It has been a long time since you have read a book with the sheer emotional impact of One Child. --New York Times

The true story of a tormented six-year-old and the brilliant teacher who reached out.

Six-year-old Sheila never spoke, she never cried, and her eyes were filled with hate. Abandoned on a highway by her mother, unwanted by her alcoholic father, Sheila was placed in a class for emotionally disturbed children after she committed an atrocious act of violence against another child.

Everyone said Sheila was lost forever, everyone except her teacher, Torey Hayden.

Torey fought to reach Sheila, to bring the abused child back from her secret nightmare, because beneath the rage, Torey saw in Sheila the spark of genius. And together they embarked on a wondrous journey--a journey gleaming with a child's joy at discovering a world filled with love and a journey sustained by a young teacher's inspiring bravery and devotion.

From the bestselling author of One Child comes this compelling, true story of a child in desperate peril and the teacher who saved her despite the odds.

Jadie never spoke. She never laughed, or cried, or uttered any sound. Despite efforts to reach her, Jadie remained locked in her own troubled world...until one remarkable teacher persuaded her to break her self-imposed silence.

Nothing in all of Torey Hayden's experience could have prepared her for the shock of what Jadie told her--a story too horrendous for Torey's professional colleagues to acknowledge. Yet a little girl was living in a nightmare, and Torey Hayden responded in the only way she knew how--with courage, compassion, and dedication--demonstrating once again the tremendous power of love and the resilience of the human spirit.

An amazing story.--Washington Post

A heartwarming book full of tenderness. --Library Journal

From the bestselling author of One Child, the true story of four problem children and one extraordinary teacher.

They were all just somebody else's kids--four problem children placed in Torey Hayden's class because nobody knew what else to do with them. They were a motley group of children in great pain: a small boy who echoed other people's words and repeated weather forecasts; a beautiful seven-year-old girl whose brain was damaged by savage parental beatings; an angry and violent ten-year-old who had watched his stepmother murder his father; a shy twelve-year-old who had been cast out of Catholic school when she became pregnant. But they shared one thing in common: a remarkable teacher who would never stop caring--and who would share with them the love and understanding they had never known and help them become a family.

From the bestselling author of One Child comes this amazing, true story of a mute and withdrawn seven--year--old girl and the special education teacher determined never to abandon a child in need.

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 be one of the most trying, perplexing, and ultimately rewarding of Torey Hayden's career, as she struggled to reach a silent child in obvious pain. It would be a strenuous journey beset by seemingly insurmountable obstacles and darkened by truly terrible revelations--yet encouraged by sometimes small, sometimes dazzling breakthroughs--as a dedicated teacher remained committed to helping a hopeless girl, and patiently and lovingly leading her toward the light of a new day.

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.

From the bestselling author of One Child comes the story of three of former special education teacher Torey Hayden's most extraordinary challenges.

Nine-year-old Cassandra, kidnapped by her father and found starving, dirty, and picking through garbage cans--is a child prone to long silences and erratic, violent behavior.

Charming, charismatic four-year-old Drake will speak only in private to his mother--while his tough, unbending grandfather's demands for an immediate cure threatens to cause irreparable harm.

And though she had never worked with adults, Hayden agrees to help fearful and silent eighty-two-year-old massive stroke victim Gerda--discovering in the process that a treatment's successes could prove nearly as heartbreaking as its limitations.

A story rich in reasons for hope. --Publishers Weekly

From the bestselling author of One Child, the true story of a boy who refused to speak--until a therapist's love broke through the silence.

When Torey Hayden first met fifteen-year-old Kevin, he was barricaded under a table. Desperately afraid of the world around him, he hadn't spoken a word in eight years. He was considered hopeless, incurable, but Hayden refused to believe it. With unwavering devotion and gentle, patient love, she set out to free him--and slowly uncovered a shocking, violent history and a terrible secret that an unfeeling bureaucracy had simply filed away and forgotten. But she never gave up on this tragic lost case. For a trapped and frightened boy desperately needed her help--and she knew in her heart she could not rest easy until she had rescued him from the darkness.

From the bestselling author of One Child comes this incredible, true story of the six-year-old girl who touched the hearts of millions--and the courage of one teacher who would not give up on her.

What ever became of Sheila?

When special education teacher Torey Hayden wrote her first book One Child thirty-five years ago, she created an international bestseller. Her intensely moving true story of Sheila, a silent, profoundly disturbed little six-year-old girl touched millions. From every corner of the world came letters from readers wanting to know more about the troubled child who had come into Torey Hayden's class as a hopeless case, and emerged as the very symbol of eternal hope within the human spirit.

Now, for all those who have never forgotten this endearing child and her remarkable relationship with her teacher, here is the surprising story of Sheila, the young woman.

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.

Just Another Kid is not just another book. This remarkable teacher's memoir reminds us that love takes many forms. -The New York Times

From the bestselling author of One Child comes the true story of six children impossible to reach and the amazing teacher who embraced them all.

Torey Hayden faced six emotionally troubled kids no other teacher could handle--three recent arrivals from battle-torn Northern Ireland, badly traumatized by the horrors of war; eleven-year-old Dirkie, who only knew of life inside an institution; excitable Mariana, aggressive and sexually precocious at the age of eight; and seven-year-old Leslie, perhaps the most hopeless of all, unresponsive and unable to speak.

With compassion, rare insight, and masterful storytelling, teacher Torey Hayden once again touches our hearts with her account of the miracles that can happen in her class of special children.