{ The Lost Child by Torey Hayden - TLC Book Tour }

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (September 24, 2019)

The first new book from beloved therapist and writer Torey Hayden in almost fifteen years—an inspiring, uplifting tale of a troubled child and the remarkable woman who made a difference.

In a forgotten corner of Wales, a young girl languishes in a home for troubled children. Abandoned by her parents because of her violent streak, Jessie—at the age of ten—is at risk of becoming just another lost soul in the foster system.

Precocious and bold, Jessie is convinced she is possessed by the devil and utterly unprepared for the arrival of therapist Torey Hayden. Armed with patience, compassion, and unconditional love, Hayden begins working with Jessie once a week. But when Jessie makes a stunning accusation against one of Hayden’s colleagues – a man Hayden implicitly trusts – Hayden’s work doubles: now she must not only get to the root of Jessie’s troubles, but also find out if what the girl alleges is true.

A moving, compelling, and inspiring account, Lost Child is a powerful testament once again of Torey Hayden’s extraordinary ability to reach children who many have given up on—and a reminder of how patience and love can ultimately prevail.

Purchase Links

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About Torey Hayden

Born in Montana, USA, Torey Hayden has spent most of her adult life working with children in distress. Now living in Great Britain, she divides her time between writing and volunteer work with several British charities. Torey is author of numerous internationally best-selling books about her experiences as a special education teacher and therapist. She has also written two novels and two children’s books.
Find her at www.torey-hayden.com and connect with her on Facebook.

 
My Thoughts:

Oh wow, just wow!

I have said recently that I've been extremely lucky in the books I've been sent to review, and this one was just, in a level all it's own.

It is written by Torey Haden who is a child psychologist.

I will preface this review by telling you that if you are easily upset by certain subject matters or anything relating to young children being abused or living harsh lives, you may find this one hard to get through.

I am usually affected by these kind of stories, but I also find them fascinating and as hard as some of it may be to read, I think it's important to spotlight these issues and give them a voice.

With that said, this was a difficult book to get through, not because it wasn't good, not because the author wasn't clear or didn't write it in an easy to follow way.  It was difficult because my heart hurt so much or this little girl and I wanted to reach into the pages and snatch her up, give her love, and show her that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

The review for this book should have been up on Friday but I couldn't get the words down until today.  It was so fresh in my mind, so deeply taken in by my heart that I just had to take a few days to figure out how to even talk about it with you all.

Ok, so just to let you know from the get go that Torey Hayden has helped hundreds of children in all sorts of situations, some more serious than others and this is the case of one such girl who will push Hayden to the limits because of the severity of the situation.

Jessie is 9 years old and has been diagnosed with Reactive Attachment Disorder.  I had never in my life even heard the term, much less what it is.  For those who don't know:

RAD is a condition in which an infant or young child does not form a secure, healthy emotional bond with his or her primary caretakers (parental figures). Children with RAD often have trouble managing their emotions. They struggle to form meaningful connections with other people.

What this has created is a child who has never formed an attachment to anyone, she struggles, she doesn't know how to deal with her emotions and in turn lashes out, sets fire to things when she doesn't get what she wants, and is being moved from foster home to foster home.  No one can handle her, the foster families can't deal with her outbursts, her parents are ready to sign her over and want nothing to do with her.

It is a sad, heart wrenching situation. 

Hayden is asked to step in and help but she really only has one hour a week with Jessie. 

It is amazing watching or rather reading, how Torey Hayden creates a bond with this little girl, and helps her through her most difficult moments.  In the middle of all this, Jessie accuses someone Hayden works with, one of her colleagues, of something unbelievable which of course puts the therapist in an impossible situation.  Believe the little girl who is known to lie and make up stories, or believe the colleague she trusts and knows?

To get to the bottom of this accusation, Hayden will take us through the process of helping a child with this disorder, tapping into the whole family background and trying more than anything to make Jessie realize that she is loved and worthy.

This book was so difficult for me to get through, as a mother I couldn't even begin to understand how this young girl has no bond or feelings whatsoever for her parents.  I think it would break my heart if this were the case with my own children.

This is not, I repeat, not an easy book to get through, but I'm so glad that I did.  It not only gave me an inside look into mental illness and just how intricate our minds are, but it also gave me a deeper understanding of the work that psychologists and therapists do, the process they follow and how it affects them on a personal level.

Brilliant book, brilliant story, a definite must read.



Thank you to TLC Tours and the publisher for providing me with a review copy of this book, in exchange for my honest review.