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The Sunday Times and New York Times 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with her two young brothers for three weeks when she is abruptly moved to Cathy's. When Donna arrives she is silent, withdrawn and walks with her shoulders hunched forward and her head down.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 show more 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. - The new memoir from Cathy Glass for all fans of Damaged, Hidden and Cut. - The book's real-life story and focus on caring and women's issues, will have a wide media appeal. - The 'Damaged' hardback was a Sunday Times no. 1 bestseller and has sold over 42k copies. The paperback was no. 1 in The Sunday Times bestseller list for four weeks. It has sold over 294k copies since publication. show less

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Member Reviews

2 reviews
To say that I enjoyed this book would not be appropriate given it's subject matter. It was thought provoking and informative. It was like reading clinical notes in a medical file, succinct, specific and factual. The writing is objective and true to the primary purpose of this book - to highlight the sad and tragic tale of this young girl.
I appreciated learning more about the tireless efforts of both social workers and foster carers to ensure the safety of those children, who through no fault of their own, have been abused and neglected.

Borrowed from Amazon
Cathy Glass is a foster parent in Britain. I really liked Tory Hayden's books about her experiences as a teacher of emotionally disturbed children. This was great to see how these children are treated in another country. It was a very good read. I love the way the British use language. It was fun to notice the differences in American and British English. I really felt for this lovely and troubled child. It was nice that she included an epilogue so we could see how this child had grown.

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79 Works 3,369 Members
Cathy Glass is a British author, freelance writer and foster caregiver. Glass has also written a parenting guide to bringing up children, Happy Kids, a guide to feeding children healthily, Happy Mealtimes, a general wellness guide, Happy Adults, a writing guide, About Writing and How to Publish, and three novels based on her 25 years as a foster show more parent. Her fostering memoir, Will You Love Me?, was published in September 2013; it tells the story of Lucy, her adopted daughter. In 2015, this memoir was listed on the New York Times bestseller list. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

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Common Knowledge

Canonical title
The Saddest Girl in the World

Classifications

Genres
Nonfiction, General Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir
DDC/MDS
362.733092Society, Government, and CultureSocial problems and social servicesSocial WelfareChild welfareAdoption
LCC
HV887 .G7 .G53Social sciencesSocial pathology. Social and public welfare. CriminologySocial pathology. Social and public welfare.Protection, assistance and reliefSpecial classesChildrenDestitute, neglected, and abandoned
BISAC

Statistics

Members
168
Popularity
193,128
Reviews
2
Rating
(3.89)
Languages
English
Media
Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
ISBNs
7
ASINs
4