Inês's Reviews > Infância Perdida

Damaged: The Heartbreaking True Story of a Forgotten Child by Cathy Glass

Although Jodie is only eight years old, she is violent, aggressive, and her challenging behaviour has sent her off to five carers in four months. Her last hope is Cathy Glass, an experienced foster carer that decides to take her on and protect her from being placed in an institution.
As Jodie begins to trust Cathy, her behaviour improves. Over time, with childish honesty, she reveals details of the abuses she suffered at the hands of her parents and others.
It becomes clear that the Social Services are not seeing what should have been obvious signs. Now, Jodie lost her childhood and her development may be forever compromised.


I would like to start by saying that I'm quite a sensitive person, so I was a bit nervous going into it. My mom had already read it and warn me about the subject matter. I didn't know if I could do it but, in the end, I'm so glad I did. This is a disturbing true story. Jodie experienced many things that kids, at this age, shouldn't even have to hear about.
If you're like me and need it: trigger warning for self harm, child abuse, sexual abuse, rape and aggressive behaviour.

Although the author's writing isn't something too special, it kept me turning pages, always wanting to know more about the story, even it being difficult to read at times. In my opinion, it was a solid book about fostering damaged children. It sounds a bit wrong to say, but I think it was because everything was so interesting. In addition to being a really eye opening book, it is also extremely educational without seeming to be teaching you anything.

Cathy Glass is a foster carer with twenty years of experience and said: "Jodie was the most disturbed and abused child I had ever looked after". I appreciate how much the author tried to help Jodie by, obviously, doing her job. I found her to be an amazing person with an amazing heart.
It's also great that we get to see the impact that all of this fostering situation and, specialty, Jodie had on Cathy's own children.
The importance that love, harmony and boundaries have in a child's life and how sometimes, in delicate situations, it isn't enough.

I don't know if you're aware, but abilities such as reading or writing can only be correctly developed after a certain age because that's when the brain reaches the maturity needed. It's also true that others, like language, if not developed in a critical period, cause the brain to interpret this ability as "unnecessary" and it atrophies the area responsible for it. The latest was exactly what happened to Jodie. Her development was compromise; not impossible to reach but extremely hard.

I liked how therapy was addressed to start helping Jodie on a deeper level.
Over time she revels, in a very innocent way, the abuses she has suffered. What makes it more devastating is the fact that she doesn't recognize them as nasty acts. Jodie's behavior and empathy gets an explanation as well as the surface approach to the dissociative identity disorder.

We all know how flawed can Social Services be so its reference was important since they're as impactful as the child's parents or foster carers .
I read in another review that, in stories like this one, we never get the aggressors' point of view. What leads people to do such horrible things to kids? Or why would parents do it to their own children?. I think it would be certainly more disturbing but extremely interesting.

Ending by stating that this is the authr's first published work, though not the first chronologically. I would be really interested in picking up the book Cathy Glass wrote about one of her three children, Lucy, who she ended up adopting.

*Unfortunately, I didn't find any quotes or mark them myself.*