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CASA FOR CHILDREN BOOK LIST

Abuse

	A Child Called 'It' Author: David Pelzer A controversial memoir describing horrific abuse sustained by the author as he was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother - a mother who played tortuous, unpredictable games. She no longer considered David a son, but a slave; no longer a boy, but an 'it.'
	As I Lay Me Down To Sleep Author: Eileen Munro with Carol McKay When Eileen Munro's mother became pregnant at 16, she was told to give her baby away to a 'good family', but the couple who paid the fee at the Salvation Army mother-and-baby home in Glasgow in 1963 turned out to be alcoholics who neglected and physically abused Eileen. At the age of only seventeen, seven months into a secret pregnancy, she decided that the only way out was through a bottle of painkillers; when she survived and gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, he became her lifeline.
	Boy from the Basement Author: Susan Shaw Having lived his life in the basement and under the physically abusive reign of his father, Charlie is a stranger in a strange world when he is removed from the home and sent to live with loving foster parents--forcing him to find a way to come to terms with his past life and uncertain future.
	Broken Author: Shy Keenan Shy Keenan was not meant to survive her childhood. A shocking true story of abuse.
	Child C Author: Christopher Spry The horrific true story of cruel Gloucestershire foster mother Eunice Spry's 20-year reign of abuse over the children in her care, as told by one of the victims in the case that shocked the UK in early 2007.
	CinderGirl Author: Christina Meredith Born into a large working-class family in upstate New York, Christina Meredith endured years of abuse before entering the foster care system as a teenager. As she prayed in her car every day, Christina had no idea that in just a few years, she would be crowned Ms. California. She had no idea that her suffering would one-day help others find healing. But she did know that she was destined for more, and she would not give up hope no matter the circumstance.
	Cut Author: Cathy Glass The story of 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.
	Damaged Author: Cathy Glass A true story of an abused child written by Cathy Glass. Cathy was Jodie's foster parent and writes about the time she spent with her child. Jodie is removed from her home when she is eight years old because of suspected child abuse by her parents. After being in five foster homes within four months, social services contacted Cathy to see if she would take Jodie and care for her. Cathy has been a foster parent for twenty years and has had success with all the children for whom she has cared.
	*Educated* Author: Tara Westover Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Her family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education and no one to intervene when one of Tara's older brothers became violent. When another brother got himself into college, Tara decided to try a new kind of life. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents to Harvard and to Cambridge University. Only then would she wonder if she'd traveled too far - if there was still a way home.
	God Must Be Sleeping Author: Gregg Tyler Milligan A Beautiful World describes a child's battle for survival against a depraved alcoholic mother, building up to a desperate escape that saves the author and his siblings. Subjected to beatings, molestations, and forced prostitution - this visceral, harrowing book heralds one boy's courage in the face of devastation and provides readers proof that no matter what struggles afflict us, we can all emerge amazingly strong and drive headlong into the possibilities that await us.
	Mummy Told Me Not to Tell Author: Cathy Glass 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. The latest title from the author of Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller Damaged. Reece is the last of six siblings to be fostered. Having been in care for four months his aggressive and disruptive behavior 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 behavior, 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 behavior suddenly starts to make sense, and together they can begin to rebuild his life.
	What Daddy Did Author: Donna Ford In this haunting and frank account, Donna Ford, bestselling author of The Step Child, returns to the horrific abuse she suffered at the hands of her stepmother.

Addiction

	Beautiful Boy Author: David Sheff A teenager's addiction from the parent's point of view. A real-time chronicle of the shocking descent into substance abuse and the gradual emergence into hope.
	Broken Cord Author: Michael Dorris Michael Dorris' story of his adopted son Adam, born with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), explores the enormous scope of the disease and parallels one father's endless battle to overcome the problem.
	Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Company that Addicted America Author: Beth Macy The chronicles of America's more than twenty-year struggle with opioid addiction; from the induction of OxyContin in 1996, through the spread of addiction in distressed communities in Central Appalachia, to the current national crisis.
	The Glass Castle Author: Jeanette Walls This is a startling memoir of a successful journalist's journey from the deserted and dusty mining towns of the American Southwest, to an antique-filled apartment on Park Avenue. Jeanette Walls narrates her nomadic and adventurous childhood with her dreaming, 'brilliant' but alcoholic parents. At the age of seventeen, she escapes on a Greyhound bus to New York with her older sister; her younger siblings follow later. After pursuing the education and civilization her parents sought to escape, Jeanette eventually succeeds in her quest for the 'mundane, middle-class existence' she had always craved. In her apartment, overlooked by 'a portrait of someone else's ancestor' she recounts poignant remembered images of star watching with her father, juxtaposed with recollections of irregular meals, accidents, and police-car chases and reveals her complex feelings of shame, guilt, pity and pride toward her parents.
	Hey Kiddo Author: Jarrett Krosoczka A profoundly important memoir about growing up in a family grappling with addiction, and finding the art that helps you survive.
	Where Has Mommy Gone? Author: Cathy Glass The true story of Melody, aged 8, the last of five siblings to be taken from her drug dependent single mother and brought into care.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

Childhood Disrupted: How your biography becomes your biology, and how you can heal
Author: Donna Jackson Nakazawa
Your biography becomes your biology. the emotional trauma we suffer as children not only shapes our emotional lives as adults, but it also affects our physical health, longevity, and overall wellbeing. Scientists now know on a biochemical level exactly how parents chronic fights, divorce, death in the family, being bullied or hazed, and growing up with a hypercritical, alcoholic, or mentally ill parent can leave permanent, physical fingerprints on our brains. When children encounter sudden or chronic adversity, stress hormones cause powerful changes in the body's chemistry. the developing immune system and brain react to this chemical barrage by permanently resetting children's stress response to high, which in turn can have a devastating impact on their mental and physical health as they grow up. Donna Jackson Nakazawa shares stories from people who have recognized and overcome their adverse experiences show why some children are more immune to stress than others, and explains why women are at a particular risk.

Book Cover. Deepest Well. Blue Sky. Clouds. Healing. Adversity.

The Deepest Well
Author: Dr. Nadine Burke Harris
A pioneering physician reveals how childhood stress leads to lifelong health problems and shows us what we can do to break the cycle. Two-thirds of us have experienced at least one Adverse Childhood Experience, or ACE, such as abuse, neglect, parental substance dependence, or mental illness. For anyone who has faced a difficult childhood, or who cares about the millions of children who do, the innovative and acclaimed health interventions outlined in The Deepest Well represents vitally important hope for change.

Child Welfare

	A Child's Journey Through Placement Author: Vera Fahlberg Children who are cared for in an out of home placement are in need of support and stability. This classic text offers information and advice for professionals and caregivers on how to help these children, who will often have a difficult time with attachment. This book focuses on the child's feelings, need, and behaviors once the decision has been made to place the child in the child welfare system.
	Another Place at the Table Author: Kathy Harrison Kathy Harrison recounts her efforts to help foster children who have faced horrifying pasts, discussing how helping the children she took in helped her heal her own emotional scars.
	*Foster Girl* Author: Georgette Todd Foster Girl, A Memoir is a coming-of-age story of one teen girl who has suffered unimaginable trauma. All Georgette wants is a normal life, but it's hard to achieve that when she's forced to live with strangers while her own family is nowhere to be found. Complete with letters, court reports, and photos, Foster Girl gives you an insider look at what happens to homeless children in today's America.
	Home and Other Big, Fat Lies Author: Jill Wolfson Eleven-year-old Termite, a foster child with an eye for the beauty of nature and a talent for getting into trouble, takes on the loggers in her new home town when she tries to save the biggest tree in the forest.
	Hope's Boy Author: Andrew Bridge From the moment he was born, Andrew Bridge and his mother Hope shared a love so deep that it felt like nothing else mattered. Trapped in desperate poverty and confronted with unthinkable tragedies, all Andrew ever wanted was to be with his mom. But as her mental health steadily declined, and with no one else left to care for him, authorities arrived and tore Andrew from his screaming mother's arms. In that moment, the life he knew came crashing down around him. He was only seven years old.
	I Speak for This Child Author: Gay Courter Bestselling novelist Gay Courter recounts her experiences as a Guardian ad Litem, a volunteer court-appointed special advocate (CASA) for children involved in the legal system due to abuse, neglect, or abandonment. Her story is both heartbreaking and heartwarming, and is an inspiration for anyone who has ever looked up from a newspaper and wondered, "What can I do to help?"
	Invisible Kids: Marcus Fiesel's Legacy Author: Holly Schlaack Invisible Kids tells the stories of many children and foster families. It tells them straight and backs them up with statistics and facts that show why the system works, why it doesn't, and where it needs help.
	Orphans of the Living Author: Jennifer Toth In the first book of its kind, Toth presents the stories of five kids caught in a system in crisis, and chronicles the complexities of a culture that both liberates and hobbles its dependents. In addition to speaking to social workers, judges, officers, counselors, and psychologists, as well as to the remnants of shattered families who can't or won't raise their own children, Toth goes directly to the kids - capturing their voices and lives with striking clarity and poignancy.
	Three Little Words Author: Ashley Rhodes-Courter An inspiring true story of the tumultuous nine years Ashley Rhodes-Courter spent in the foster care system, and how she triumphed over painful memories and real-life horrors to ultimately find her own voice.
	To The End of June Author: Cris Beam An unforgettable portrait that takes us deep inside the lives of foster children in their search for a stable, loving family.
	No Matter How Loud I Shout Author: Edward Humes Humes follows closely the cases of seven young people who were caught up in the system, three of whom have been saved by it. Maybe.
	Somebody Else's Children Author: John Huber & Jill Wolfson The raw, unmediated portrait of the machinery of juvenile justice, which includes the voices of the families and children as well as of service providers, reveals how intricate and interconnected the problems are. Follow children and their families through shelters, courts, and foster homes to see how the system really works.
	Turning Stones Author: Marc Parent In this outstanding work of social commentary, Marc Parent describes the harrowing conditions he worked under and the brutalization he witnessed during the four years he was employed as a caseworker by New York City's Emergency Children's Services. Parent convincingly argues for public scrutiny of child welfare agencies as well as a societal commitment to protecting children.
	What I Call Life Author: Jill Wolfson Saddled with an unfortunately long name by her eccentric mom, Carolina Agnes London Indiana Florence Ohio Renee Naomi Ida Alabama Lavender just goes by Cal to keep things simple. Cal Lavender is perfectly happy living her anonymous life, even if she does have to play mother to her own mother a whole lot more than an eleven-year-old should. But when Cal's mom has one of her "unfortunate episodes" in the middle of the public library, she is whisked off by the authorities and Cal is escorted to a seat in the back of a police car. On "just a short, temporary detour from what I call life," Cal finds herself in a group home with four other girls, watched over by a strange old woman everyone refers to as the Knitting Lady. At first Cal can think of nothing but how to get out of this nuthouse. She knows she doesn't belong there. But it turns out that all the girls, and even the Knitting Lady, may have a lot more in common than they could have imagined.

Domestic Violence

Lizzy Lives in an Angry House Book Cover

Lizzy Lives in an Angry House
Author: Karen Addison
With wisdom and practical experience, this book gives readers young and old alike an empathetic approach to recognizing emotionally destructive (scary angry) relationships and tools to help those living in 'scary angry' homes overcome and break the cycle of abuse. This practical resource will help countless children, families, and trusted adults make sense of an angry parent, show them how to love them while still being able to stand up and speak up, and teach ways to keep themselves safe

Mine Until. Book Cover. Mini Blinds. Stalker. Jessica Yaffa.

Mine Until
Author: Jessica Yaffa
The moment Jessica walked into her high school English class and laid eyes on fellow classmate Trent, she felt alive in ways that she had always dreamed of. Swept up in a teen romance by the very charming Trent, Jesica finally had the connection and attention she'd always wanted but never seemed to achieve. When other sides of Trent's personality began to emerge--jealous, demanding, controlling -- Jessica was convinced that if she could only please and satisfy him the way he deserved, the relationship would survive.

Education

Helping Foster Children in School Book Cover

Helping Foster Children in School: A Guide for Foster Parents, Social Workers, and Teachers
Author: John DeGarmo
Foster children rarely receive the education they deserve and can struggle with behavior and academic performance. this book explores the challenges that foster children face in schools and offers positive and practical guidance tailored to help the parents, teachers, and social workers supporting them.

Human Trafficking/Sexual Abuse

	A Deep Dark Secret Author: Kimberla Lawson Roby With sensitivity and grace, New York Times bestselling author Kimberla Lawson Roby addresses a very real and serious issue in an inspiring tale of one family’s mission to shed light into the darkest corner of their lives. Sexually abused for five years, studious 12-year-old Jillian Maxwell lives in terror of her pedophile stepfather. An intense gem in an authentic voice.
	Girls Like Us: Fighting For a World Where Girls Are Not For Sale Author: Rachel Lloyd During her teens, Rachel Lloyd ended up a victim of commercial sexual exploitation. With time -- through incredible resilience -- and with the help of a local church community, she finally broke free of her pimp and her past.
	I Never Told Anyone Author: Ellen Bass Deeply moving testimonies by women survivors of child sexual abuse.
	In Our Backyard: Human Trafficking In America and What We Can Do To Stop It Author: Nita Belles In recent years, Americans have woken up to the reality that human trafficking is not just something that happens in other countries. But what most still do not understand is that neither is is it something that just happens to "other people" such as runaways or the disenfranchised. The human trafficker is no respecter of faith, education, or socioeconomic status, and even kids who are raised in solid families in middle and upper-class suburbs can fall victim. Likewise, labor trafficking happens in our cities, neighborhoods, and rural areas.
	*Renting Lacy: A Story of America's Prostituted Children* Author: Linda Smith To millions of Americans, the trafficking of children for commercial sexual purposes only happens somewhere else

Mental Health

The American Epidemic: Solutions for Over-medicating Our Youth
Author: Dr. Frank J. Granett
Dr. Granett provides new knowledge for parents, educators, healthcare professionals, and public health policymakers to determine the cause of behavioral symptoms prior to psychoactive drug therapy in children.

Alphabet Kids. From ADD to Zellweger Syndrom. Robbie Woliver.

Alphabet Kids
Author: Robbie Woliver
Alphabet Kids have disorders that are often concurrent, interconnected or mistaken for one another: for example, the frequent combination of ASD, OCD, SID and ADHD. If a doctor only diagnoses one condition, he or she may have missed others. As the rates of these disorders dramatically rise, Alphabet Kids explains it all. Robbie Woliver covers 70 childhood disorders, providing information on causes, cures, treatments and prognoses.

Trauma

	The Body Keeps the Score Author: Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk This book uses recent scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers' capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust. He explores innovative treatments - from neurofeedback and meditation to sports, drama, and yoga - that offer new paths to recovery by activating the brain's natural neuroplasty.
	The Boy Who Was Raised As a Dog: And Other Stories From a Child Psychiatrists's Notebook Author: Dr. Bruce Perry and Maia Szalavitz How does trauma affect a child's mind--and how can that mind recover? In this revised and updated edition of the classic The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog, Dr. Perry explains what happens to the brains of children exposed to extreme stress and shares their lessons of courage, humanity, and hope. Only when we understand the science of the mind and the power of love and nurturing, can we hope to heal the spirit of even the most wounded child.
	Ghosts From The Nursery: Tracing The Roots of Violence Author: Robin Karr-Morse and Meredith S. Wiley Ghosts From The Nursery provides scientific evidence that violence can originate in the womb and become entrenched in a child's brain by preschool.
	Troubled Transplants Author: Richard J. Delaney Caring for troubled adoptive/foster care children can be both harrowing and heroic. Many of today's foster and adopted children come from backgrounds where they experience not only the loss of previous caregivers, but have also suffered from abuse, sexual exploitation, or neglect. Individuals who invite these children into their homes often find themselves in a therapeutic role that can tax and exhaust. Troubled Transplants focuses on these children, their backgrounds, and their deleterious impact on the interaction and environment with the foster or adoptive family. The authors provide suggestions about behavioral roots and practical strategies to address and improve these issues.

Working with Older Youth

	Runaway Girl Author: Carissa Phelps Carissa Phelps was a runner. By the time she was twelve, she had run away from home, dropped out of school, and fled blindly into the arms of a brutal pimp. Even when she escaped him, she could not outrun the crushing inner pain of abuse, neglect, and abandonment. With little to hope for, she expected to end up in prison, or worse. But then her life was transformed through the unexpected kindness of a teacher and a counselor. Through small miracles, Carissa accomplished the unimaginable, graduating from UCLA with both a law degree and an MBA. She left the streets behind, yet found herself back, this time working to help homeless and at-risk youth discover their own paths to a better life.
	*Why Do They Act That Way?* Author: David Walsh, Ph.D Even smart kids do stupid things. It's a simple fact of life. No one makes it through the teenage years unscathed - not the teens, not their parents. But now there's expert help for both generations in this groundbreaking new guide for surviving the drama of adolescence.
	Shattered by the Darkness - Dr. Gregory Williams

Books for Kids

	Chester's CASA Author: Angela Shelf Medearis Prepares children to meet all of the people involved in their journey, including caseworkers, foster, families, psychologists, judges, and their CASA volunteer.
	Every Year On Your Birthday Author: Rose A. Lewis A mother relates her thoughts and emotions on her daughter's birthdays, reflecting on the child's birth in China to her fifth birthday. Throughout, the mother preserves her daughter's Chinese heritage and includes multicultural layers in her upbringing.
	Families Change Author: Julie Nelson All families change over time. Sometimes a baby is born, or a grown-up gets married. And sometimes a child gets a new foster parent or a new adopted mom or dad. Children need to know that when this happens, it’s not their fault. They need to understand that they can remember and value their birth family and love their new family, too. Straightforward words and full-color illustrations offer hope and support for children facing or experiencing change. Includes resources and information for birth parents, foster parents, social workers, counselors, and teachers.
	I Love You Like Crazy Cakes Author: Rose A. Lewis The story of a woman who travels to China to adopt a daughter. A celebration of the love and joy that a baby brings into the home.
	Martin's Big Words Author: Doreen Rappaport This picture book biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. uses King's words along with paper collages and watercolor and watercolor artwork to tell an age-appropriate version of the civil rights leader's life story.