Crying for Help: The Shocking True Story of a Damaged Girl with a Dark Past

Casey Watson

Feb 2012 · Sold by HarperCollins UK

About this ebook

The second book from Sunday Times bestselling author Casey Watson.

Two weeks after saying farewell to her first foster child, Casey is asked to look after Sophia, a troubled 12-year-old with a sad past. Sophia’s actions are disturbing and provocative and, before long, Casey and her family find themselves in a dark and dangerous situation.

Two years ago Sophia’s mother had a terrible accident. Sophia has been in care ever since.

Right away, Casey feels something isn’t right. Sophia’s a well-developed girl, who looks more like 18 than 12. She only seems to have eyes and ears for men, and treats all women with contempt and disgust. And she has everyone around her jumping through hoops.

Over time, as more details begin to emerge about Sophia’s past, it becomes clear that her behaviour is a front for an early life filled with pain and suffering. But although Casey feels she is gradually breaking through to Sophia and getting her to open up about things she has never spoken about before, her violence is threatening the safety of the whole family, forcing Casey to question whether she can really handle this lost and damaged girl.

Both shocking and inspiring, this true story will shed new light on the extreme and sometimes dangerous nature of foster care.

Includes a sample chapter of Little Prisoners.

Ratings and reviews

Not all Foster Care cases are sad stories. Our daughter was placed with us when she was 3 months old; after 2 years of trying to demonstrate competence, he biological parents admittedly agreed that they'd never be able to "meet her needs or keep her safe" and made the very grown-up decision to surrender their parental rights contingent upon our adoption of her (no one else), and since the foster parents get "first dibs" at adopting children they're fostering, we happily agreed. As a matter of fact, during the whole case, Plan A is for the child to be returned to their biological parent/s if possible; concurrently they run Plan B, for either the foster parents with whom the child is living to adopt or, if the child's foster parents are not intent on adopting, the caseworker seeks to match the child with a prospective adoptive family, so at any point, if/when Plan A fails, Plan B is in-place. Similarly, when her birth parents had another child (placed in care upon discharge from the hospital), the caseworkers/homefinders strategized to place him with a foster family who would intend to adopt if/when his parent's either surrendered their parental rights or had them terminated by the court. He too is being adopted by the foster family with whom he's been since birth. There's two wonderfully positive case foster care results. I know of many more.

My first Casey Watson book .iv read every Cathy glass book an even though the jobs are the same after reading Casey's I find Cathy sugar coats things were with Casey u get more grit I like both authors but as iv read all of Cathy's books I'm now staring on Casey's. expellant book I enjoyed it .... An yes I did cry .

So heart breaking a story makes you wonder how many more children suffer the same fait. By perants to selfish to see that their child has had no childhood and needs to learning the real meaning of growing up. Perants beed to except when they beed help themselfs and allow their children to be children

About the author

Casey Watson is a specialist foster carer. She has been working in this field for six years after giving up her position as a behaviour manager for a local school. During this time she has welcomed 14 difficult to place children into her home.

As a specialist foster carer she works with profoundly damaged children, seeing each child through a specific behavioural modification programme, at the end of which they will hopefully be in the position to be returned either back to their family or into mainstream foster care.

Casey combines fostering with writing, usually late at night when the rest of the family is sleeping.

Casey is married with two grown-up children and three grandchildren.

The name Casey Watson is a pseudonym.