A heartbreaking true story of a broken family and the foster carer who wants to keep them together.

 The Watsons are no strangers to sibling placements but when Casey takes the call from her supervising social worker one frosty January morning, she can instantly tell from the tone of her colleague's voice that there's a complicated case ahead.

 And she's right. A four-day-old baby boy called Tommy - born in prison - plus his four-year-old half-brother, the lively Seth. A month later, the very moment she gets out of prison, the boys' mother - a 19-year-old called Jenna - also follows.

 For Casey, it would it be a difficult scenario on several levels. Caring for a new born in her fifties with a pre-schooler who has spent most of his young life without boundaries tearing around her ankles, while also looking out for his drug-addicted mum who is ill-equipped to parent.

 It's an unusual situation but one that has arisen in a bid to keep the family together. Can Casey find the energy and strength needed to rise to the challenge? Casey believes she can but when baby Tommy and Seth arrive, she falters. Seth is not so much a pocket rocket as a seek and destroy missile with a whole other agenda.

Mummy, Please Don’t Leave

A 5-year-old boy, Ethan, is brought to Casey in the middle of the night after the sudden death of his young mother after a drug overdose.

 Estranged from her parents, Ethan's mum had been abused by her ex-partner, and began taking drugs to cope. Ethan is obviously lost and bewildered, and regularly wakes up screaming for his mum in the night. He begins to lash out at other kids at school and his behaviour becomes more volatile. When arrangements are made for Ethan to see his dad in prison, Casey recognises the name and face. It turns out she's far more familiar with this case than first imagined.

I Want My Daddy: Part 2 of 3

Skin Deep can either be read as a full-length eBook or in 3 serialised eBook-only parts.

 This is PART 2 of 3.

 You can read Part 2 one week ahead of release of the full-length eBook and paperback.

 Rejected by her mother and excluded by her school, Flip is a little girl desperate to be loved.

 'Am I ugly, Mummy?' are the first words that little Phillipa says to Mike and Casey as she stomps into their lives on a hot August afternoon. She has a Barbie doll in one hand and a pink vanity case in the other and the bemused Watsons can only stare in amazement at this tiny eight year old girl who is being guided into the room by her social worker.

 Phillipa, known as Flip has Foetal Alcohol Syndrome and life with her single mother has come to an abrupt end after a fire burned the house down. When Casey meets Flip, the child seems remarkably unfazed by what has happened and the thing that seems to worry her is that Casey might find her ugly. Casey has come across children with FAS in her previous job in a high school behaviour unit, but is now realising that fostering Flip is going to be full of challenges which will test her and Mike's skills to the limit.

Skin Deep: Part 2 of 3 - All she wanted was a mummy, but was she too ugly to be loved?

After taking a few weeks off work, Casey is presented with a new foster child: 14-year-old Elise, whose Mum left her at just five years old.

 At first, she's no trouble at all, that is until she falsely accuses another carer, Jan, of acting inappropriately towards her. It turns out this isn't the first lie Elise has told - her previous carer was constantly following up allegations Elise had made of people bullying her, trying to have sex with her, or hurting her physically. With some reservations, Casey agrees to take Elise on long-term, but when she makes some dark claims about her mum, Casey doesn't know whether to believe her. In any case, she is determined to find out the truth.

I Just Want to Be Loved

Casey's Unit is, as ever, full of troubled, disaffected pupils, and new arrival Leo is something of a conundrum.

 Thirteen year old Leo isn't a bad lad - in fact, he's generally polite and helpful, but he's in danger of permanent exclusion for repeatedly absconding and unauthorised absences. Despite letters being sent home regularly, his mother never turns up for any appointments, and when the school calls home she always seems to have an excuse.

 Though Casey has her hands full, she offers to intervene for a while, to try get Leo engaged in learning again and remaining in school. The head's sceptical though and warns her that this is Leo's very last chance. But Casey's determined, because there's something about Leo that makes her want to fight his corner, and get to the bottom of whatever it is that compels this enigmatic boy to keep running away. With Leo so resolutely tight-lipped and secretive, Casey knows that if she's going to keep this child in education, she's going to have to get to the bottom of it herself.

Mummy’s Little Soldier: Part 3 of 3 - A troubled child. An absent mum. A shocking secret.

Mummy’s Little Soldier - A troubled child. An absent mum. A shocking secret.

Part 3 of 3

 Just when Casey thinks her foster care duties are done, she's asked to look after Sam, a troubled nine-year-old with a violent streak who drove his previous guardians to release him of their care. It soon unfolds, however, that this is no simple case.

 Determined to get to the root of Sam's behaviour, Casey is committed to uncover his mysterious past only to find out something far darker than she ever imagined.

 Having recently said goodbye to their last foster child, Miller, the Watson family are taking a bit of a break. But it's while Casey is having fun catching up with her friends that she receives a call from her new link worker. Social services are desperately trying to find a settled home for nine-year-old Sam, who has Autism and some serious behavioural problems.

 Removed from his mother less than a week ago, Sam has been staying with respite carers. But with two young children of their own, they now find themselves unable to hold on to the little boy as he is bullying them relentlessly. It's not an isolated situation, either. Apparently Sam's own siblings begged not to be placed with their older brother - they were both adamant that they were too afraid of him.

 The Watsons agree to accommodate Sam, who, despite his tiny stature, turns out to be quite the whirlwind - destroying anything and everything in his path. In addition to the outward behaviours, it quickly becomes evident that there is a much darker past that has blighted the boy's life. As Casey tries to get to the bottom of it, she discovers there are no files on Sam; only the testament of his previous neighbour. Thankfully, Mrs Gallagher is only too happy to help. And to talk. But it soon transpires that there is a great deal more to Sam's secret history.

A Dark Secret: Part 3 of 3

Bestselling author and foster carer Casey Watson tells the shocking and deeply moving true story of two sisters who carry a terrible secret.

 This is a first taste of the 'Unit' series: several stories about 'difficult' children Casey helped during her time as a behaviour manager at her local comprehensive.

 Casey doesn't know what to expect when seventeen-year-old twins Scarlett and Jade join her class. The girls seem grounded but they never leave each other's side, although there seems to be an underlying tension between them that Casey can't quite put her finger on. What's more, Jade has a strong, unpleasant smell about her that further isolates her from the other teenagers.

 Eager to help the girls, Casey starts digging and finds out that Jade was pregnant and that the girls were taken into care when they were sixteen. But it's not until a violent argument during class that Casey truly realises the anger the two girls harbour towards the rest of the world. And when Scarlett finally reveals the truth, it suddenly all makes sense.

 Can Casey find a way to bring Scarlett and Jade closer together? And can she break down Jade's walls and get the girls the help they have craved since their childhood?

 Dark, disturbing and heartbreaking, this is a story of two sisters who just needed someone to believe in them.

Scarlett’s Secret - A real-life short story by Casey Watson

Sunday Times bestselling author and foster carer Casey Watson's inspiring memoirs Mummy's Little Helper and Little Prisoners combined in a single volume with her deeply moving latest title Breaking the Silence, about two troubled little boys who both desperately need a loving home, and find comfort and friendship in the most unlikely of places.

 Breaking the Silence is the true story of Jenson, a nine-year-old boy who has been left home alone while his mother goes on holiday, and Georgie, who has been living in a children's home since he was a toddler and is autistic. Both boys are about to become members of the Watson family and test Casey to her limits. Are their differences unreconcilable?

 When Casey takes in two innocent and frightened 'unfosterable' children who do not know what it means to be loved in Little Prisoners, she is shocked by the levels of neglect that the pair have been subjected to. Casey is desperate to help these poor, lost children, who have been taken away from their family because they were considered at risk, but before she can even start to understand the horrific things that have happened in the past, she has to teach them the most basic of behaviours.

 Ten-year-old Abigail is Mummy's Little Helper, a child left to cope alone since she was 3 with her mother who has progressive multiple sclerosis. She's suddenly no longer invisible to the care system, and needs support, but the emotional strain of her total change in circumstances starts to show when she arrives at Casey's home. She doesn't know how to cope without huge burdening responsibility. Casey is determined to find solution for this brave girl.

Breaking the Silence, Little Prisoners and Mummy’s Little Helper 3-in-1 Collection

Let Me Go is the powerful new memoir from foster carer and Sunday Times bestselling author Casey Watson.

 Harley, 13, has been sectioned under the mental health act after attempting suicide. She was spotted climbing the railings on a footbridge that crossed a busy motorway and pulled to safety by a member of the public. After six weeks in hospital, social services are looking for a short-term placement so she can be kept safe while family therapy takes place. Harley has a family - a widowed mother and an older sister, Milly, who left home with her long-term boyfriend just over a year ago. There is no prospect of Harley going home just yet though, as her mum, who has learning difficulties and addictions issues, feels she cannot cope. So she arrives with Casey and Mike under a twenty-eight day care order.

 As Harley tries to hurl herself out of the moving car on the way home, it quickly becomes clear she is in urgent need of help. Three weeks into the placement, after Harley has made various attempts to abscond, it seems like zero progress is being made. Then all of sudden there is an unexpected breakthrough, and light at the end of a long dark tunnel, but only once Harley is finally able to share the truth about the abuse she suffered at the hands of a very dangerous man.

Let Me Go: Part 3 of 3 - Abused and Afraid, She Has Nothing to Live for

The second book from Sunday Times bestselling author Casey Watson.

 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.

 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.

 Includes a sample chapter of Little Prisoners.

Crying for Help - The Shocking True Story of a Damaged Girl with a Dark Past

" Nous avons faim, Justin, trouve-nous quelque chose ", répètent ses frères. Mais il n'y a rien à manger. Justin sent les larmes monter, la colère l'envahir aussi. Qu'est-il donc censé faire ? Justin n'a que cinq ans, ses frères ont deux et trois ans. Leur mère, héroïnomane, les a laissés seuls et affamés. Une fois de plus. La fois de trop : ce jour-là, Justin a mis le feu à la maison. Six ans et vingt foyers d'accueil plus tard, Justin est enfin arrivé dans une famille aimante qu'il a, au départ, tout fait pour rejeter. Jusqu'au moment où il s'est progressivement ouvert et confié. Là, il est devenu évident qu'il avait atrocement souffert, au-delà de l'imaginable et du supportable...

L'Enfant que personne n'aimait

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 Tyler getting on so well, she wonders - should they say they'll keep him longer? It seems like the easiest decision in the world .

The Wild Child - Secrets always find a way of revealing themselves. Sometimes you just need to know where to look: A True Short Story

A heartwarming short story from bestselling author and foster carer Casey Watson.

 A digital-exclusive short story from Casey Watson, plus a sneak peek chapter from Casey's highly anticipated next title, Breaking the Silence, and sample chapters from each of Casey's five moving and inspirational titles.

 Although he isn't with them for long, Cameron immediately touches the hearts of Casey's whole family. A sweet boy with a great sense of humour, he seems different from the other children she's cared for. But after a disastrous and embarrassing family trip, Cameron disappears. Casey fears the worst. Will her fears be realised?

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