Cathy Glass – Book Review – Parenting – Fostering – Rearing Children Successfully
Cathy Glass - I Miss Mummy
Cathy Glass Foster Carer – Book Review – Fostering & Raising Children Successfully – makes excellent reading and inspiration
Book Titles Available so far are – “Damaged”, “Hidden”, “Cut”, “Saddest Girl In The World”, “The Girl In The Mirror”, “My Dad’s A Policeman”, “Happy Kids”, “Mummy Told Me Not To Tell”, “Run Mummy, Run!”
Feature on the “Cathy Glass” website of “Happy Adults” coming soon, and possibly a book soon; as a happy adult helps to make a happy child! This will no doubt help adults in their family relationship(s), and in finding more and better contentment in life.
Cathy Glass – Damaged(Note – All names have been changed to protect their identities)
“Cathy Glass” you may say “what a strange name”, “what is she all about?”…
I said the same when I spotted this book during my studies…
A lot of people will say “why read “angst” for goodness sake; life is bad enough as it is; read something uplifting and humorous instead for goodness sake! Well this is uplifting when looked at in the right way! Life sometimes is about “making a difference”, and being selfless sometimes, as well has having to drive and determination to shine through against all odds!
“Cathy” could have quite easily have chosen not to do anything positive herself, and take the path of least resistance and enjoy and take the “easy life”; but no; she chose the better portion, and to make a difference for the better!
Cathy took it on board to not only make a big difference in what she did; but to candidly and honestly document her experience to help to show people what it was like to be a foster carer and parent, and maybe to paint the picture as it really was, to help other people who are doing the same, and to give people inspiration who may that way inclined to also “make a difference”, as they say!
No doubt she has now turned the corner financially since she has become recognised as a popular book author and publisher; but I’m sure that Cathy has improved as a person, and as a carer greatly because of it. She has no doubt been able to plough some of her new resources back into what she does best – fostering, and looking after children who need “opening up”, and putting back onto the “normal path of life” that so many of us take for granted!
While reading the books, I do sense that Cathy may not have had all of the help and financial means to achieve all that she wanted at the start. I also see that her personal life may have had some turns, with her husband who appears to leave her; and having to rear two children of her own; one adopted child, as well as the foster care children.
The foster care that Cathy did apparently started just after the time that she fell pregnant with her first child; initially she did it because she responded to an advert desperate to recruit foster parents, and wanted to have a go at it, and no doubt wanted children of her own too. This lead on to greater things, as she became more fully immersed in what she was doing!
After reading this, my wife and I are thankful that we do have very good parents who love us lots; and that we love them all very much too. We both help them very often when we need to, or we can do so. It is easy to take for granted a normal and healthy upbringing, when so many others are suffering all around us, let alone in other countries
Cathy Glass isn’t her real name, her name has been changed; she is a foster carer who has many years of experience looking after neglected children from deprived and abusive backgrounds, and having quite a measure of success and a sense of achievement from doing so.
I have read all of her main books so far, and I do rate the content as “five star – first class”, of a very absorbing quality and moral value, as well as appreciating what the the author herself did, who has made a big difference by fostering more than 50 children so far.
Cathy Glass has had a great measure of success, and I am sure a genuinely unselfish sense of achievement, starting out maybe young, nervously and shakily, but very quickly getting into fostering, and doing a really good job after not too long. I get the impression that Cathy was and is always learning, and building upon each experience, really making a difference, having a real unselfish interest in what she is doing.
I have to admire her and hand it to her for her self-sacrificing spirit, and endless patience in trying different methods to bring the children in her care around to a more “normal” condition, and enriching their lives no end.
Having an interest in “doing something beneficial” for people, as well as counselling and “social work”, I have read quite a few books about counselling, social work, social care, as well as psychology. I also have a qualification in human biology, besides having an interest in general medicine, and some experience as a volunteer in the past in a few various settings.
I read Cathy’s first book “Damaged”; about a young girl “Jodie”, who eventually revealed her terrible background to Cathy as her trust in Cathy grew. Cathy shows how although some carers had not been successful, she seemed to find a way to reach her heart, and at that time Cathy did feel a failure she says; but the end result was positive after all!
Quoting briefly from the Daily Mail…
“Essentially, Jodie – who Cathy writes about in her bestselling book Damaged – had been at the heart of a paedophile ring. ‘Jodie would have died if she hadn’t been brought into the care system,’ says Cathy. ‘And when it comes to her parents, I do feel anger. It was evil, what they allowed to happen to her. Jodie’s case was exceptionally sad.’
Would-be foster carers should not be put off by cases like Jodie’s, believes Cathy. ‘Obviously you never quite know what baggage a child will come with, but where it’s known to be bad, social workers place children with more experienced carers.’”
…End of quote.
Cathy has not only made a success of her fostering career; but she has been able to capture the events in words and put them to paper in a way that inspires people to do great things!
I found out about Cathy Glass while I was doing my Social Work research; and I bought a copy of “Damaged”, which I read through in just a few sittings for an hour or so each night.
After I had read the book, I handed it over to my wife, Teresa to read. Teresa then passed it on to other members of the family to read. Teresa was experiencing a lot of varied emotions, as was I too when reading the book, as the child portrayed in the book went through a roller-coaster of emotions, trials and tribulations while mending mentally, and growing through her anger, and other emotions, as well as her old disturbed family memories flooding back and disturbing her later on during her recovery.
In “Damaged” Cathy does feel a failure at the end; however she learns later on that she wasn’t – and far from it!
All the way through you are rooting for Cathy to pull each child through successfully, and to be able to get them to move on in life and put most, if not all of their bad early childhood behind them!
No-one who started this book could put it down until it had been fully read from cover to cover within a week!
I asked my wife Teresa to look out for some later releases that Cathy had published; and I have purchased and read some of them already.
The books do vary in approach somewhat, as both Cathy’s experience, and each different child’s problems differ, and she has to employ different tactics.
Some great titles are mentioned below…
“Damaged”
“Hidden”
“Cut”
“Saddest Girl In The World”
“The Girl In The Mirror”
“My Dad’s A Policeman”
“Happy Kids”
“Mummy Told Me Not To Tell”
“Run Mummy, Run!”
The Night The Angels Came
A Baby’s Cry
Happy Adults
A good general guide to fostering, and not a “true life story” as such is “Happy kids”, which offers an everyday practical guide to fostering and parenting skills!
I recommend this book, as it offers some good practical guidance, and may help you to speed up your parenting learning curve, and to avoid many of the common pitfalls that many well-intended parents can fall into
I will read more as they come out, and as I order them..
Certainly Cathy is a well-intended lady, who deserves some accolade, and her books are well worth a read…
Highly recommended in my opinion, and a five star first class read for people who have even a slight interest in fostering, and advanced child rearing techniques!
Although nobody is perfect; you could certainly do a lot worse than to embrace some of the parenting skills that Cathy demonstrates, and shows you in her gripping true-to-life books.
For more information, visit the British Association for Adoption & Fostering website at baaf.org.uk.
She also has her own website… http://www.cathyglass.co.uk/ – well worth a visit!
Thank you for reading this article; if I have helped just one parent or child, then it has been worth it!
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