Cut: The true story of an abandoned, abused little girl who was desperate to be part of a family

A story that is hard to read (in terms of subject matter), and yet worth the effort. Dawn is the second child Cathy Glass and her husband fostered, and she's a very disturbed girl. Rejected by her parents and running from secrets she believes are too horrible to redeem, Dawn is broken and lost. At 13 she stays out all night, drinks, cuts herself, skips school, and attempts suicide more than once. But she can also be a pleasant and agreeable child who shows affection and seeks the approval of her caregivers.This story is easy to read in terms of language choice and narrative flow, and difficult in terms of subject matter. Seeing Dawn's story unfold and feeling Cathy's love, concern, frustration, and despair provides a visceral, moving experience. I felt for Cathy, sympathizing with her desire to provide Dawn the loving, stable environment the girl desperately needed, but unable to overcome a broken system and even more broken girl. I was frustrated for her, John, and Barbara. I felt each of them wanted what was best for Dawn, even Barbara, in her own flawed way. But the system, meant to help threatened and disadvantaged children, seemed to do more harm than good. My heart broke for Dawn, and the more Cathy revealed about her past, the more I hoped she would somehow be able to turn it all around and claim the happy life she deserved.While I enjoyed the story a great deal, I can only give 4 stars because I felt Glass occasionally went into far too much detail. There's a fine line between providing enough detail to orient the reader fully within with story, and too much detail. I felt a number of the instances of "I did this, followed by this, followed by this" neither advanced the plot nor revealed necessary information about the people involved. I found there were passages I wanted to skip just to get back to the plot, and that was discouraging.

I found it hard to put down. I was horrified at the total lack of information and support from foster care agency they were given with this disturbed young girl and are so thankful things have changed since Cathy Glass first fostered this child. The commitment and dedication for months are to be applauded when their lives were so negatively affected for weeks on end through lack of sleep and worry, especially with a new baby. Not enough credit is given to foster carers for the work they do. The courage and resilience of the young girl as she eventually stabilises and engages fully in her recovery with caring support is heart warming. The true hero of the book. I loved the updates at end of book. It touches on coping mechanisms which the young girl engaged in which outwardly were very confronting for her carers but educational for readers in the way portrayed and explained. Another story of how adults can unbelievably perpetrate immeasurable abuse and damage on a child but that child with love and support can sometimes overcome some of the terrible damage.

love cathy glass books. couldnt put it down

I both liked and disliked this book. I am giving it four stars, because there is nothing wrong with the book or the telling of the story itself. I find that I have a strong reaction to the way most of the characters acted at one time or another in this book. I was very frustrated at the was the British Foster Care System worked and I'm sure I would probably have the same reaction, if this story happened in America. This is a true story about the first foster care experience of the author. More power to her, because I do not know how I would have acted in the same circumstance. Usually, I would find myself thinking "What's wrong with these people!" This must have been a good book to elicit strong reactions and to make me feel that I am experiencing the same things the author did.This book is one of many that Ms. Glass has written about being a foster parent. I hope to read more, but I will admit that I will have to give myself time to recover before starting a next book. That is, time to emotionally recover. Once you realize the potential of strong emotional content, you will have to put yourself in the right frame of mind to knowingly read the next story.

I've been on a Cathy Glass kick this week after reading Damaged. I finished this one over the weekend and I'm now working on Hidden, which I will review in a day or two when I'm done (aren't the holidays wonderful for reading?) Anyway, Cathy's writing voice is like a warm blanket and a hot chocolate. Despite the subject matter, which is pretty horrific, it's hard to put them down. This book was no different.

This book was just okay. I kept waiting to find out the horrible things that happened to this little girl to make her behave the way she did and you never really find out what happened. I didn't want gory details, but I don't think the information given was enough to convince me that she should be acting out the way she was. I also don't know what country this occurred in, because the language used in the book made it very clear it didn't happen in the US. I just felt like they kept giving her the reins to misbehave and no one ever held her responsible for her behavior. Yes, she was abused, but we all have to take our life experiences and learn from them and become a better person. It seemed like everyone was giving her a pass for her bad behavior because she had a rough childhood. No one will ever become a better person if you don't show them how and hold them accountable for their actions. I didn't feel like this family did her much good. Yes, love is VERY important, but teaching, guiding and showing children the right way to live is just as important and I think they let her continue to do the bad things she was doing. I don't have a desire to read any further books from this author. I don't mean to say that they didn't help any kids through their fostering, but I just feel like these are every day stories and the situations could have been handled a lot better. I haven't walked in their shoes though, so I can't say how I would have handled the situation. I just don't think it was book worthy and don't feel the need to read any other stories about kids they fostered.

I've read several books by this author and admire her ability to balance empathy and sensitivity alongside a practical approach to dealing with situations she encounters with the children she fosters. As usual, I started reading this book with high expectations.It is 310 pages and 27 chapters.I've been trying to read the books in the order in which they were written so I could relate to the personal life of the author but I've now realised they are not written in chronological order. This story is based on just the second child that CG fostered so it is probably over 25 years ago. Having read some of the much later books, it is heartening to see how the support given to foster parents has improved. Cathy and her husband were given almost no information when they took in this teenage girl and then received a confrontational attitude from social services. Combined with the lack of training and experience, Cathy had to resort to the library to research problems.Being such a long time ago, this story is a well written snapshot of the period with few mobile phones and limited internet access being noticeable elements.The reader experiences the steep learning curve along with CG and her husband as they care for a teenage girl with a lot of problems. The author is very open about the difficulties she faces and the lack of support she receives. It's astounding to think that she carried on fostering other children after her dealing with the system.During this story we learn a little about their first foster child where everything went well - I imagine thoughts of him kept her going during the darker times with Dawn.Yet again, CG's book gives everything I expected - honesty, inspiration and love. More than that though we also get to find out about the procedures that are followed in the fostering process, although remember this is more than 25 years ago.As with all her books, there is an Epilogue where CG tells a little of what she knows about the child after she left the foster placement which is always good and helps to make the book feel very genuine.

I've read about 10 cathy Glass books so far. I love the way these books are like a diary and a insight into fostering or looked after children I myself would love to be a foster parent and after reading some of these stories its definitely made me question and give more thought into what it really takes Cathy's able to write un a way that we the reader can see all the good bad and ugly that happens .I've been on a rollercoaster reading these books emotionally crying laughing what I really like is seeing how Cathy's family grows I didn't read the books in order although I wish I had spoiler alert in jumping from when one of Cathy's babies is a adult then back to a teenager but I honestly feel like I know the whole family . reading the books you can really tell how much love and supporting Cathy puts into every day life and the children and young people she has have live with her over the years and how her own children have also grown into caring loving adults . This story is really a big eye opener to the real issues with self harm and how children can hide away there problems and if like me your thinking about fostering I'd definitely recommend reading more of Cathy's books it will give you a bigger Idea of what more is needed and lots has changed in the time lots more meeting it hasn't put me off but I'm definitely more prepared about what might happen .

This was one of Cathy’s earlier books - This was about Cathy’s second placement with her - Dawn. Dawn was evidently a disturbed 13 year old with the world on her shoulders and no idea how to navigate her tough little world. Self harm, suicide attempts, underage drinking, truanting - she seemed to be on a path of destruction. It was touching to see Cathy do everything in her power to help this poor child even when it all seemed to be hopeless. This was a sad story that I found difficult to read in parts. I just wanted to scoop Dawn up and give her a cuddle.As always with Cathy’s books, an absolute must read.

Another moving story from Cathy Glass. Once started I found it difficult to put the book down and was soon gripped by the story. As in her other two excellent books, the authors warmth and affection to her foster children comes through in her style of writing and makes her books very moving and also very readable. I found I just had to finish the book as soon as possible to find out how the story unfolds. The book is not just an eye opener on what terrible things can happen to innocent children and the struggles and difficulties they face as a result, but also shows how a truly caring person can help them and can make a real difference in their lives. Well done Cathy for another inspiring book.

This is an amazing story of Cathy from the very beginning and the first placement. She's just had Adrian some 6 weeks old and is asked to take her first placement and the social worker gives little or nothing information. So right now I'm about half way through the book and things are beginning to get very difficult for Cathy and her husband. Yes John, and he is being quite supportive.. And It's so good to learn the story right from the word "Go".