Damaged: The Heartbreaking True Story of a Forgotten Child

Prologue (#ue96b0d9a-d70d-50bf-865e-3481aec054fe)

Chapter One: Emotional Blackmail (#ulink_3176d9ff-b6c9-5271-8dc5-22ae581fb705)

Chapter Two: The Road To Jodie (#ulink_0b81d672-fd53-5985-8ab7-aab85ef54368)

Chapter Three: The Arrival (#ulink_05b505ff-4b7a-5025-9ae5-a2192e4d9307)

Chapter Four: A New Little Sister (#ulink_2726dbb0-cd48-5daf-aaca-2d4abbfa5a98)

Chapter Five: Self-Harm (#ulink_9d9b13a9-66ef-5690-b8da-7bf50d428186)

Chapter Six: A Very Troubled Child (#ulink_a1d465ba-3cd9-5dbd-9cb5-771ab352faaa)

Chapter Seven: Contact (#ulink_41b6a083-56b6-50da-91bb-ed99881ed887)

Chapter Eight: Julie (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine: Disclosure (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten: Reporting (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven: Cooking And Cleaning (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve: Monsters (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen: Integration (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen: The Park (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen: Past And Present (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen: The Spider’s Web (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seventeen: Nosy Cow (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eighteen: Fire (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nineteen: Special Little Girl (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty: Christmas (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-One: A New Year (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Fox And The Owl (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Three: Granddad (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Four: Friends (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Five: Denial (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Six: Links In The Chain (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Silence (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Assessment (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Therapy (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirty: Green Grass And Brown Cows (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirty-One: High Oaks (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirty-Two: Overnight Stay (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirty-Three: Goodbye (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirty-Four: Progress (#litres_trial_promo)

Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)

Suggested Topics for Reading-group Discussion (#litres_trial_promo)

Acknowledgements (#litres_trial_promo)

Sample Chapter (#litres_trial_promo)

Cathy Glass (#litres_trial_promo)

Moving Memoirs eNewsletter (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

Prologue (#ulink_d2bcc1c7-1047-5e84-b731-02ad308374ce)

In Britain today, there are over 75,000 children in the care of their local authority. These are the lucky ones. Concealed behind this figure are countless others; defiled, abused and undiscovered by Social Services, often until it’s too late.

This book tells the true story of my relationship with one of these children, an eight-year-old girl called Jodie. I was her foster carer, and she was the most disturbed child I had ever looked after. I hope my story will provide an insight into the often hidden world of foster care and the Social Services.

Certain details, including names, places and dates, have been changed to protect the innocent.

Chapter One Emotional Blackmail (#ulink_92bb6827-8b08-56bd-a16a-ac4dc5dbc902)

The phone rang. It was Jill, my link worker from the fostering agency.

‘Cathy, it’s not two carers, but five,’ she said. ‘Five, since coming into care four months ago.’

‘Good heavens.’ I was astonished. ‘And she’s only eight? That must have taken some doing. What’s she been up to?’