Damaged Quotes
"I’m afraid she’s had a rough start and a lot of moves, so she’s very unsettled. She’s had a terrible home life and she’s already had some foster carers."
"Nevertheless, almost all my fostering experiences have been good ones, and the child has left our home in a better place than when they arrived."
"The sweet, mop-headed child who has had a little bad luck and only needs a bit of love and affection to thrive and blossom and spread happiness in the world doesn’t exist."
"Most children desire approval and want to be liked, and most are able to unlearn negative behaviour patterns and accept different ones when they realize how much better and easier life is with the new order."
"I knew that the difference I made to my foster children’s lives, even if it was a small one, stayed with me."
"It’s a mini-bereavement and something I have never got used to even though, a week or two later, I’d be revved up and ready to go again."
"She’s a very troubled child. It’s very disturbed behaviour, particularly in such a young child."
"Foster children don’t come into your home wide-eyed and smiling. They tend to be withdrawn because of what has happened to them."
"A child who has suffered from neglect will have had a miserable time and can arrive in my house in a very troubled state."
"Jodie, you must be hurting very badly inside to cut yourself. Is there anything you want to tell me?"
"You could never really persuade Jodie of anything, or have any kind of discussion with her."
"‘What’s he fuckin’ starin’ at?’ Jodie muttered as he approached."
"I had noticed before that she seemed to have a particular anxiety about being stared at."
"‘Yeah, really piggy little eyes. Like a little pig. Oink! Oink!’ She grinned, as if expecting me to join in the hilarious joke."
"‘It hurts.’ She was getting louder, and did seem to be in pain."
"No! They’re everywhere. The eyes in the walls, staring at me."
"Jodie, that was rude. You’ve no reason to worry, no one was staring at you."
"I hate him. I hate them, and I wanted to burn the house down and get out."
"Because she’s remembering all these awful things, her brain’s on overload, and can’t cope."
"She tries to chastise Lucy and Paula as an angry housewife."
"Interesting for Jill, maybe, with her ability to assess the situation at one remove."
"It’s not an act, though, darling. She doesn’t choose this."
"There’s no point in challenging her because, as we’ve seen, she can’t remember what the other characters have said or done."
"I had no idea what to expect or if I would be able to cope with the fall-out of her extraordinary emotional trauma."
"When baby Amy appeared at dinner, Paula couldn’t resist cutting up her food and feeding her."
"In view of this, and the severe nature of her condition, I do not think even a high level of sessional therapy would be of any help."
"I could feel my pulse pounding in my neck, and my stomach churning."
"To be honest, I feel it’s all been for nothing."
"Jodie’s personality is disintegrating, and the longer it’s left, the more profound the long-term damage may be."
"I sighed and stood up. ‘OK. I’d better be getting back, she’ll wonder where I am.’"
"You’d better open it and find out. It looks very important."
"I’m going now, Jodie. Will you give me a hug goodbye?"
"‘This is more like moving home,’ I added, which was something she could relate to."
"I realized how difficult her job must be, always having to say goodbye."
"Hiding my revulsion had become as much a part of caring for Jodie as showing love and affection."