A Maggie Hartley Foster Carer Story
14 total works
When foster carer Maggie Hartley meets Sean and Sheila, they're facing every parent's worst nightmare. A split-second decision to leave toddler Edward alone for a few short minutes results in a tragic accident, and Edward is left fighting for his life. He survives, but is tragically left severely brain damaged.
Wracked with guilt, destroyed by blame and struggling to accept that their perfect toddler has gone, Sean and Sheila go to pieces. Maggie steps in to foster Edward while his parents battle with the unspoken fear that he may have to be adopted permanently if they cannot cope with their son's needs. Will Maggie be able to help this family grieve for the son they've lost and learn to love the little boy he is now? And will Edward have a family to go home to at Christmas?
A true story of hope from Sunday Times bestselling author Maggie Hartley, a foster carer for over 20 years.
'A lovely, heartwarming story' 5* Amazon reader review
*****
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
At just ten years old, Kirsty has already suffered a lifetime of heartache and suffering.
Neglected by her teenage mother and taken into care, Kirsty thought she had found her forever family when she is fostered by Pat and Mike, who she comes to see as her real mum and dad.
But when Pat has a heart attack and collapses in front of her, Kirsty's foster family say it's all her fault. They blame her temper tantrums for putting Pat under stress and they don't want Kirsty in their lives anymore.
Kirsty is still reeling from this rejection when she comes to live with foster carer Maggie Hartley. She acts out, smashing up Maggie's home and even threatens to hurt the baby boy Maggie has fostered since birth. Social Services must take Kirsty's threat seriously and Maggie is forced to choose between eight-month-old Ryan, who she's grown to love, or angry Kirsty, who will most likely end up in a children's home if Maggie can no longer care for her.
Maggie is in an impossible position, one that calls in to question her decision to become a foster carer in the first place...
An inspiring and heartwarming read, perfect for fans of Cathy Glass, Casey Watson, Angela Hart and Rosie Lewis.
When sixteen-year-old Jess arrives on foster carer Maggie Hartley's doorstep with her newborn son Jimmy, she has nowhere else to go. Arriving straight from the hospital having just given birth, Jess is like a rabbit caught in the headlights. Scared, alone, and practically a child herself, she is overwhelmed with the responsibility of caring for a newborn without the support of a loving family or her beloved boyfriend. With social services threatening to take baby Jimmy into care, Jess knows that Maggie is her only chance of keeping her son.
Maggie can see that Jess loves her boyfriend and wants to be a good mother to her son. Can Maggie help Jess learn to become a mum? Will the family ever be allowed to live together?
A true story of hope from Sunday Times bestselling author Maggie Hartley, a foster carer for over 20 years.
'Didn't want it to end' 5* Amazon reader review
Brothers Ben and Damien are shockingly quiet when they arrive on Maggie's doorstep. They don't shout or play like normal three and four year olds. They hardly dare make a sound, so much have they been conditioned to be 'seen and not heard' by their mother and controlling stepfather.
More disturbingly, their little baby half-brother Noah is completely unresponsive. He doesn't play, he doesn't smile, he doesn't crawl - he doesn't even cry. In a state of blankness brought about by emotional neglect, poor baby Noah is disconnected from the world. Maggie has never seen such a young life so affected before. Yet with time, love and care, Maggie gradually unpicks what has caused this terrible void. With love and affection, they are no longer scared to be themselves.
A true story of hope from Sunday Times bestselling author Maggie Hartley, a foster carer for over 20 years.
'Such a beautiful book' 5* Amazon reader review
When Maggie's latest placement arrives on her doorstep, it is clear that Sean, Dougie and their big sister Mary have been through unspeakable traumas in their short lives. Violent and malnourished, the siblings have been left to fend for themselves by their drug-addicted parents. Maggie must use all of her skills and experience as a foster carer to help these damaged siblings to learn to be children again. With much love, care and patience, their behaviour gradually starts to improve and social services start looking for a forever family for them.
But alarm bells start to ring when Maggie meets the couple who have been matched to adopt the siblings. It is clear that they're looking for the perfect, ready-made family, and they're not going to get it with these vulnerable brothers and sister. Despite raising her concerns with social services, Maggie is powerless to prevent the adoption from going ahead and she must put aside her own fears to help the siblings settle in with their new parents. But she can't shake the feeling of dread as she waves them goodbye.
A few months later, Maggie's worst nightmares come true when she learns that the children have been handed back to the care of social services following the breakdown of the adoption. Maggie must fight to get the children returned to her, but is it too late to undo the damage that has been done?
A true story of hope from Sunday Times bestselling author Maggie Hartley, a foster carer for over 20 years.
'This was a book I could not put down' 5* Amazon reader review
A new challenge faces foster carer Maggie Hartley: this time it's not a child that's at risk, it's her mother. Can Maggie help Hailey to escape her abusive husband, and reunite her with her baby daughter? A heartbreaking true story perfect for fans of Cathy Glass, Casey Watson, Angela Hart and Rosie Lewis.
*****
A TRUE STORY BY THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR MAGGIE HARTLEY
When six-week-old Jasmine is placed in her care, foster mother Maggie Hartley is delighted to have a baby in the house again. Maggie's been given temporary custody of Jasmine after social services were concerned that the baby was failing to thrive and develop.
With Maggie's love and care, Jasmine soon flourishes into a healthy, happy baby - but it is clear that all is not quite as it seems with her mum, Hailey. Timid, pale and withdrawn, Hailey looks as though she is carrying the weight of the world onher shoulders. Maggie fears she may be suffering from postnatal depression until late one night she discovers Hailey on her doorstep, her body battered and broken, her spirit crushed.
Hailey admits that her husband has been abusing her for years, but this revelation places Maggie in an awful situation: there's no way Hailey can regain custody of Jasmine until her husband is off the scene. But after years of physical and emotional abuse, can Hailey find the strength to leave him?
Three vulnerable siblings. A system determined to tear them apart. Only the love of a foster carer can save them. A heartbreaking true story perfect for fans of Cathy Glass, Casey Watson, Angela Hart and Rosie Lewis.
*****
A TRUE STORY BY THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR MAGGIE HARTLEY
When Lexie, Amelie and their big brother Leo come to live with foster carer Maggie Hartley, it's clear that Leo has always been the main provider for his little sisters. But the weight of responsibility on Leo's young shoulders is starting to take its toll. Painfully thin and barely eating, Maggie struggles to cope with Leo's increasingly unstable mental health. And when the children's alcoholic mother abandons them completely, the cracks begin to deepen.
Leo's little sisters are the only family he has left in the world. But when Social Services begin to look at rehoming Lexie and Amelie without their troubled older brother, the siblings' whole world comes crashing down.
Can Maggie fight to keep the children together? Or will Leo lose the only love he's ever known?
A heartbreaking, powerful true story from Britain's most-loved foster carer, perfect for fans of Cathy Glass and Casey Watson.
When a terrified young girl is discovered hiding in the back of a lorry, she is quickly taken into the care of social services. Arriving on the doorstep of foster carer Maggie Hartley, she is painfully thin, bruised and unable to speak a word of English. What atrocities has she escaped to bring her here?
Woken each night by the screams of Halima's nightmares, Maggie is desperate to reach this damaged young girl. But without a shared language, she fears that she may never uncover the truth behind her terror.
Can Maggie help Halima recover from the horrors she has endured, and help her build a new life for herself? Or will Halima forever be haunted by the ghosts of her past?
A scared little boy who just wants his mummy back. A grieving father struggling to cope. And a loving foster carer determined to help them heal. A heartbreaking true story perfect for fans of Cathy Glass, Casey Watson, Angela Hart and Rosie Lewis.
*****
A TRUE STORY BY THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR MAGGIE HARTLEY
Quiet and polite, obsessively neat, clean and tidy, eight-year-old Tom is unlike any child Maggie has ever fostered before. Tom has been taken into care following concerns that his dad is struggling to cope after the death of Tom's mum. At first, Maggie doesn't know what to make of this shy, nervous little boy who never cries and is terrified of getting dirty. But as Tom's cleaning rituals start to get more extreme, Maggie fears that there's something more sinister going on beneath the surface.
When she meets Tom's dad Mark, a stern ex-soldier and strict disciplinarian, it's clear that Tom's life at home without his mummy has been a constant battlefield.
Can Maggie help Mark to raise a son and not a soldier? Or will little Tom lose his daddy too?
Evie and Elliot are scrawny, filthy and wide-eyed with fear when they turn up on foster carer Maggie Hartley's doorstep. Aged just two and three years old, this brother and sister have hardly set foot outside their own home. They have been prisoners, locked in a terrifying world of abuse, violence and neglect.
Maggie soon realises that Evie and Elliot are lacking the basic life skills we all take for granted. The outside world terrifies them; the sound of the doorbell sends them into a panic that takes hours to abate. Gradually unlocking the truth of their heart-breaking upbringing, Maggie tells their shocking true story.
From emotionally scarred and damaged little children, we see how - with warmth and dedication - Maggie transforms their lives. As this moving story unfolds, we share Maggie's joy when these children finally smile again, when they realise they do have a future after all.
A true story of hope from Sunday Times bestselling author Maggie Hartley, a foster carer for over 20 years.
'I truly recommend anyone to read her books' 5* reader review
'He said he loved me.'
Fourteen-year-old Hannah comes to live with foster carer Maggie Hartley after her mum pleads with Social Services to take her into care, unable to cope with her daughter anymore. Previously a good student, a loving daughter and sister, Hannah is now playing truant, drinking, and taking drugs. Angry and mistrustful, it seems that nobody can reach this troubled teenager.
Maggie is used to difficult teenagers, but Hannah's behaviour brings into question everything Maggie has ever learnt in all her years as a foster carer. Determined to push away everyone around her away, Hannah's life seems to be spiralling out of control. But when Hannah finally breaks down and confides a shocking secret to Maggie, the truth behind her chaotic behaviour is finally revealed. Can Maggie help this vulnerable young girl overcome the trauma of what's happened to her and set her free from the demons that haunt her?
A true story of hope from Sunday Times bestselling author Maggie Hartley, a foster carer for over 20 years.
'A very moving read' 5* Amazon reader review
Ruth was a ghost of a girl when she arrived into foster mother Maggie Hartley's care. Pale, frail and withdrawn, it was clear to Maggie that Ruth had seen and experienced things that no 11-year-old should have to, that she's been conditioned to 'see no evil, speak no evil'. Ruth is in desperate need of help, but can Maggie get through to her and unlock the harrowing secret she carries?
Through love, reassurance and patience, Maggie starts to unravel Ruth's painful past - a past defined by cruelty and abuse by the very people who should have protected her. Raised by a cruel stepmother and her father after her own mum abandoned her, Ruth was abused, underfed and ignored, while her half-siblings lived a life of luxury. It's up to Maggie to help Ruth find her voice; to be a ghost no more, and bring those who've harmed her to justice.
A true story of hope from Sunday Times bestselling author Maggie Hartley, a foster carer for over 20 years.
'Captivated from beginning to end' 5* Amazon reader review
Fourteen-year-old Shazia has been taken into care after a conversation at school leads her teacher to suspect that the teenager's family are planning to send her to Pakistan for an arranged marriage. To her family's fury, Shazia is sent to live with foster carer Maggie Hartley whilst social services investigate. But with Shazia denying everything and social services unable to find any evidence to support the teacher's fears, Shazia is allowed to return home.
But a few weeks later, Maggie is woken up in the middle of the night by a phone call from a terrified Shazia, who has managed to escape the family home through a window. Sobbing, she confesses to Maggie that her parents are planning to send her to Pakistan to be married in a few days, and have threatened to kill her if she speaks out again.
Returned to Maggie's care, Shazia is petrified that her parents will track her down and kill her, and Maggie must be on constant alert. But the worst is yet to come when it emerges that Shazia is the victim of FGM. Can Maggie help this damaged and traumatised young girl understand what has happened to her and to find a way to heal?
A true story of hope from Sunday Times bestselling author Maggie Hartley, a foster carer for over 20 years.
'I've always enjoyed Maggie Hartley's fostering stories, but this is without doubt her best' 5* Amazon reader review
Eleven-year-old Leanne is out of control. Since being taken into care at the age of three, she has had over forty placements, each carer less able to cope with her anger and destruction than the last. Late one night, foster carer Maggie Hartley receives a terrified call from Leanne's current placement, who has barricaded herself in her bathroom to protect herself from Leanne's rage. With the police on standby, Maggie manages to diffuse the situation but Leanne is left without a home once more.
Maggie is Leanne's only hope. But this is her last chance. If this placement fails, she will have to be put in a secure unit. Then Leanne threatens Maggie with a knife and makes accusations against her that have to be investigated by Maggie's superiors. Where most others would simply walk away, Maggie refuses to give up on the little girl who's never known love. Can Maggie get through to Leanne and begin to help her heal? Will the girl no one wanted find her forever home?
A true story of hope from Sunday Times bestselling author Maggie Hartley, a foster carer for over 20 years.
'Pulled at my heart strings' 5* Amazon reader review