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Damaged by Kathy Glass (Review)

 I received this book about a month ago and I must admit that I had to force myself through the first four chapters at least. The beginning of this book was not gripping enough to hold my full attention. With exams quickly approaching, I neglected it to focus on studying. However, during the school break, I decided to try finishing this book.

Damaged is the true story of an eight year old girl, Jodie. Her aggression and her disturbing behavior had lead to her going through five foster homes in four months and Cathy, being an experienced foster parent, agrees to foster Jodie, saving her from being placed in a residential unit. Little does Cathy know what she is in for.

When Jodie arrived, things began to kick off in this book and I found myself anxious to finish it. I read through breakfast, lunch and up until late into the night. As the drama unfolded I realized that previous descriptions of Jodie’s behavior had been great understatements.

Jodie was definitely an ‘untamed’ child.

She began smearing faeces on herself, cutting herself and in addition to this, her development matched a four year olds’. Her tantrums were endless and uncontrollable.

She displayed a lot of sexual behavior and Cathy details these events as though they happened yesterday.

Slowly, Jodie learned that Cathy was worthy of her trust and began revealing her disturbing horror-filled past which went un-noticed for a very long time, although Jodie had been on the ‘at-risk’ register since birth. This leads Cathy to a shocking discovery and she realizes that Jodie may soon become ‘unfixable’.

Cathy Glass takes time in explaining the world of foster caring, revealing the truths and the flaws of the system. Her passion for fostering is genuinely obvious. Her details are as realistic. So realistic, that you feel her anxieties, disappointments, sympathy, anger and disappointments again.  Damaged turns out to be a very heartbreaking story but in the end one worth knowing and one worth reading.