A Family Torn Apart: Three sisters and a dark secret that threatens to separate them for ever

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The plot plays out in a surprising way that gives an important lesson for anyone involved in child protection. I found the story heartbreaking and horrendous as always but the writing style felt different and there wasn't as much detail about the children or the situation which is usually included. She is supposed to have phone contact with Polly and Angie but doesn’t want to speak to them, which seems strange.

It was the first time reading one of Cathy's, and I found her writing style to be somewhat simple, which in turn made it difficult to follow. I would highly recommend this book and all of Cathy's books to anyone who is interested in fostering or social work, those who enjoy memoirs, or those just looking for something interesting.The story Cathy tells keeps you captivated from the very first page right through until the last page. I also hope it doesn���t spark any readers to doubt allegations a child makes because there is a lack of evidence. in reading about English criminals one comes across many who have been raised in and out of a foster care system which in practice comes across as virtually identical to the CDSS. However, as the girls settle and start to talk of life at home, it becomes clear that Ashleigh didn’t enjoy the same close relationship with her stepfather. The first title, Damaged, was number 1 in the Sunday Times bestsellers charts in hardback and paperback.

We all know about washing our hands and sanitizer but what I didn't get was more of the girls story. I hope that readers can accept this saddening story for what it is and acknowledge that when false allegations are made it can be devastating to the family. Ashleigh is now living in a children’s residential home where she will be prepared for semi-independent living when she comes out of care at eighteen.This book in particular was hard to read due to the subject matter, and the intense distress it clearly caused to all family members involved. The girls appear to have been well looked after, but as they settle and start to talk of life at home, it becomes clear something is badly wrong. Each book I’ve read has left me with the lingering reminder that the primary issue addressed is incredibly widespread.

They loved their mummy and daddy and seemed to have been well cared for, but their older half-sister Ashleigh, had accused their father of raping her. She has three teenage children of her own; one of whom was adopted after a long-term foster placement. I suspect there are issues of consent, which is why she publishes under a pseudonym and changes the names of her charges and their families, but she provides lots of very specific details about the family, regardless. I'm a retired social worker, and worked with adults rather than children but I was fascinated by the level of detail Cathy gives about the similarities between the way children's social workers investigate and assess cases, and the way that I used to. Her fostering memoirs tell the stories of some of the children who came in to her care, many of whom had suffered abuse.

You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. But gradually they began to settle and as they did they talked more of life at home where there were a lot of arguments between Ashleigh and their parents.