Bestselling author and foster carer Casey Watson tells the heartbreaking true story of little Paulie, who is just five when he's taken into care, in what looks like a tragic family breakdown. Already excluded from his nursery school, and deemed too immature yet for the infants, he's already lashed out at his 18 month old half-brother, and now, after attacking and killing the family's pet rabbit, he's been given up by his mother and step-dad. Casey's not used to fostering little ones, but keen to help, she agrees, and gets to meet the strangest 5 year old she's ever known. He swears like a teenager, has tantrums like a two year old, and the only positive in his life seems to be his love for his real dad, a troubled ex-SAS soldier who he no longer sees. The plan for Paulie is simple; to try and find a way to get him back home with his family, but the more they get to know Paulie, the more they begin to realise that perhaps 'home' isn't going to be the best place for him after all...

Casey tells the harrowing story of Connor, an eight year old boy from a broken home who comes to stay with her family. It's a Saturday morning when Casey and Mike are asked to take in eight year old Connor – an emergency placement, just for a couple of days, following a violent incident at his now former care home. And Casey's instinct, as ever, is to say yes. With long term foster son Tyler off to football, and no particular plans for the weekend, even the fact that Connor arrives in what looks like a prison van doesn't phase her – after all, challenging children are what she and Mike have trained for. And how much trouble can he really be? He's eight. A lot, as it turns out. Connor is as streetwise as they come, and, hurt and angry, seems determined to cause trouble from the off. But despite the attitude, there's something strangely endearing about their little visitor that makes Casey want to tease out the frightened child behind the swagger. So much so that, with Connor and...

It's late on Friday night when Casey's mobile starts to ring. She is expecting it to be her daughter Riley. But it isn't Riley. It's a woman from the Emergency Duty Team. So begins Casey and Mike's latest fostering challenge – a fifteen-year-old girl called Keeley who's run away from her long-term foster home 25 miles away. The Jonathan Ross Show has just started when Casey gets the call. She thinks it will be Riley – telling her that her favourite actor is going to be on TV. But it's something far more urgent: a fifteen-year-old girl who has run away from her foster family and accused her foster father of sexual abuse. The family deny in vehemently, but such an allegation can never be taken lightly, so a new home must be found for Keeley. Keeley is polite, but she's sharp, and she has all the hallmarks of a child who has been in the system a long time, and knows how to play it. Whether the allegation is true or not, Casey knows there will be no winners here. If it is true, then a...

‘We’re hungry,’ his brother kept repeating. ‘We’re hungry, Justin. Please find us some food.’Justin was just five years old; his brothers two and three. Their mother, a heroin-addict, had left them hungry and alone, while she went to get her next fix. Later that day, after trying to burn down the family home, Justin was taken into care.Justin was taken into care at the age of five after deliberately burning down his family home. Six years on, after 20 failed placements, Justin arrives at Casey’s home.

The fifth book from bestselling author and specialist foster carer Casey Watson.A recent census shows that there are at least 175,000 child carers in the UK, 13,000 of whom care for more than 50 hours a week. Many remain invisible to a system that would otherwise help them. Abigail is one of those children. This is her story.Ten-year-old Abigail’s mother Sarah has been rushed into hospital. Sarah has multiple sclerosis (MS) and has had a terrible fall. MS is a crippling disease, and progressively debilitating, and Sarah is now in a very bad way. Abigail has never known her father; she and her mother have coped alone since she was three. From being little more than a toddler Abigail has single-handedly cared for her, gradually learning to shop, cook and clean, and attend to her mother’s personal care. Suddenly this has all come to social services attention and Abigail has nowhere to go.Though not fitting the usual profile of a child for the Watsons (they are specialist foster carers) Casey and Mike are happy to step in and look after Abigail – it’s an emergency situation, after all. And all that’s needed is a loving, temporary home while social services look into how best to support the family so that mother and daughter can be reunited.But it soon becomes apparent that this isn’t going to happen. Tania’s MS is now at a very advanced stage, and the doctors are certain that there will no longer be periods of remission. Meanwhile Abigail’s emotional state starts to spiral out of control as she struggles to let go of the burdening responsibilities she’s had for so long. Sarah and Abigail insist that they do not need help, but with no other family to contact, social services are left with no choice but to find long-term care for Abigail … but Casey isn’t one to give up, and she’s determined there must be another solution.Includes a sample chapter of Sunday Times bestseller Trafficked.

Six-year-old Darby arrives on Casey's doorstep terrified and hysterical. As Casey tries to soothe the little girl she realises that this is likely to be one of the most difficult placements she had ever had to deal with... Casey is shocked to answer the door on a Sunday afternoon, the week before Christmas, to find John Fulshaw on her doorstep – unannounced and looking very serious. John explains why's he's come, and the Watsons sit and listen, shocked and sickened, as he describes the most recent child to appear under his radar. Six year old Darby Sykes has been taken into care just a couple of hours back, as a result of a known paedophile getting in touch with the local police, having been so sickened by something he's seen online. Even in his murky world, this was depravity above and beyond – he recognised the little girl as being one who lived on his estate. Swift action has been taken – Darby has been removed from her home, and John believes that Casey and Mike are the best...

Two weeks after saying farewell to her first foster child, Casey is asked to look after Sophia, a troubled 12-year-old with a sad past. Sophia’s actions are disturbing and provocative and, before long, Casey and her family find themselves in a dark and dangerous situation, leading Casey to question whether she is really cut out for foster care.Two years ago Sophia’s mother had a terrible accident. Sophia has been in care ever since.Right away, Casey feels something isn’t right. Sophia’s a well-developed girl, who looks more like 18 than 12. She only seems to have eyes and ears for men, and treats all women with contempt and disgust. And she has everyone around her jumping through hoops.Over time, as more details begin to emerge about Sophia’s past, it becomes clear that her behaviour is a front for an early life filled with pain and suffering. But although Casey feels she is gradually breaking through to Sophia and getting her to open up about things she has never spoken about before, her violence is threatening the safety of the whole family, forcing Casey to question whether she can really handle this lost and damaged girl.Both shocking and inspiring, this true story will shed new light on the extreme and sometimes dangerous nature of foster care.