Most Popular Books by Torey L. Hayden

Features a narrative of an extraordinary teacher''s determination. This work is an illustration of nurturing concern, not only for a few emotionally-disturbed children, but for one woman facing a personal battle.

Sheila was wild, unreachable, abused--and a genius. She ws a child lost until a brilliant young teacher reached out.

"Were all just somebody else''s kids..." A small seven-year-old boy who couldn''t speak except to repeat weather forecasts and other people''s words...A beautiful little girl of seven who had been brain damaged by terrible parental beatings and was so ashamed because she couldn''t learn to read...A violently angry ten-year-old who had seen his stepmother murder his father and had been sent from one foster home to another ...A shy twelve-year-old from a Catholic school which put her out when she became pregnant... "What do we matter?" "Why do you care?" They were four problem children-put in Torey Hayden''s class because no one else knew what to do with them. Together, with the help of a remarkable teacher who cared too much to ever give up, they became almost a family, able to give each other the love and understanding they had found nowhere else.

Bestselling author Torey Hayden''s novel is a fascinating study of a fractured family, a troubled child, and a psychiatrist''s attempts to rescue them. Conor, aged nine, arrives in the play therapy room of child psychiatrist James Innes with the diagnosis "autistic". His mother Laura, an aloof, enigmatic novelist, can''t handle him. His rancher father, embroiled in divorcing Laura, does not feel there is anything wrong with Conor. His six year old sister Morgana insists he really does see ghosts. As James becomes convinced Conor is not autistic, he is drawn first into Conor''s strange world of "things the cat knows" and then into Morgana''s stories of her friend the "Lion King". James is pulled most deeply, however, into Laura''s world; at first that of a lonely, rather difficult woman and then, eventually, into the world of her imagination, an enthralling world that seems almost real - and that hides a terrible secret.

"Seven year old Venus Fox never spoke, never listened, never even acknowledged the presence of another human being in the room with her. Yet an accidental playground ''bump'' would release a rage frightening to behold. The school year that followed would prove to be one of the most trying, perplexing, and ultimately rewarding of Torey''s career, as she struggled to reach a silent child in obvious pain and remained committed to helping a ''hopeless'' girl, and patiently and lovingly leading her towards the light of a new day." -back cover.

An account of a teacher''s determination from the author of the No1 Sunday Times bestsellers "Tiger''s Child and One Child."

Lesley''s Hungarian mother Mara is traumatized by her adolescent Holocaust experiences. She struggles to understand, but dealing with Mara is a severe strain which sets her apart from her peers. But when Mara''s psychosis results in tragedy, Lesley goes to Wales in search of her mother''s remembered joy.

Written by the author of the bestsellers One Child and Ghost Girl, this work is a memoir of three people''s - two children trapped in a prison of silence and a woman suffering in the twilight of her years - victimisation and abuse, and their heartbreaking but ultimately successful steps to recovery.

His name was Kevin but his keepers called him Zoo Boy. He didn''t talk. He hid under tables and surrounded himself with a cage of chairs. He hadn''t been out of the building in the four years since he''d come in. He was afraid of water and wouldn''t take a shower. He was afraid to be naked, to change his clothes. He was nearly 16. Desperate to see change in the boy, the staff of Kevin''s adolescent treatment center hired Hayden. As Hayden read to him and encouraged him to read, crawling down into his cage of chairs with him, Kevin talked. Then he started to draw and paint and showed himself to have a quick wit and a rolling, seething, murderous hatred for his stepfather.

David has never had a permanent home or a real friend, but when he decides to try to hatch an owl egg with the help of a classmate, his life slowly begins to change for the better.

Sheila was a deeply disturbed six-year-old when she came into Tory Hayden''s life. Seven years later, Sheila is back, still troubled and searching for answers.

Psychology.

Autrice bestseller di Una bambina «Io sono soltanto un caso, per te. Una diagnosi, caselle da spuntare e un dannato fascicolo, tutto qui. Non mi vedi nemmeno. Credi di vedermi, ma non ci riesci. La verità è che io sono invisibile per te come per chiunque altro.» Sono tanti i bambini e i ragazzi con cui Torey Hayden ha avuto a che fare nella sua lunga carriera di insegnante e di psicologa infantile, prima negli Stati Uniti e poi nel Galles. E tutti portano con sé un carico di sofferenze tale per cui è difficile aiutarli ad affrontare la vita con serenità. Come Eloise, una teenager che viene spostata da una famiglia affidataria all’altra senza che le assistenti sociali riescano a garantirle un minimo di stabilità. Dopo aver subito violenze e abusi proprio da chi avrebbe dovuto avere la sua fiducia incondizionata, Eloise ha sviluppato dei comportamenti complessi da gestire. Lotta per riuscire a separare la realtà dalla finzione rendendo molto difficile il compito alle persone che si occupano di lei e che realmente cercano di aiutarla. In certi casi ci vogliono proprio tutto l’amore e tutta la professionalità del mondo per riuscire a essere la persona che fa la differenza nella vita disastrata di un’adolescente come Eloise, e Torey Hayden, senza mai scoraggiarsi, accoglie questa nuova sfida, sapendo che lottare al fianco di ogni singolo bambino o ragazzo significa contribuire a rendere il mondo un posto migliore in cui vivere.

Il romanzo che da vent''anni commuove e incanta David è un ragazzino difficile: abbandonato dalla madre da piccolo, parla con difficoltà, è violento e apparentemente ritardato. Le famiglie alle quali è stato affidato insieme alla sorella hanno finito per rispedirlo agli assistenti sociali. Il suo modo di fare ordine in una vita spezzata è quello di trovare la «cosa veramente peggiore»: andare dal dentista, essere picchiato dai compagni, non avere nessuno che si preoccupa per lui. Fino a quando, insperabilmente, i brandelli della sua esistenza cominciano a trovare un significato: la «nuova famiglia» è una donna sola che potrebbe essere sua nonna, ma che lo tratta con rispetto e affetto, e i suoi nuovi amici sono una bambina più piccola e geniale – e per questo emarginata proprio come lui – e un piccolo gufo orfano. Torey Hayden, una delle autrici più esperte e attente al mondo dell’infanzia e ai suoi problemi, ha scritto questo libro sui bambini e rivolto anche ai bambini con la maestria e la delicatezza che l’hanno resa un vero e proprio punto di riferimento amatissimo dal pubblico. La cosa veramente peggiore è un romanzo breve, delicato e crudele al tempo stesso, come tutte le storie sull’infanzia violata e salvata dalla forza dell’amore.

Lorsqu''elle remarque la petite Venus Fox juchée sur le mur de la cour de récréation, le jour de la rentrée des classes, Torey Hayden ignore encore ce que Belle Enfant, ainsi que la nomme sa grande sœur Wanda, elle-même handicapée mentale, doit endurer au quotidien. Réfugiée dans le silence, dépourvue de réactions, Venus ne se manifeste que pour se transformer en furie si l''un de ses camarades a le malheur de l''approcher. Afin d''instaurer une atmosphère propice à l''apprentissage dans une classe où tous les élèves souffrent, à des degrés divers, de troubles du comportement, Torey utilise des méthodes telles que l''écoute, la fermeté, l''humour, les chants et les rires... Elle s''attache tout particulièrement à faire sortir du mutisme où elle s''est murée cette petite fille en proie à d''indicibles souffrances. Mais ne s''agit-il pas là d''un cas désespéré ?

French translation of "Somebody else''s kids". Four problem children are placed in Torey Hayden''s special education class because no one else knew what to do with them. Together, with the help of this remarkable teacher who cared too much to ever give up, they became almost a family, able to give each other the love and understanding they had found nowhere else.