by Eleanor O'Donnell

Created on: August 03, 2009   Last Updated: August 04, 2009

I enjoy a good real-life read from time to time, as I feel they're ways to help us explore and analyse our own lives. They remind us of why we should strive to be 'good' to one another, and what there is in our lives that we should be grateful about. Damaged by Cathy Glass is one of just such real-life reads that will leave you hugging your own child or children close and tight. It's a disturbing read, and one that a lot of us might like to pretend is more fiction than fact; but the more of us that read these kinds of books and become educated on the way in which abuse can affect people to the core like this, the more society as a whole can move forwards in their empathy and inclusiveness.

Damaged tells the story of an out-of-control child called Jody, who has been placed in care due to concerns regarding her natural parents. Jody smears faeces on her face, smashes everything in sight and won't adhere to family rules. That's why she was sent to stay with Cathy, an experienced foster carer, and the fifth that Jody had been assigned to in four months. No-one so far had managed to cope with Jody, and even Cathy wasn't sure that she'd be able to at times. But she persevered right through to finding Jody a more suitable placement in a high-care home.

During her time with Cathy's family, Jody began to make some startling revelations about her family life before she was taken into care. Jody had been through such agonising and disturbing forms of abuse, that her mind had suppressed them and Jody was unable to directly recollect anything much for a long time during her placement in foster care. It's frightening to realise that because the abuse was so traumatic, Jody couldn't be relied upon by the police. Therefore, they were unable to prosecute Jody's biological family for the terrifying crimes they had committed against Jody.

More disturbing still were the revelations about the way in which social services works. Sadly, having had dealings with them myself as a child, and knowing a few friends who've had dealings with them for their disabled child or similar, I knew at once that Cathy's shocking claims were likely to be true. In a society were a baby can be beaten to death, despite being brought to social service's attention more than 60 times during his short life (Baby P.), it doesn't surprise me that Jody's case was handled with such a lack of care, enthusiasm and competency.

I challenge any caring Mother to read this harrowing account and not feel their heart bleed for Jody. Cathy writes in a matter-of-fact way that lacks empathy and even sympathy in places, but then that is likely how she felt at the time while she was running on a few hours sleep and struggling to cope with being repeatedly abused by out-of-control Jody. In fact it was Cathy's emotionally restrained narrative style that really made this book the revealing read that it was for me. I didn't feel that she cried out for pity, sympathy or even a pat on the back. She just told it like it was.

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