Twilight Children

About this book

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. What does it take to break through to a soul locked away by trauma, family secrets, and the ravages of time? Dissociative Disorder: The battle to reach Cassandra, a nine-year-old survivor of kidnapping and abuse, whose fractured mind has created a secret family of 'Snakes' to cope with her past. A Shocking Family Secret: The mystery of four-year-old Drake, whose silence is not what it seems, concealing a devastating deception that has jeopardized his future. Aphasia and Lost Memories: An unlikely bond with Gerda, an eighty-two-year-old stroke victim, whose fragmented speech unlocks a lifetime of hardship and unspoken truths. An Unforgettable Non-Fiction Memoir: From bestselling author Torey Hayden, a powerful and moving look at the world of child psychology and the unbreakable resilience of the human spirit.