hardest. Jodie comes to Cathy to be fostered when she's eight years old; already many foster parents have given up on her; some as quickly as in one day. She smears feces all over, has violent outbursts & kicks Cathy's three older children. She gets withdrawn & doesn't respond to anyone or anything; she has no empathy for others & doesn't make attachments to people. Beginning as an infant she was abused, neglected, & sexually assaulted by both her parents, & others described as her "uncles, aunts, & grandparents". This book tells the story of Jodie's profoundly damaged personality. It will help us to understand what really happens to children borne to parents who only exploit them. It is learned that her parents were into a children's pornography ring.
This was an excellent book although disgusting to read about people like her parents.
Cathy Glass has written other books about foster children she's cared for but I can't read them now---maybe at some other time, I don't know. It's such difficult subject matter.

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

yes i'm already finished with the book, and considering the time i started yesterday and the time i finished today, i finished in about a day. the first book i remember reading on these subjects was 'one child' by torey hayden and from that moment i was hooked on these types of books and for some reason i like books where there are stories of struggle, or sadness and hardships.i don't think i completely know why, but i do know i like them because when there about children like the little girl Jodie in the book good does come out at the end.

i did struggle reading parts of this book, but i also couldn't put it down. each turn of the page either brought more trouble and heartbreaking moments, or laughter and tears of joy. Jodie was a very damaged girl,with all the rejection she went through Cathy was able to help this damaged little girl and give her a chance of hope!

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I found the book quite interesting, I have to say that I don't quite understand how Jodie could have dictated the letter she had left for Cathy. With her state of mind and mental age I highly doubt this letter was dictated.

[Bethany Mayhew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first time reading the work of Cathy Glass, and wow, although I really enjoyed the book, it’s left me with so many uncomfortable feelings. Granted, I believe anyone who has read this book would feel the same way: sad, frustrated, confused, disturbed, uncomfortable, upset. It’s impossible for you not to feel connected to Jodie and Cathy.
The book covers incomprehensible and unfathomable topics - which makes the emotions so much raw knowing it’s based on a true story.
I do have another Cathy Glass book - but I feel like due to the heaviness and emotional effect of this storyline, I made need a break in between before I start it.

[Yenni Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

No hay palabras que puedan describir lo que sentí al leer esta historia. Logró aguarme los ojos, si no lloré fue solo por que estaba en público cuando sucedió. Es una historia desgarradora, abrumadora... cuesta creer que esta sea la realidad de muchos niños.

[Laura Harden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was gut wrenching!

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

love Cathy Glass stories. Listened to all of them on my Hoopla app, i wish more of them were available as audio books on there... I was sad when there were no more left!

[Kokonöt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nja. Jag visste ju fr början vad jag skulle få läsa, och det var ett fruktansvärt hemskt livsöde. Till råka på allt om ett barn. Till råga på allt alldeles sant. Men litterärt är det naturligtvis inget storverk, även om det knappt går att sätta betyg på såna här böcker.

[E · Rating 5 out of 5]

sobbing.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot. If you haven't read any of her books l would highly recommend you do. No spoilers from me.