One Child av Torey Hayden

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Ever since I read ‘A Child Called It’ by Dave Pelzer I have been captivated to reading books that deal with every issue from child abuse, mistreating, kidnap and any topic, which has covered any child’s plight to be saved and be loved. Why this is the case I don’t know but these books have had me gripped almost to the point of being unable to put the book down and take a break.

One Child is one of those books ive mentioned above, but this one is in a class of its own. It is written from a teacher’s perspective, someone who dealt with issues we as humans hope we never encounter. After seeing it on a shelf in Tesco for £2.89 there was no questioning that I would buy it, it entered the trolley without a second thought.

Torey Haden is a teacher who deals with those children who are deemed unreachable by society, the ones who come from disturbing backgrounds, are retarded and have been abused or in Sheila’s case are the abuser. It is Torey who agrees to take on these children and try to teach them right from wrong using patience and kindness, something a lot of these children have never benefited from.

Then there is Sheila whom at the age of four was abandoned on a highway by her mother and was left so traumatised by this event that she committed an act that was so violently horrific against another child she was classed as being beyond salvation and was to be institutionalised as soon as there was a place available, in the mean time Torey agreed to take Sheila into her class. Sheila never speaks, cries or displays any sign of emotion and through patience, nurturing and love Torey begins to make inroads into Sheila’s silent life to discover that for a child who has suffered so horrifically throughout her whole life that there is a loving caring child deep within her soul whom is beyond all doubt a very intelligent child who is far more advanced with her schooling than someone of her age group.

Throughout the book we see things as the reader through the eyes of Torey and her personal account of how she coped with everything she faced. As we read through the book we meet many other children with severe learning difficulties along the way. Freddie, Susannah, Sarah, William, Peter, Max and Guillermo, all of whom were classed as being beyond salvation due to them being retarded, schizophrenic and being severely autistic. So they were in effect all very capable of being ‘normal’ if that is the word to use and all they were in need of was a little more human kindness and patience in their plight to survive in a cruel world.

For me this book was one of the hardest books ive attempted to read, although I was engrossed in every page at times it was difficult to read with the precise details of the kind of abusive Sheila suffers in her young life and the tragic effects it has had on her.

Despite the tragic events which unfold throughout the book it is a truly enjoyable and fascinating read, one which had me truly engrossed and captivated by this young girls plight to be loved and accepted in a world which had been cruel to her and in return one which she had been cruel back in. You will laugh, cry and cheer throughout as events unfold.

The reason I read this book even though I found it so difficult to read at times is because it wasn’t that long ago that I had wanted to enter the world of teaching and part of me still wishes I pursued that path, but any book which shows an insight into teaching I enjoy reading.

For anyone who has been engrossed in similar themed books such as the Dave Pelzer Trilogy then I would highly recommend this to you, although as already mentioned this book brings with it a tale of hope and joy from another persons eyes and although it isn’t as personal as the Dave Pelzer trilogy it is equally challenging and emotionally draining but it certainly makes you take things in perspective.

The book itself is easy to read and is written without all the medical jargon and statistics, which would have left readers overwhelmed. Torey has simplified the language to make it readable but at the same time she has been able to emphasise how much she cared for each and every chi...