Recommended Reading List

These are books that I have found to be of interest in my walk as a Caregiver and a Mum. A brief description, and 'my own' rating for each book will be included.

Please feel free to send through your own recommended books to read. A description and rating would also be appreciated.

Bloodletting A Memoir of Secrets, Self-Harm and Survival	- By Victoria Leatham

From her late teens and throughout her twenties Victoria Leatham struggled with the overwhelming desire to hurt herself, a desire that was all consuming and shaped every aspect of her life. This book gives a great insight to why people may cut themselves.

Sickened A Memoir of a Munchausen by Proxy Childhood	- By Julie Gregory

From early childhood, Julie was continually x-rayed, medicated, and operated on – in the vain pursuit of an illness that was created in her mother’s mind. Munchausen by proxy (MBP) is the world’s most hidden and dangerous form of child abuse, in which the caretaker – almost always the mother – invents or induces symptoms in her child because she craves the attention of medical professionals. Many MBP children die, but Julie survived, and this is her story.

“Is That You Daddy” A book about child abuse from a police officer’s perspective.	- By ex CIB Detective Peter Haynes

During his time investigating child abuse Peter Haynes was constantly focused on the best interests of his victims, and this book has been written with this in mind. This book is his opinions, and is not necessarily the opinions of the New Zealand Police. These true stories are based on 8 years working with victims of child abuse supported by a total of 19 years as a Police Officer in New Zealand.

Loving Someone Else’s Child	- By Angela Hunt

A book for stepparents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, fosterparents, godparents – and anyone who loves a child, born to someone else. A wonderful and easy book to read. This book is filled with information that has been of some help to me in my role as many of the above.

Turning Stones A Caseworkers Story My Days and Nights with Children at Risk	- By Marc Parent

This book is the account of the author’s experience of circumstances involving at-risk children during the four-year period of his service in New York City’s Emergency Children’s Services.

A Grip on Grief Youth face to face with loss	- By Elsa McInnes

In this book Elsa McInnes presents 12 true-life stories, written by Australian and New Zealand young people, about their experiences of grief and loss.

The Light in the Window	- By June Goulding

Ireland, 1951. You’re unmarried and pregnant. The Sisters of the Sacred Heart have agreed to take you in. And you’re about to learn a lesson you’ll never forget. A wonderful book that I found hard to put down. This book describes what happened to many young unmarried women in Ireland. They were hidden from family and friends where they were forced to do hard physical work until the day they delivered their babies.

Ten Thousand Sorrows	- By Elizabeth Kim

This true story is about the Extraordinary Journey of a Korean War Orphan, who watched the ‘honour killing’ of her mother. Dumped in a horrific orphanage, Kim was lucky enough to be adopted by a fundamentalist American Pastor and his wife. Her Korean features served as a constant reminder that she wasn’t good enough in her all-white environment. Having fostered some Korean children some time ago, this book helped to let me know about some of their culture, and ways of life, that is very different from our own.

A Child Called ‘It’ The Lost Boy A Man Named Dave The Privilege of Youth	- By Dave Pelzer

As a child, his mother, who considered him to be an ‘it’, not a child, abused Dave Pelzer These books tell Dave’s life story - from when he was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother, to his time as a foster child, in and out of five different homes. Finally to that of a dramatic reunion with his dying father, and a shocking confrontation with his mother. This series of books are a must read by ALL Social Workers and Caregivers.

Another Place at the Table	- By Kathy Harrison

When children come to Kathy’s home their sense is often shattered. As a foster parent Kathy’s job is to paste their lives together until they can make some sort of sense out of it. She is no saint, nor does she claim to be. Kathy is an ordinary woman who over the last decade has fostered more than one hundred children. An excellent book to read – I felt that I was Kathy, and that this was my story as a foster parent.

All God’s Children	- By Rob Sinclair

Rob Sinclair’s story reveals that when the covers of decency are unveiled, there are pockets of society that are abusive, sexually deviant, and completely alien to what we assume to be a decent society. This is a New Zealand story, where some scenes are graphic and many are disturbing – but the scenes are fact, not fiction. Not a good story for young people to read.

The Good, the Bad, and the Inevitable	- By Barbara Holborow

There are stories of the kids who are so broken they can never be mended. There are stories of kids and parents who simply don’t care and won’t change. And there are also stories of the wonderful, inspirational kids and their carers, who are prepared to work hard. Barbara Holborow is a former Children’s Magistrate, and specialised in the representation of children. A wonderful book to read, and an even greater delight to meet this former Judge in person at a recent NZFFCF Conference.

The Heart Knows Something Different	- By Youth Communication Teenage voices from the Foster Care System

This book collects over three dozen personal narratives by young writers, ages 15 to 20, and provides an insiders account of growing up in ‘the system’. Good reading for Social Workers of all levels and for anyone who wants to understand the loss, grief, and triumph of young people in foster care.

A Child’s Journey Through Placement	- By Vera I Fahlberg, M.D.

Vera Fahlberg has spent her career working with children whose major problems are attachment disorders, and with the professionals who work with such children. This book will help supply tools for professionals, parents, foster carers, grandparents raising grandchildren, and any others who care to support children for whom the journey through placement becomes a part of the road to adulthood. This book was excellent.

Families at Risk	- By Jodee Kulp

A guide to understanding and protecting children and care providers involved in out-of-home or adoptive care. This book is a must for all people that may interact with children in out-of-home care – policemen, doctors, therapists, educators, social workers, etc.