Casey Watson

The author recounts her experiences with her family's second foster child, a troubled thirteen-year-old girl with Addison's disease who witnessed her mother's suicide attempt, and who was physically abusive of her foster family.

The Shocking True Story of a Damaged Girl with a Dark Past

Crying for Help

Bestselling author and teacher Casey Watson shares the horrifying true story of Kiera Bentley, a 12-year-old girl with a deeply shocking secret she's too young to even understand. When Casey first meets Kiera, a small slight girl who's just lashed out at a fellow pupil in assembly, she immediately senses something's wrong. Something in Kiera's eyes alerts Casey that this is an "old head on young shoulders", and with Kiera's constant tiredness and self-soothing habit of pulling her hair out, she follows her instinct and takes Kiera under her wing. At first the answer seems simple enough; Kiera's parents aren't together and they don't get on, which makes life hard for Kiera as she's so close to her dad. But as the weeks roll on, Casey begins to understand that there's something much darker going on behind closed doors. And when she finally learns the truth, she's terrified she won't be able to save Kiera from it.

A Stolen Childhood

From the Sunday Times bestselling author comes a harrowing and moving memoir about two innocent and frightened 'unfosterable' children who do not know what it means to be loved. This is the third book in the series. The shock that strikes Casey and her family when Ashton and Olivia arrive is immeasurable. Two dirty, frightened little waifs stand before them, huge eyes staring around their new surroundings. Ashton - 9, Olivia - 6, have the same urchin look; hair running wild with head lice, filthy nails and skin covered in scabs. And the smell is horrific. The eldest two children of a group of five siblings, Casey had only been told they were coming two days earlier. But it was an emergency, temporary placement, and they were only due to stay a couple of weeks... Casey is desperate to help these poor, lost children, who have been taken away from their family because they were considered at risk, but before she can even start to understand the horrific things that have happened in the past, she has to teach them the most basic of behaviours. Ashton and Olivia have no barriers and no sense of what's right and wrong - her challenges begin with the toilet and eating habits. The weeks roll into months and the months roll on, but bit by bit the children are starting to feel like they truly belong to a family, for the first time. With this new found security and love, gradually they start to reveal what really happened to them and their siblings at home, and slowly Casey can help them start to rebuild their young lives.

A Tragic Story of Siblings Trapped in a World of Abuse and Suffering

Little Prisoners

A BOY WITHOUT HOPE is the heart-breaking story of a boy who didn't know the meaning of love. A history of abuse and neglect has left Miller destined for life's scrap heap. But in this turbulent story of conflict and struggle, Casey Watson is determined to help Miller overcome his demons, show him love and give him hope. Casey Watson is back, doing the job she does best - rolling up her sleeves and fostering the children who, on first meeting, seem like hopeless cases. But when she meets Miller and discovers the truth about his disturbing childhood, even Casey begins to doubt if this child will ever be able to accept love. Found naked and alone on a railway track, Miller was just five when he was first admitted into the care system. Emotionally tormented by his biological parents, Miller has never understood how to establish meaningful relationships, and his destructive past, and over 20 failed placements, is sealing his fate in society's social scrap heap. After a torrent of violent behaviour and numerous failed attempts to help Miller, Casey decides to make an intervention, implementing a severe regime that strips Miller of all control. But soon the emotional demands of Miller's case start to take their toll on Casey and Mike. Just how far is Casey willing to go to help Miller and save him from his inner demons?

A Boy Without Hope

14 year old Adrianna arrives on Casey s doorstep with no possessions, no English, and no explanation. It will be a few weeks before Casey starts getting the shocking answers to her questions . Brought to Casey as a short term emergency placement, 14 year old Adrianna arrives with nothing but her gratitude. Having turned herself in to a social services office some hundred miles away, she has no possessions, no English and, apparently, no history not that she s willing to share, anyway. She is a beautiful young Polish girl, with the bearing of a ballerina, but is terrified, malnourished and unwell. And, having slept rough for some time (the little they do know about her) she spends much of her first days with Watsons asleep in bed. Growing concerned about Adrianna s wellbeing, and her persistent high temperature, Casey decides to call in the GP. But, to her surprise, Adrianna becomes almost hysterical about being examined and, given her refusal to talk even via the interpretor they ve brought in for her Casey s fostering antennae begin twitching. Where has she come from? And why is she so terrified to be touched? What has happened to make her so ill and scared? It will be a few weeks before Casey starts getting answers to these questions. Shocking answers; ones that throw up a whole host of new questions and the beginnings of a journey to find justice for Adrianna, and, more importantly, a future, and a home "

A Beautiful Girl. Trafficked for Sex. Is There Nowhere to Hide?

Runaway Girl

Adam is a fragile and anxious boy whose relationship with his mother starts to unravel. His mother is seen as ‘wonderful’ and ‘devoted’ to Adam who she works hard for, but all isn’t as it seems.

At Risk: An innocent boy. A sinister secret. Is there no one to save him from danger?

Just when Casey thinks her foster care duties are done, she's asked to look after Sam, a troubled nine-year-old with a violent streak who drove his previous guardians to release him of their care. It soon unfolds, however, that this is no simple case. Determined to get to the root of Sam's behaviour, Casey is committed to uncover his mysterious past only to find out something far darker than she ever imagined... Having recently said goodbye to their last foster child, Miller, the Watson family are taking a bit of a break. But it's while Casey is having fun catching up with her friends that she receives a call from her new link worker. Social services are desperately trying to find a settled home for nine-year-old Sam, who has Autism and some serious behavioural problems. Removed from his mother less than a week ago, Sam has been staying with respite carers. But with two young children of their own, they now find themselves unable to hold on to the little boy as he is bullying them relentlessly. It's not an isolated situation, either. Apparently Sam's own siblings begged not to be placed with their older brother - they were both adamant that they were too afraid of him. The Watsons agree to accommodate Sam, who, despite his tiny stature, turns out to be quite the whirlwind - destroying anything and everything in his path. In addition to the outward behaviours, it quickly becomes evident that there is a much darker past that has blighted the boy's life. As Casey tries to get to the bottom of it, she discovers there are no files on Sam; only the testament of his previous neighbour. Thankfully, Mrs Gallagher is only too happy to help. And to talk. But it soon transpires that there is a great deal more to Sam's secret history...

A Dark Secret

The first in a series of books from foster carer Casey Watson. 'We're hungry, ' his brother cried. 'We're hungry, Justin. Please find us some food.' Justin was five years old; his brothers two and three. Their mother, a heroin addict, had left them alone again. Later that day, after trying to burn down the family home, Justin was taken into care.

A Heartbreaking True Story of Abuse, Abandonment and Betrayal

The Boy No One Loved

Bestselling author and foster carer Casey Watson tells the shocking and deeply moving true story of a young girl with severe behavioural problems. This is the first of several stories about difficult children Casey helped during her time as a behaviour manager at her local comprehensive. Casey has been in the post for six months when thirteen-year-old Imogen joins her class. One of six children Casey is teaching, Imogen has selective mutism. She s a bright girl, but her speech problems have been making mainstream lessons difficult. Life at home is also hard for Imogen. Her mum walked out on her a few years earlier and she s never got on with her dad s new girlfriend. She s now living with her grandparents. There s no physical explanation for Imogen s condition, and her family insist she s never had troubles like this before. Everyone thinks Imogen is just playing up except the member of staff closest to her, her teacher Casey Watson. It is the deadpan expression she constantly has on her face that is most disturbing to Casey. Determined there must be more to it, Casey starts digging and it s not long before she starts to discover a very different side to Imogen s character. A visit to her grandparents reveals that Imogen is anything but silent at home. In fact she s prone to violent outbursts; her elderly grandparents are terrified of her. Eventually Casey s hard work starts to pay off. After months of silence, Imogen utters her first, terrified, words to Casey: I thought she was going to burn me. Dark, shocking and deeply disturbing, Casey begins to uncover the reality of what Imogen has been subjected to for years."

The True Story of a Terrified Child Whose Silence Spoke Volumes

The Girl Without a Voice

Pojken som ingen ville ha

From the Sunday Times bestselling author comes a true story of two deeply troubled boys both in need of a loving home. This is the sixth title in the series. The Watsons are astonished when they answer their front door to find their case worker with a small boy on the doorstep. Jenson is just nine years old. He was removed from his home thirty minutes earlier when it was discovered his mother had left him at home while she went on holiday with her boyfriend. A couple of weeks later Casey is in for a second shock when she is asked to take a second nine-year-old boy, Georgie. Georgie is autistic and has been in a children s home since he was a toddler. The home is closing and social services need somewhere temporary for him to stay. With her own grown up son, Kieron, having Asperger s (a mild form of autism), Casey knows this is one child she cannot say no to. The relationship between Jenson and Georgie is difficult from the outset. Jenson is rebellious and full of attitude and he kicks off at anything, constantly winding Georgie up. Georgie doesn t cope well with change and is soon in a permanent state of stress. Despite Casey s best efforts, her innate love for the children is being tested and she begins to question if she can handle Jenson s cruelty. But overtime it becomes clear that the boys have formed an unlikely bond. Could this be the solution to all of their troubles?"

Two Little Boys, Lost and Unloved, One Woman Determined to Make a Difference

Breaking the Silence

Daddy's Boy

Scarlett's Secret

Six-year-old Darby arrives on Casey’s doorstep terrified and hysterical. As Casey tries to soothe the little girl she realises that this is likely to be one of the most difficult placements she had ever had to deal with...

The Little Princess: The shocking true story of a little girl imprisoned in her own home

It's late on Friday night when Casey's mobile starts to ring. She is expecting it to be her daughter Riley. But it isn't Riley. It's a woman from the Emergency Duty Team. So begins Casey and Mike's latest fostering challenge - a fifteen-year-old girl called Keeley who's run away from her long-term foster home 25 miles away.

Groomed: Danger Lies Closer Than You Think

Bestselling author and foster carer Casey Watson shares the shocking true story of Tyler, an abused eleven-year-old who, after stabbing his step-mother, had nowhere else to go. Knowing a little of Tyler s past his biological mother, a heroin addict, died of an overdose when he was three Casey feels bound to do her best for him. It isn t easy; Tyler continuously lashes out, even trying to attack Casey herself. Investigation into his earlier childhood reveals why: forced to watch his mother die he was found emaciated and traumatised two days later, then delivered to a father who didn t want him and a step-mother who beat him. With the horrific events of his past now vividly affecting the course of his present, Casey and her husband Mike are determined to veer him away from the violence and drugs they fear he will come to depend on. Heartbreaking and profoundly moving, Nowhere to Go tells the story of a child forsaken by his family but fought for by his foster carers."

The Heartbreaking True Story of a Boy Desperate to Be Loved

Nowhere to Go

Let Me Go is the powerful new memoir from foster carer and Sunday Times bestselling author Casey Watson. Harley, 13, has been sectioned under the mental health act after attempting suicide. She was spotted climbing the railings on a footbridge that crossed a busy motorway and pulled to safety by a member of the public. After six weeks in hospital, social services are looking for a short-term placement so she can be kept safe while family therapy takes place. Harley has a family - a widowed mother and an older sister, Milly, who left home with her long-term boyfriend just over a year ago. There is no prospect of Harley going home just yet though, as her mum, who has learning difficulties and addictions issues, feels she cannot cope. So she arrives with Casey and Mike under a twenty-eight day care order. As Harley tries to hurl herself out of the moving car on the way home, it quickly becomes clear she is in urgent need of help. Three weeks into the placement, after Harley has made various attempts to abscond, it seems like zero progress is being made. Then all of sudden there is an unexpected breakthrough, and light at the end of a long dark tunnel, but only once Harley is finally able to share the truth about the abuse she suffered at the hands of a very dangerous man.

Let Me Go

‘I’m so sorry, Casey,’ my link worker John said, sounding weary. ‘I know this is probably the worst time I could ring you, but we desperately need someone to take a child tonight.’

The Silent Witness

The fifth book from bestselling author and specialist foster carer Casey Watson. A recent census shows that there are at least 175,000 child carers in the UK, 13,000 of whom care for more than 50 hours a week. Many remain invisible to a system that would otherwise help them. Abigail is one of those children. This is her story. Ten-year-old Abigail has never known her father. Her mother, Sarah, has multiple sclerosis, and Abigail has been her carer since she was a toddler shopping, cooking, cleaning and attending to her personal needs. When Sarah is rushed to hospital, suddenly this comes to the attention of the social services, and Abigail has nowhere to go. Though she doesn t fit the usual profile of a child that specialist foster carers Casey and Mike Watson would take on, they are happy to step in and look after Abigail. It s an emergency, after all and all that s needed is a loving temporary home, while social services look into how to support the family so that they can be reunited. But it soon becomes clear that this isn t going to happen. Sarah s MS is now at a very advanced stage, and the doctors are certain that there will no longer be periods of remission. Abigail s emotional state starts to spiral out of control as she struggles to let go of the burden of responsibilities she has carried for so long. Sarah and Abigail insist that they do not need help, but with no other family to contact, social services are left with no choice but to find long-term care for Abigail, against their wishes. But Casey never gives up on a child in need, and she knows there must be another solution "

The Heartrending True Story of a Young Girl Secretly Caring for Her Severely Disabled Mother

Mummy's Little Helper

From the Sunday Times bestselling author comes a harrowing and moving memoir about two innocent and frightened ‘unfosterable’ children who do not know what it means to be loved. This is the third book in the series.

Casey Watson

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