Blog Tour / The Darkness Within by Lisa Stone (aka Cathy Glass)

A gripping new thriller debut that asks the question, how deep in our hearts does evil lie?

When critically ill Jacob Wilson is given a life-saving heart transplant, his parents are relieved that their loving son has been saved.

However, before long, his family are forced to accept that something has changed in Jacob. Their once loving son is slowly being replaced by a violent man whose mood swings leave them terrified – but is it their fault?


Jacob’s girlfriend, Rosie, is convinced the man she loves is suffering from stress. But when his moods turn on her, she begins to doubt herself – and she can only hide the bruises for so long.


When a terrible crime is committed, Jacob’s family are forced to confront their darkest fears. Has the boy they raised become a monster? Or is someone else to blame?

DARKNESS WITHIN EXTRACTS

[Extract 14 from Chapter 7 pp. 36-37]

After the transplant and following usual practice, Jacob was taken directly to the intensive care unit where he was kept sedated, connected to a ventilator to help with his breathing, and given a drip passing fluids and medication into his arm. As with the other transplant patients, doctors and nurses monitored him around the clock until he was stable enough to be removed from the ventilator and brought out of the drug-induced coma. 

As Jacob rose up through the layers of consciousness, he began swearing and cursing at the nurses, saying things he wouldn’t have done when fully awake. He told one nurse to ‘fuck off’ and another that he’d like to ‘give her one’, before trying to grab her breast. 

‘That’s not very nice coming from a vicar’s son,’ she joked, aware it wasn’t the patient talking but the cocktail of drugs – particularly potent after a transplant. 

As soon as he was fully conscious Jacob returned to his normal self and, still slightly confused, asked politely, ‘Where am I?’

‘You’re in hospital, Jacob,’ the nurse said. ‘You’ve had your transplant and everything is fine. We’re moving you to a different ward soon and your family will be in to see you again later.’

Relieved, he thanked the nurse and then fell into a more natural sleep. The next time he woke, his parents and Eloise were at his bedside, his mother, holding one hand and Eloise the other, while his father stood at the foot of his bed, smiling. The glow from the ceiling light caught his hair, circling his head like a halo, and just for a moment Jacob thought he’d died and was in heaven. After a few seconds, reality hit him, and he remembered what had happened.

Book Review - Mommy Told Me Not To Tell by Cathy Glass

Hey guys, 

When Reece arrives at Cathy's door aged 7 years old, he has already passed through the hands of four different carers in four weeks. As the details of his short life emerge, it becomes clear that to help him, Cathy will face her biggest challenge yet.

Reece is the last of six siblings to be fostered. Having been in care for four months his aggressive and disruptive behaviour has seen him passed from carer to carer. Although only 7, he has been excluded from school, and bites people so often that his mother calls him 'Sharky'.

Cathy wants to find the answers for Reece’s distressing behaviour, but he has been sworn to secrecy by his mother, and will not tell them anything. As the social worker prepares for the final hearing, he finds five different files on Reece’s family, and is incredulous that he had not been removed from them as a baby. When the darkest of family secrets is revealed to Cathy, Reece’s behaviour suddenly starts to make sense, and together they can begin to rebuild his life. 

Publisher :  Harper
Review :  10 out of 10

This story was so emotional.  This poor little boy who really did not know any better, chose to stay loyal to the family that brought him up but did not realise that this was the wrong way to be...  I really felt for Reece and all he had to go through and completely understand the way he acted out...  This book is very emotional and cuts very deep into the mistreatment of children today.....

For a more detailed review:



Best wishes

Debs 

I Miss Mummy by Cathy Glass

Alice, aged four, is snatched by her mother the day she is due to arrive at Cathy's house. Drug-dependent and mentally ill, but desperate to keep hold of her daughter, Alice's mother takes her from her parents' house and disappears. Cathy spends three anxious days worrying about her whereabouts before Alice is found safe, but traumatized. Alice is like a little doll, so young and vulnerable, and she immediately finds her place in the heart of Cathy's family. She talks openly about her mummy, who she dearly loves, and how happy she was living with her maternal grandparents before she was put into care. Alice has clearly been very well looked after and Cathy can't understand why she couldn't stay with her grandparents. It emerges that Alice's grandparents are considered too old (they are in their early sixties) and that the plan is that Alice will stay with Cathy for a month before moving to live with her father and his new wife. The grandparents are distraught—Alice has never known her father, and her grandparents claim he is a violent drug dealer. Desperate to help Alice find the happy home she deserves, Cathy's parenting skills are tested in many new ways. Finally questions are asked about Alice's father suitability, and his true colors begin to emerge.

I am a massive fan of Cathy Glass and have read all of books so far...  I do find her books very difficult to read, not becuase they are bad (they defintely are not bad, they are brilliant) but because of the way the children that she has looked after had been treated before being taken into care.  This particular story, although it was a very long winded slow paced story, I enjoyed all the way through because Alice was a child who was not abused physically or anything horrible like that.  I loved this story and the ending was perfect.

9 out of 10

 

Damaged by Cathy Glass

Although Jodie is only eight years old, she is violent, aggressive, and has already been through numerous foster families. Her last hope is Cathy Glass. At the Social Services office, Cathy (an experienced foster carer) is pressured into taking Jodie as a new placement. Jodie's challenging behavior has seen off five carers in four months. Despite her reservations, Cathy decides to take on Jodie to protect her from being placed in an institution. Jodie arrives, and her first act is to soil herself, and then wipe it on her face, grinning wickedly. 

Jodie meets Cathy's teenage children, and greets them with a sharp kick to the shins. That night, Cathy finds Jodie covered in blood, having cut her own wrist, and smeared the blood over her face. As Jodie begins to trust Cathy her behavior improves. Over time, with childish honesty, she reveals details of her abuse at the hands of her parents and others. It becomes clear that Jodie's parents were involved in a sickening pedophile ring, with neighbors and Social Services not seeing what should have been obvious signs. Unfortunately Jodie becomes increasingly withdrawn, and it's clear she needs psychiatric therapy. Cathy urges the Social Services to provide funding, but instead they decide to take Jodie away from her, and place her in a residential unit. Although the pedophile ring is investigated and brought to justice, Jodie's future is still up in the air. Cathy promises that she will stand by her no matter what—er love for the abandoned Jodie is unbreakable.

This is by far the most disturbing book I have ever read and it's real....  This poor innocent girl has been put into situations that she certainly not have been put in by the people she trust the most and by the time she had got under the care of Cathy Glass I thought that Cathy had a lot on her hands. 

This book is definitely not for the faint hearted.... but I have to say that it is well worth a read for those who do like real life stories...

10 out of 10

The Saddest Girl in the World by Cathy Glass

The bestselling author of Damaged tells the true story of Donna, who came into foster care aged ten, having been abused, victimised and rejected by her family. Donna had been in foster care with her two young brothers for three weeks when she is abruptly moved to Cathy’s. When Donna arrives she is silent, withdrawn and walks with her shoulders hunched forward and her head down. Donna is clearly a very haunted child and refuses to interact with Cathy’s children Adrian and Paula. After patience and encouragement from Cathy, Donna slowly starts to talk and tells Cathy that she blames herself for her and her brothers being placed in care. 

The social services were aware that Donna and her brothers had been neglected by their alcoholic mother, but no one realised the extent of the abuse they were forced to suffer. The truth of the physical torment she was put through slowly emerges, and as Donna grows to trust Cathy she tells her how her mother used to make her wash herself with wire wool so that she could get rid of her skin colour as her mother was so ashamed that Donna was mixed race. The psychological wounds caused by the bullying she received also start to resurface when Donna starts reenacting the ways she was treated at home by hitting and bullying Paula, so much so that Cathy can’t let Donna out of her sight. As the pressure begins to mount on Cathy to help this child, things start to get worse and Donna begins behaving in erratic ways, trashing her bedroom and being regularly abusive towards Cathy’s children. Cathy begins to wonder if she can find a way to help this child or if Donna’s scars run too deep.

Just as the title suggests, this is such a sad story.  Finding out the way Donna had been treated in the past by her family, I did not find it surprising at all that she behaved the way they did.  She really did not know any different.  But I have to say that this real life story is not sad all the way through...  There are good points too....  An excellent read I would recommend this one to anyone who wants to find out more about the stories that the papers never publish..... 

10 out of 10

 

Cut by Cathy Glass

The author of Damaged tells the story of the Dawn, a sweet and seemingly well-balanced girl whose outward appearance masks a traumatic childhood of suffering at the hands of the very people who should have cared for her. Dawn was the first girl Cathy Glass ever fostered. Sweet and seemingly well balanced girl, Dawn's outward appearance masked a traumatic childhood so awful, that even she could not remember it. 

During the first night, Cathy awoke to see Dawn looming above Cathy's baby's cot, her eyes staring and blank. She sleepwalks—which Cathy learns is often a manifestation in disturbed children. It becomes a regular and frightening occurrence, and Cathy is horrified to find Dawn lighting a match while mumbling it's not my fault in her sleep one night. Cathy discovers Dawn is playing truant from school, and struggling to make friends. More worryingly she finds her room empty one night, and her pillow covered in blood. Dawn has been self-harming in order to release the pain of her past. 

When Dawn attempts suicide, Cathy realizes that she needs more help than she can give. Dawn's mother eventually confides in her that Dawn was sent away to live with relatives in Ireland between the ages of 5 and 9, and Cathy soon realizes that the horrors Dawn was exposed to during this time have left her a very disturbed little girl.

Another very good book by a great author (and real life foster carer who is taking from her own experiences (names changed for privacy)). This one was definitely very creepy.. The girl in this story although yo might see her as a creepy child who you would not leave alone at any time or, indeed, leave alone with a newborn baby... I won't spoil the story but the things this child has gone through its not a surprise she was who she was at that time.

10 out of 10

 

The Girl in the Mirror by Cathy Glass

This bestselling text provides students with the basic knowledge of medical language they need to communicate clearly with other health care team members. It presents not only medical terms built from word parts, but also those not built from word parts, which are sometimes omitted from other texts. Logically organized with a body system approach, this text also provides a brief review of anatomic terminology. A wealth of exercises helps students memorize word parts and their meanings, so they'll be equipped to recognize and define new medical terms.

A very different style of story from those that Cathy Glass has written before but I loved it. I read this one in two days (which is one of my personal records!) I have only recently started reading 'real life' stories and certainly this story opened my eyes to what is happening all around the world and, in this case, what happened to a poor little girl who goes through a very traumatic situation when she was a child and, until now, the memory of that time had been blocked from her memory. Li...more A very different style of story from those that Cathy Glass has written before but I loved it. I read this one in two days (which is one of my personal records!) I have only recently started reading 'real life' stories and certainly this story opened my eyes to what is happening all around the world and, in this case, what happened to a poor little girl who goes through a very traumatic situation when she was a child and, until now, the memory of that time had been blocked from her memory. Little did she know that upon hearing that her grandfather is very ill this would open up the flood gates to all those memories her mind was trying to keep hidden. If you have a weak immune system for gory medical illnesses there might be certain parts of this book you might want to give a miss

10 out of 10

 

Book Haul - Amazon Delivery!

Hi!  OK so I have gone a bit nuts over buying books for the past couple of weekends and I thought I would share with you what books I have bought and how excited I am to read them.  Firstly, I received my Amazon order on Wednesday of brand new books, not second hand but at second hand prices..  I do love the Buy Used option in Amazon because you get brand new books at half price...  I love a good book bargain!

OK, here we go....

I have to admit that I bought this book purely for the cover...  I thought it sounded like a fantastic idea for a book....  I know I am only 29 years old but already I have discovered many things that my mother never told me like how life when you live in your own place...  My mother made it look effortless but its not, its hard work keeping on top of everything....  I'm exhausted thinking about it!  Ugh!  Reading the back of this book, I am really excited to read this one...  Here is the blurb:

'I hate you. When I'm a mother, I'm never going to be like you...' These words come back to haunt Ros, years later. As her marriage of twenty years collapses and her beloved twin sons prepare to flee the nest, Ros's world is tilting on its axis. It doesn't help that her dead mother seems to have taken up residence in her head, reminding her of things she once said. As Ros tries to adapt to sharing custody of the family dog and life without her husband and boys in the house, she embarks on a new regime to stay sane: yoga, herbal remedies, Internet dating. But as Ros is trying to find herself, the arrival of a memoir her mother wrote begins to reveal a woman she never knew, taking her on a journey into her mother's past that will change for ever her idea of who she is.'

This book I chose simply for the title...  I thought it sounded funny and even after reading the blurb, I thought this was a great idea for a book.....   Looking forward to reading this one to!

January 1946: writer Juliet Ashton receives a letter from a stranger, a founding member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. And so begins a remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name.

Carlos Ruiz is a new author that I have found out about this year.  I have read his two books that are out at the moment (and I will do reviews on those shortly) and thought they were fantastic...  I nearly leapt out of my chair when I found out that there was another book......  Very very excited about this one, even more excited when it arrived and I found out that it was 202 pages of extremely large font!

It's war time, and the Carver family decides to leave the capital where they live and move to a small coastal village where they've recently bought a home. But from the minute they cross the threshold, strange things begin to happen. In that mysterious house still lurks the spirit of Jacob, the previous owners' son, who died by drowning.

This one I had heard on a couple of other people's book review websites/videos and I just loved the sound of the story...  It is certainly one that will come close to my heart being a voluptuous lady....  Looks like this will be a nice easy read....

Fifteen-year-old Virginia Shreves has a larger-than-average body and a plus-size inferiority complex, especially when she compares herself to her slim, brilliant, picture-perfect family. But that’s before a shocking phone call — and a horrifying allegation — about her rugby-star brother changes everything. With irreverent humor and surprising gravity, Carolyn Mackler creates an endearingly blunt heroine who speaks to every teen who struggles with family expectations, and proves that the most impressive achievement is to be true to yourself.

I just love the idea of this book...  Kind of like a guide to life for women!  I am not sure if it is a story or one of those self-help books and I have to admit this was a 'oooh that sounds like a good book' when looking at the front cover so I thought I would buy it...  Hoping it is going to be a good book....

This beautifully written, heartfelt memoir touched a nerve among both readers and reviewers. Elizabeth Gilbert tells how she made the difficult choice to leave behind all the trappings of modern American success (marriage, house in the country, career) and find, instead, what she truly wanted from life. Setting out for a year to study three different aspects of her nature amid three different cultures, Gilbert explored the art of pleasure in Italy and the art of devotion in India, and then a balance between the two on the Indonesian island of Bali. By turns rapturous and rueful, this wise and funny author (whom Booklist calls "Anne Lamott’s hip, yoga- practicing, footloose younger sister") is poised to garner yet more adoring fans.

Cathy Glass is the most amazing author of real life stories I have read, ever..   She is a real life foster carer (her writing name is not her real name and she does not use the names of the actual children she is writing about) and writes about her experiences...  The stories of the children are just so sad, its incredible just what goes on behind closed doors  SUPER SUPER excited to read this one......