
Too Scared to Cry
And Other True Stories from The Nation's Favourite Foster Carer
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Narrated by:
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Penelope McDonald
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By:
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Maggie Hartley
About this listen
Maggie Hartley is one of the UK's most prolific foster mothers. This inspiring collection includes three heartbreaking, true short stories about the children who have passed through Maggie's care.
'Too Scared to Cry'
When Ben and Damien arrive on Maggie's doorstep, the two toddlers are too scared to speak. More disturbingly still, their baby half-brother Noah is completely unresponsive - he doesn't smile or play or crawl. The three siblings have been conditioned to be seen and not heard, and it's up to Maggie to unpick what has caused this terrible void.
'The Girl No One Wanted'
Eleven-year-old Leanne is out of control. With over 40 placements in her short life, no local foster carers are willing to take in this angry and damaged little girl. Maggie is Leanne's only hope, and her last chance. If this placement fails, Leanne will be put in a secure unit. Where most others would simply walk away, Maggie refuses to give up on the little girl who's never known love.
'A Family for Christmas'
A tragic accident leaves the life of toddler Edward changed forever and his family wracked with guilt. Maggie must help this family grieve for the son they've lost and learn to love the little boy he is now. But will Edward have a family to go home to at Christmas?
These heartwarming and inspiring short stories show the power of a foster mother's love, and her determination to help the children who come into her care.
©2018 Maggie Hartley (P)2020 Orion Publishing GroupListeners also enjoyed...
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great, except
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Damian is just seven when he is taken in by foster carer Cathy Glass. His mother, Rachel, loves her three young children dearly, but she is vulnerable, naïve and unable to cope on her own. Cathy sets about helping Damian overcome his eating issues, with the hope that he will eventually return home. But when Rachel’s new boyfriend, Troy, arrives on the scene, Cathy becomes deeply concerned. She soon realises that Damian and his siblings are in great danger.
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How caring you were to the mothers.
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Let Me Go
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A Reader's Comments
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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something seems familiar
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Mummy, Please Don’t Leave
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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Love her books
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Taken
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Performance
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Experienced foster carer Rosie Lewis takes on the heart-breaking case of Megan, a baby born with neo-natal abstinence syndrome and a cleft palate. Addicted to drugs from birth because of her mother's substance abuse during pregnancy, new-born Megan is taken into Rosie's loving care. Rosie is supposed to help Megan find her new permanent home, but it turns out that Megan has already found her 'forever mummy' in Rosie.
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She is where she belongs!
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An Innocent Baby
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When foster carer Cathy Glass is asked to foster Darcy-May, a two-day-old baby, she is very concerned. The baby is coming to her straight from the hospital and will have no contact with her teenage mother, Haylea. Even more worrying, she will be brought to Cathy with a police escort, as it’s vital her extended family don't know where she is.
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C GLASS Books Still Influence in UK and Everywhere
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The Night the Angels Came
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Performance
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A new memoir from Sunday Times and New York Times best-selling author Cathy Glass. When Cathy receives a call about a terminally ill widower terrified of leaving his son all alone in the world, she is wracked with sadness and indecision. Can she risk exposing her own young children to a little boy on the brink of bereavement? Eight-year-old Michael is part of a family of two, but with his beloved father given only months to live and his mother having died when he was a toddler, he could soon become an orphan.
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Wonder story
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Neglected
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Little Jamey, 2½ years old, is placed with experienced foster carer, Cathy Glass, as an emergency. The police and social services have no choice but to remove two-year-old Jamey from home after his mother leaves him alone all night to go out partying. When he first arrives with foster carer Cathy Glass, he is scared, hungry and withdrawn, craving the affection he has been denied for so long. He is small for his age and unsteady on his feet–a result of being left for long periods in his cot.
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I usually enjoy these books
- By Jennifer Noles on 02-18-22
By: Cathy Glass
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Saving Danny
- By: Cathy Glass
- Narrated by: Denica Fairman
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The fifteenth fostering memoir by Cathy Glass. Danny was petrified and clung to me in desperation as I carried him to my car. Trapped in his own dark world, he couldn't understand why his parents no longer loved or wanted him and were sending him away. While Danny's parents have everything they could wish for in material terms, they are unable to care for their only child. This is where Cathy comes in.
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The most hands on: how to become a better parent, book by Kathy class I have ever read
- By Maria on 06-09-17
By: Cathy Glass
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Girl Alone
- By: Cathy Glass
- Narrated by: Denica Fairman
- Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Aged nine Joss came home from school to discover her father's suicide. She's never got over it. This is the true story of Joss, 13 who is angry and out of control. At the age of nine, Joss finds her father's dead body. He has committed suicide. Then more recently her mother remarries and Joss bitterly resents her step-father who abuses her mentally and physically.
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Great!
- By Lexi on 06-22-18
By: Cathy Glass

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Betrayed: The Heartbreaking True Story of a Struggle to Escape a Cruel Life Defined by Family Honour
- By: Rosie Lewis
- Narrated by: Geraldine Sharrock
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In the much-anticipated follow-up to Sunday Times best seller Trapped, foster carer Rosie Lewis tells the heartbreaking true story of Zadie. When the young teenage girl, thrown out of her home by her strict Muslim family, is discovered hiding on the city streets by the police, it is clear that all is not as it should be. Taught to believe that Westerners should not be trusted, when Zadie is initially delivered into the experienced hands of foster carer Rosie, she is understandably suspicious of the family around her.
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the book betryed
- By Valerie Howard on 02-17-22
By: Rosie Lewis
What listeners say about Too Scared to Cry
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anonymous User
- 07-09-20
Must Read
It's such a wonderful book. I loved every minute of it. I would most certainly recommend this book to friends and family.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Elaine Martin
- 04-12-24
Heartwarming stories of a foster parent. So much love and patience for each child.
i would Highly recommended this book to others to read! Especially for anyone considering fostering.
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- Amber
- 12-31-21
A great look into foster care
A great book for anyone interested in foster care. I really enjoyed hearing different stories about different situations a child might go through as it gives a great prospective on how things are and can be in a foster care situation.
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- Caspian
- 07-07-20
As Good as Her Single-Placement Memoirs
I was a little worried that this collection of 3 shorts would be less satisfying than her full-length narratives, but I really enjoyed it. A bit less day-to-day life information for each placement, so I didn't feel like I knew each child quite as well, but there was still plenty of engaging detail and I'm glad I got to read about these shorter-term placements. The reader, Penny MacDonald, was great as always.
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2 people found this helpful
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- OneShoppingMom
- 08-26-20
Brings you into the midst of the story!
As a foster parent, these stories are so encouraging and helpful. The author truly brings you right into the midst of the story; feeling every emotion, hoping for the best for each child. ❤❤❤
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1 person found this helpful
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- grey
- 05-17-21
3 stories works out well, narrator great
I thought I wouldn’t care for short stories as opposed to one long one, but I really did enjoy these. They felt uplifting and like quick happy snacks.
I really like this narrator. She is calm and makes me feel the way I think I’d feel if Maggie was reading the stories.
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- Enid richards
- 02-13-23
Too scared to cry
A great book. Maggie Hartley is one of my favorite authors. Looking forward to my next book of hers.
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- Desiree
- 06-28-24
Love Maggie
these stories hit me so hard and feels like I'm living my own childhood again
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