Rating: 
Summary: Enjoy your read, but don¿t take it as gospel
Review: Torey Hayden's books impress on readers the success of her vast body of work with disturbed and troubled children. However, as you read, do not assume that you are reading facts and biography. You are reading parts of the truth, spiced with generous helpings of poetic license. These accounts are greatly fictionalized, and perhaps conflate a variety of cases. According to Hayden's official website, one can figure out a timeline of her career. Her "biographical" writings are based on work done in the states, and, again according to her official website, she came to England in 1980. Yet, judging by her date of birth, it is highly unlikely that Hayden graduated from college before 1972, and that was with a science degree. Her graduate work was in special education, which means she was unlikely to have graduated with a Master's degree before 1974. In the US, a PhD is a long hard slog. Hayden did not finish hers, but one can easily deduce that she spent a great deal of time in college, and probably fitted in her work with disturbed children as part of her college field experience requirements. So from this we know that her entire collection of "biographical" works was, at the most, based on experiences between 1972 and 1980. But even then the timeline is way off, especially when one considers Ghost Girl, and Hayden's claim of meeting her again when she was a college student. Reading her accounts, one imagines a life's career. No. The fiction is the life work. Keep writing, Ms. Hayden, you do it well. But be honest: don't present your teaching experiences with these children as autobiographical and biographical.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing!!!!!!
Review: I am 14 and I read this book about a month ago, I really touched me in a way no other book has ever done before! I hardly ever cry but when I read the end of this book I couldn't hold back the tears!!!
I think Torey Hayden is an amazing author and I really want to get the sequal to this book.
Everyone should read this, it will touch even the toughest people. I have always wanted to work with disadvantaged kids and now I do even more!!
Thank you Torey for writting this book.
Rating:
Summary: EXTREMELY GOOD BOOK
Review: ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT I RECOMMEND ANYTHING THAT TOREY HAYDEN WRITES. I HAVE READ ALL HER BOOKS, AND THEY ARE MAGNIFICENT!
CONNIE DALY
Rating:
Summary: sad story
Review: I've just finished reading this book. It says that it is a composite of different children that the author has worked with and not an actual child although it reads as if it was one child, 'Sheila'. The little six year old has a horrible life and then is badly abused by an uncle. If this was a true account it would be wrong for a teacher to be pushing a disturbed child to learn. Her emotional well-being should be taken care of first. In England social workers would remove her from her highly inadequate home. I recommend the books by Virginia Axeline.
Rating:
Summary: One Child
Review: One Child was definatly an eye opening book. It was the first book by Torey Hayden that I had read. I have only read her books since. This is the best one that i have read so far.
Sheila is a 6 year old girl that has been abused profoundly at home.(both physically and emotionally) She comes to Torey's class as a temperary placement until a spot in the state hospital opened up. Sheila would not communicate in any way with anyone to begin with, but she made durastic improvements as time went on. By befriending Sheila, Torey found out about her past. Sheila had lived a very hard 6 years of life. this included her mom kicking her out of the car on the highway, phycal, emotional, and sexual abuse.
This is still in my mind about every day although I read this book over a month ago. If you read one book this year, read One Child.
Rating:
Summary: Life as a nightmare
Review: Torey Hayden's books impress on readers the success of her vast body of work with disturbed and troubled children. However, as you read, do not assume that you are reading facts and biography. You are reading parts of the truth, spiced with generous helpings of poetic license. These accounts are greatly fictionalized, and perhaps conflate a variety of cases. According to Hayden's official website, one can figure out a timeline of her career. Her "biographical" writings are based on work done in the states, and, again according to her official website, she came to England in 1980. Yet, judging by her date of birth, it is highly unlikely that Hayden graduated from college before 1972, and that was with a science degree. Her graduate work was in special education, which means she was unlikely to have graduated with a Master's degree before 1974. In the US, a PhD is a long hard slog. Hayden did not finish hers, but one can easily deduce that she spent a great deal of time in college, and probably fitted in her work with disturbed children as part of her college field experience requirements. So from this we know that her entire collection of "biographical" works was, at the most, based on experiences between 1972 and 1980. But even then the timeline is way off, especially when one considers Ghost Girl, and Hayden's claim of meeting her again when she was a college student. Reading her accounts, one imagines a life's career. No. The fiction is the life work. Keep writing, Ms. Hayden, you do it well. But be honest: don't present your teaching experiences with these children as autobiographical and biographical.
Rating:
Summary: Makes me ponder retirement
Review: I will be retiring from the military in 5 years. I have thought about what I want to do for work when that day comes....as I'll only be 39 and still young. What Torey has envoked in me by her book was that feeling I once had. That I might want to teach. To be that one teacher you always remember.....for me, it was Mr. Mathias in 4th grade at Wishon Elementary in Fresno, CA. This is my first review of a book on Amazon, I was so moved. I only closed the cover 2 minutes ago. I was touched by the human spirit, and the power of love. How Shelia broke free from her shell, she was "tamed", to put it in her own words. I looked at the date the book was originally written....1980. Shelia would now be about 30. I wonder where she is, how she's doing? I was so moved that I know I will be thinking about her in the next few weeks. I love the part about the mysterious colored "candies" her classmate vomited up at home. I won't tell you to outcome so as to not ruin it. I laughed out loud, though, truly. I originally bought this book to sell on Amazon, but I wanted to read it first. Now, I'm keeping it. I'm glad I have another book by Torey as well.
Rating:
Summary: Living the worst of life
Review: I was given this book by a high school teacher 21 years ago. She saw something in me that I didn't know existed. This book became my inspiration to become a teacher and every day I am in the classroom I think to myself... IF I can reach 'just one child' today my life has been a success. Inspirational to anyone who is considering a career in education.
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