Another Forgotten Child by Cathy Glass

Another Forgotten Child Reviews

• 
  Sharon

  Another Forgotten Child is a heartbreaking, but also a heartwarming story about eight year old Aimee. Aimee has endured eight long and suffering years with her drug dependent mother in a flat. Not only did Aimee live with filth all around her, but she'd also been experiencing mental and physical abuse.
  
  When Aimee was handed to foster carer Cathy, Aimee is angry and what's more so is Cathy. Cathy can't understand why Aimee was left to survive in such terrible conditions when her five siblings were sent into care years ago.
  
  Will Cathy be able to get through to Aimee and help turn her life around or has there been too much damage done to this beautiful small girl?
  
  I can't say this was an enjoyable read because in many parts it wasn't. Reading about child abuse and neglect is really confronting and is not for everyone. In fact, I'm not certain why I continue to read these types of books. The only thing I can say is that it astonishes me how much some children have gone through in such a short time of their lives. Worth reading.
• 
  Paul

  This heartwarming true story tells of another feral child in Cathy Glass's foster care in the UK. The child is an eight-year-old girl whose mother is a heroin addict and was herself sexually and physically abused as a child. The girl Ms. Glass takes on as a foster child eats nothing but cookies for every meal, has pinch marks all over her body from one of her mother's boyfriends (of which there is an endless succession), wears filthy clothes, has a head full of lice, and has never slept on anything except a urine-soaked mattress. She doesn't know how to take a bath or dress or undress herself, and she doesn't even know the alphabet or how to tell time. She's been traumatized by neglect, possible sexual abuse, and watching X-rated movies with her mother's boyfriends.
  
  Ms. Glass nurtures the girl for months until she has regained characteristics of a normal child and is only four years behind others in her grade. She teaches her to stop swearing all the time and being rude and intractable.
  
  Beyond this, Ms. Glass succeeds in overcoming the dysfunctional foster-care system in the UK, in which counselors quit every week, employees are afraid to confront the most egregiously violent parents, and nobody stays on schedule. It's amazing what Ms. Glass can accomplish in several months by using love and consistent non-physical discipline and teaching the girl cause and effect.
  Ultimately, the girl is placed permanently with her half-brother and his family, who are healthy and wholesome and start to give her a new life.
  
  This book is fun to read because Ms. Glass takes a child who is basically an animal and civilizes and nurtures her through the course of the book. I would highly recommend it when you need a lift.
• 
  Penelope Irving

  Cathy Glass is the queen of the 'watch disadvantaged or abused children get the help they finally need' sub-genre of 'misery memoirs'. She always focuses on the story of one child's journey from the moment they arrive on her doorstep to the time they get sent away (usually) to a happy ending. Along the way she spins minor mysteries about the child's background or experiences which get resolved to give the story a bit of narrative tug. There's always a lot of completely mundane detail about her domestic routines, which for some reason I enjoy reading, and often some very exciting and dramatic encounters with angry relatives of the children.
  
  This latest book offers all this, so fails to disappoint if that's what you're after. I have gained a huge respect for the work that foster parents like Cathy do after reading her books, and it's always worthwhile to be reminded that not all children in our society are treated well by the people who ought to be caring for them.
• 
  Rachel Nelson

  This genre of book is right up my alley with the intense and disturbing nature of the story. If I had to choose my favorite book it would be "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls, another extremely sad and heart-wrenching story about children who were somehow missed by the system designed to protect them. So when we were approached to read the book I was very excited just because I love reading these types of stories!
  
  Let's begin with the good stuff! Aimee, the foster child, comes into Cathy Glass' home from a deeply disturbing and dark place with her mother as a severe drug addict. Aimee did not attend school regularly, she didn't know how to bathe or brush her teeth or even change her clothes, and she had bruises all over her body, which we learn is only the beginning of the abuse she endured. For me, Aimee is the books redeeming quality. She was ill-mannered, sassy, and downright rude, but she also loved and desired love so much that it was impossible not to love her. Things she said penetrated my heart deeply because of their simplicity and honesty. For example, (and I hate to give anything away here, but this was one of my favorite parts), at one point Aimee said
  
  "Aimee gave my hand a little squeeze before she said, 'I'm lucky. Two families want me now as their daughter. Before no one did.'"
  
  (Nearly brought me to tears reading that. No child should ever feel unwanted.)
  
  Aimee's demeanor throughout the book was where Glass' writing really came to life for me and made me want to finish it despite my issues with Glass' writing style. When she wasn't directly talking about Aimee I found her writing distracting from the story I thought she should be telling. Additionally, Glass seemed to be talking to me as if she was talking to a child. As I read I kept on feeling like "okay, I get it. You made your point. Let's move on. You already said that a few pages ago." For example in the beginning she mentions a number of times that Aimee's unusual behavior was typical for children coming from similar situations, which wouldn't have been a big deal except she said it multiple times in the same chapter in regards to the same behavior, like Aimee's rejecting to use a knife and fork because her mom had never taught her how to use them. Her writing at times seemed very pandering and pedantic and it really bothered me, especially as I'm a bit familiar with the adoption/foster world.
  
  Also, Glass really thinks a lot of herself as a foster carer. She must have casually put into the first few chapters a half a dozen times that she's cared for "over 100 children" and so she knew exactly how to handle such a challenging situation. Comments like that just came off as haughty and annoying and made me not care as much about Cathy or her viewpoints. It was also very demeaning to me as a reader when she had to justify her actions by telling me again and again about her extensive experience and expertise. At one point she even says, after someone did something in a way she wouldn't have done, "always the accommodating foster carer." Uhhh, humble much, Cathy?
  
  Finally, at some points Glass would go on and on about details I found neither interesting or helpful. Towards the end of the book she belabored the point that the social service system is inefficient, which she's already explained a number of times, and then goes on for 3 paragraphs about how a meeting got started 35 minutes late because they couldn't find a room to use because no one had scheduled one. Seriously, I just summarized two pages of text into one sentence. Most of the time it wasn't like that, but occasionally I just found myself wondering what I was reading and why I was reading it.
  
  Overall, the story was good enough and Aimee was real enough that I wanted to finish the book despite my issues with Glass' writing style. After reading the book I find myself hoping to foster care in the future, but not anymore than I had hoped to before reading and not necessarily because of anything that was said specifically. It was just a real story about foster caring in the UK that I would definitely recommend to friends who want to read such a story.
• 
  Breath of Life

  My Review:
  Have you ever felt left out, forgotten, alone? I am from a middle size family. A broken home, three siblings growing up but I always knew I was loved. Reading this book made me love my memories of growing up. Made me Thank the Good Lord Above on how I was raised.
  
  Author Cathy Glass has written a story here that has made me want to round up all the children in the whole world and give them the kind of home I was raised in. To make sure that every child in the world knew that they are truly loved. Oh My God!!! I really hated to love this book. Such raw emotions.
  
  Aimee should have been taken away from what she was being subjected to when all the other Older siblings were taken. Why wasn't she? That was my question through the whole book.
  
  "Damaged"... "Forgotten"... Oh there are so many things I could say about this book. I am not going to due to the fact that it is fairly new on the market. I do not want to give any thing away. It is only out right now on e-book, but I do believe this is one that I will want as an actual book on my shelf. One that will remind me that the grass to some is greener on the other side.
  
  So due to the above I am giving this book a Breath of Life Rating of:
  
  Five Clock Rating!!!
  
  Disclosure: I received this book in exchange for my review. The opinions are mine. And your opinion may differ.
• 
  Rachel Dyer

  I enjoyed this story and thought that, for the most part, it was very well-written and engaging. The only thing that kept me from giving this book a five-star rating was that the author comes across as very pretentious. In several places, she over-explains to the point that it made me feel that she thinks her readers are a pack of ignorant simpletons. For example, at one point she feels the need to explain what a group hug is. In another part of the book, the child in foster care tells the author something along the lines of "My mom's teeth are all brown, and my dad puts his in a glass at night." (Sorry, this isn't an exact quote, I've returned the book to the library.) The author feels the need to explain to her poor, confused readers that this meant that the mother had poor dental hygiene with many decayed teeth, and that the father had dentures. She does not have faith in her readers' abilities to make inferences.
  
  This irritation was only increased when the author expressed her indignation at having to defend herself when the biological parent of the child in her care made accusations against her. Yes, these accusations were malicious and not based in fact, but instead of just explaining the truth, the author was just completely offended that the social workers did their job that they are required to do by following up on accusations. One example is that the child told the biological mother that Ms. Glass would not allow her to watch her favorite television shows. The biological mother complained about this to the social worker, so the social worker did her job and asked Ms. Glass about this. Ms. Glass could have calmly explained that the child's favorite shows were slasher movies that were inappropriate, but instead she became very offended that she was even questioned at all. I can assume that her argument was that she should have built up some trust with the social workers for having fostered hundreds of children, but to me that would make me think that she should have some more understanding of how the system works. Good social workers are required to investigate complaints about foster families. It is a sign that they are doing their job.
  
  Overall, the book is good and the story is interesting. I found this book very difficult to set down and read it all in one evening. Just be prepared to bristle with annoyance on occasion when the author comes across as pretentious.
• 
  Angie

  I keep returning to the familiarity and comfort of Cathy Glass sharing her experiences as a foster carer. As a responsible and loving parent to my own two sons, it’s always difficult to read accounts of children who have suffered abuse, but at the same time it’s also heartwarming to see the generosity and complete devotion with which Cathy, and many others like her, open their homes and hearts to these lost children.
  
  I always know beforehand that my heart is going to be broken into a million pieces by the possible abuse and suffering of the child before being taken in to care by Cathy, but at the same time I also know that I’ll be comforted be the love and care that child will receive from Cathy and her family. The familiar routines and homeliness of the Glass household is something I’ve come to expect after having read a few of Cathy’s books.
  
  Aimee’s story shocked me and broke my heart, but seeing how Cathy, and at the end Aimee’s forever family, changed her life and gave her a chance at a happy and fulfilling future, made all the tears I shed throughout this book worth it. If there was ever an example of how substance abuse can ruin lives, this sure is it.
• 
  Ruth Turner

  I’m not sure if I’ve ready too many books by Cathy Glass or if it’s just this one where the writing annoyed me a little.
  
  At times, I felt a little as though I was repeatedly being lectured on the duties of a foster carer. And I really only needed to be told once how experienced she is, and how many children she’s cared for over the years.
  
  I also think she sounded her own trumpet a little too often at times.
  
  A good read, although heart breaking, as most of these stories are.
• 
  nell

  getting to like this genre.
  but, i prefer rosie lewis kind of writing than cathy.
• 
  Nancy

  I looked on this English book, and compared it to the care given children in the 1960's, when I was working in Texas and Alabama. England seems to have more safe guards in place, for the treatment of abused children, but they still have problems with the lack of enough workers to do all the things, that the law requires. Children still fall through the system.
  
  The law gives the parents time to talk on the phone and visit in person several times a week. This would seem to be of great use, if the child could be placed back with the parent at some point. This little girl's behavior was worse, after she talked or visited with her mother.
  
  There were many social workers involved with this child. There were too many changes. Finally a social worker located an older brother, who had been through the system, and adopted, who wanted to give back, and took his little sister into his home, with his wife and daughter.
• 
  justablondemoment

  Yet another heart-tugging book by Cathy Glass. Everytime I read a book by her I'm reminded how much I love my parents for the warm and loving environment I grew up in. It is just so sad what some kids have to go through. Hats off to Cathy and all the other people out there who devote their lives to giving our abused and neglected children a ray of hope and for some, the only kindness ever shown to them. If you have never read any of her books choose one and read it. They all are good and all I would highly recommend.
  
  FTC Advisory: I recieved this copy of " Another Forgotten Child " by "Glass, Cathy " thru "LibraryThing Early Review Program ". No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
• 
  Lori L (She Treads Softly)

  Cathy Glass is a pseudonym for a prolific author who writes about her personal experiences as a foster parent in the U.K. Another Forgotten Child is Cathy Glass's latest book/memoir. Aimee is a terribly abused and neglected eight year old child who was on the at risk child protection register at birth, but still fell through the cracks of a woefully inadequate, unorganized system. This bureaucratic oversight resulted in Aimee being left with a vicious, drug addicted, negligent mother, Susan. When Glass took over her care, Aimee was filthy, dressed in ill-fitting rags, lice-ridden, covered in bruises, and had no experience with basic personal hygiene. She had a defiant attitude, and had been subsisting on a horrendous diet consisting mostly of sweets. Soon Glass also realized that Aimee was likely also the victim of sexual abuse.
  
  Aimee's mother, Susan, who had all five of her older children removed from her care years ago, knew how to work the system and complain, exaggerate, and twist events to try and exploit the various social workers an get her way. She is very insulting, threatening, and difficult to work with. It is obvious that Aimee's ordered supervised visits with her mother three times a week, and the telephone calls on the days other days were not in her best interest.
  
  Set up as relating a chronological series of events to the reader, like a journal, Glass's account of Aimee's arrival and her discovery of additional information is presented in a forthright way with no hyperbole or drama - beyond what Glass does to protect herself from Susan's unfounded accusations. She also includes many of the day to day actions that occurred while caring for Aimee. While there are times when this approach feels tiresome, the whole story is still very riveting. It is almost like you are reading a caseworkers detached account of a client.
  
  The biggest thing Cathy Glass does, beyond helping Aimee, is making an incontrovertible case that Aimee was not properly watched and served by the social services system in the U.K. In her case they did not serve her best interests and their neglect cause a child to suffer harm needlessly for eight years.
  
  Very Highly Recommended - I had a few reservations about Cathy Glass's Another Forgotten Child however, once I started reading it I could not put it down.
  
  Disclosure: I received an advanced reading copy of this book from the publisher and TLC for review purposes.
  
  
  
• 
  Nicole

  The first thing I thought after reading this book was that anyone thinking of fostering a child should read this book. It is super straightforward, and realistic. I know the system in the United States, and it seems quite similar to the one Ms. Glass works within. It seems the system is as bad there as in US, and for anyone who ever wondered what happened behind the scenes this is the perfect book.
  
  Cathy’s approach is very factual writing. I wished there was a bit more feeling in it, but I also understand her difficult legal position with not providing too much information about the families she works with, breaking confidentiality, getting sued, or affecting the adult lives of the children. She has to tread a fine line, and I appreciate how much work it would take to write this book. My life has provided me with interaction with this world, and I think that may be why is was a bit slow for me. But everything is included, the parent side of the story, outside agencies, the govt agencies, the foster parents, the support networks, therapists. And I appreciate that I have never read a book so true to the system, and an emotional outburst would have lessened the credibility and readability. I also predict that life with Aimee was a large amount more difficult than she ever lets on, which only adds to the honesty of her narrative.
  
  Cathy is a life-changing woman, and has the ability to get to so many different audiences. I hope that her books are incorporated in trainings for social workers, child protection agencies, nonprofits, foster parents, police, anyone who comes in contact with families in crisis. I also hope that adult children who have graduated out of the system have the chance to read this and feel they are not alone. That parents in the system, extended family, have a chance to investigate some of the procedures. This book can (and will) actually make a difference, in real life, going beyond the cliche'.
  
  As a side note: Thanks so much for the first-reads giveaway!!!! And loved the British slang, and slight differences between the countries. And loved that she stayed true to these differences and didn't assimilate.
• 
  Ali Wolpern

  This book is another heartfelt book by Cathy Glass! This is on the top of my list. These books are horrific and it's awful that they are true stories, but it really makes you want to make a difference in the lives of children and the foster care system.
  
  Highly recommend reading all of the books by this author.
• 
  Aleigha Andersen

  A great insight to the fostering life and the wild ride it is.
• 
  Michaela Baldry

  This book has been a real eye opener for me. I have read many books in the past in this genre, but each one seems to teach me something new. This one allowed me to see things from several different perspectives to give me a greater understanding of such situations.
  
  Obviously it's not a happy, light hearted holiday read. Yes it is very emotional (all ranges of emotions) at times. It is hard to believe that it is true sometimes.
  
  I couldn't put it down (though with 3 kids of my own, of course I had to), I thought about it in between reading, talked to people about what I was reading and even cried towards the end (happy and sad tears).
  
  For anyone that wants to be a foster carer or just anyone that wants to have more understanding, I recommend this book and plan to read more of Cathy's books now. It is thought provoking, but inspiring and I am pleased to say that for Amy, it seems that when life couldn't get much worse she was given the chance of the future that all children deserve.
• 
  Kathy

  "Another Forgotten Child" gets started from word one grabbing the readers attention and doesn't let go until you finished reading! Few authors seem to have the ability to impact a reader & reading experience like Cathy Glass does with this book.
  
  While some parts are disturbing and heart-wrenching, Ms Glass does a superb job relaying everything in a matter-of-fact way. Ms Glass obviously has lots of experience in foster care and especially with more "disturbed" children - much kudos to her for taking on one of the hardest roles any person could ever do, in my opinion. Fostering can be highly rewarding and deeply disturbing and heartbreaking (I have family members that do foster care). The world could use more people like Cathy to help more of the Aimee's in need.
  
  I would recommend this book to anyone that wants a glimpse into the "real world" of foster caring, anyone that is thinking about fostering (or even adopting).... I know Aimee & her story will stick with me for quite some time as I believe it was intended.
• 
  ☼Bookish pam in Virginia☼

  Another Forgotten Child is a well-written book in the sense that there is no great flaw in grammar and style.
  
  The author is a professional foster parent and a damn good one. Her level of observation is acute and the results of this will leave you aching for the children involved, and furious with the competencies of the adults.
  
  The bureaucratic nature of the British system will leave you grinding your teeth -- though I'm sure our system here in the US is no better.
  
  What I enjoyed about the book was the insight that Ms. Glass provided into how the system worked. I also enjoyed watching her use her people skills to get through the system, and to aid these children in need.
  
  For some reason though I can't bring myself to give the book more than 3.5 STARS. My main problem being that I thought the book ran a bit long.
  
  Interesting without being fascinating. I'm not encouraged to pick up another volume by this author, though I can understand why others would.
  
  
• 
  Christina Tanielian

  I chose this book because mt friend told me its a good book. The plot of the book is basically a little 8 year old girl names Aimee gets put into a foster home and a foster care taker adopts her. I liked the authors writing style because it felt like it was real and everything that was going on in the book was happening in real life as if I was the 8 year old girl Aimee or as if I was right there while everything was happening. I would definitely because its a good book and I know alot of my friends can relate to this.
• 
  Maria

  Another story about a suffering and neglected child. I respect Cathy for what she does, it's a really great and a very necessary job, but let me say she isn't a writer. The book has seemed to me dragged out and that's why sometimes boring, but the language is very simple ant it's a big plus (just because I don't know English well and I could read the book without a dictionary). I hope Aimee, Jodie and other children don't mind about telling their terrible stories to the public, otherwise it can damage their new life.
• 
  Nancy

  I really like Cathy Glass's books. I would recommend them to anyone that liked Torey Hayden or Mary MacCracken. All of these authors trace the growth of children with enormous emotional challenges. Cathy Glass is British and so shows us another country's way of helping these children. The things that work and those that are problematic. Ms Glass's dialog is sometimes stilted, but she is a great storyteller. When I pick up her books, I just can't put them down. I get absolutely nothing done until the last page is finished.
• 
  Kristin (Kritters Ramblings)

  Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings
  
  My first book written by Cathy Glass and most certainly not my last. I loved her inside look to a foster care system that still has some work to do, but despite its faults is in general doing good work taking care of children when a family may not have the full capacity. I fell in love with Aimee and loved the honesty that Cathy provided in sharing her story with the ups and the many downs.
• 
  Leigh Bandy was ellis

  
  
  Really interesting book. Good insight on what foster carers have to deal with and how social services miss vital signs in cases of real neglect.
  Enjoyed it...but have really enjoyed reading all her other books. Enjoy true stories and this is a topic that interests me...not the sad bits !!
  
• 
  Samantha Majewski

  This book is good for the most part but as others have mentioned there are parts of this book that seem to just drag on and on at times that just really aren't necessary. If someone decided to revise this, take out a paragraph or two here and there summarize this page, we would have a perfect 5 star book in my opinion.