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Groomed to be a Bride

Can Maggie protect a vulnerable young girl from the nightmares of her past?
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( 650 ratings, 40 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
'Mama is gone and I cry every night.' When a frightened young girl named Halima is found hiding in a lorry, battered and unable to speak English, she is placed in foster care with Maggie Hartley. Haunted by Halima’s nightly nightmares and unable to communicate easily, Maggie strives to uncover the horrors Halima has fled. This true story reveals a journey from trauma to hope, as Maggie supports Halima in healing and rebuilding her life.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$2499
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This heartfelt memoir will resonate with readers interested in social care, true stories of resilience, and fostering. It is especially suited for those who appreciate compassionate, real-life accounts of overcoming adversity and building new beginnings.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

A powerful, moving true story from Sunday Times bestseller Maggie Hartley, Britain's most-loved foster carer. Perfect for fans of Cathy Glass and Toni Maguire.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Mama is gone and I cry every night.

When a terrified young girl is discovered hiding in the back of a lorry, she is quickly taken into the care of social services. Arriving on the doorstep of foster carer Maggie Hartley, she is painfully thin, bruised and unable to speak a word of English. What atrocities has she escaped to bring her here?

Woken each night by the screams of Halima's nightmares, Maggie is desperate to reach this damaged young girl. But without a shared language, she fears that she may never uncover the truth behind her terror. Can Maggie help Halima recover from the horrors she has endured, and help her build a new life for herself? Or will Halima forever be haunted by the ghosts of her past?

A true story of hope from Sunday Times bestselling author Maggie Hartley, a foster carer for over 20 years.

A gripping story - 5* Amazon reader review

Series: A Maggie Hartley Foster Carer Story

View all
  • Denied a Mummy
    When Maggie’s latest placement arrives on her doorstep, the three young siblings have clearly been through unspeakable traumas in their short lives. Violent, malnourished, and showing signs of sexualised behaviour, the two brothers and their big sister have been left to fend for themselves by their drug-addicted parents. Maggie must use all of her skills and experience as a foster...
    Paperback
    $2799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Don't Leave Me Here
    'Don't leave me here! Please, don't leave me.' What possesses a mum to kidnap her own child? That's what Maggie asks herself when she's asked to foster 13-year-old Saskia, the subject of a bitter custody battle between her parents. When Saskia's mum, Rosa, fears the courts are going to favour her ex-husband, James, she takes matters into her own hands....
    Paperback
    $2999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Exploited
    'He said he loved me.' Fourteen-year-old Hannah comes to live with foster carer Maggie Hartley after her mum pleads with Social Services to take her into care, unable to cope with her daughter anymore. Previously a good student, a loving daughter and sister, Hannah is now playing truant, drinking, and taking drugs. Angry and mistrustful, it seems that nobody can...
    Paperback
    $2799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Tiny Prisoners
    Evie and Elliot are scrawny, filthy and wide-eyed with fear when they turn up on foster carer Maggie Hartley's doorstep. Aged just two and three years old, this brother and sister have hardly set foot outside their own home. They have been prisoners, locked in a terrifying world of abuse, violence and neglect. Maggie soon realises that Evie and Elliot...
    Paperback
    $2499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Battered, Broken, Healed
    When six-week-old Jasmine is placed into her care, foster mother Maggie Hartley is delighted to have a baby in the house again. Maggie's been given temporary custody of Jasmine after social services were concerned that the baby was failing to thrive and develop. Her mother Hailey vehemently denies that anything is wrong, however, and social services allow her to have...
    Paperback
    $8500
    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks
  • A Sister's Shame
    β€˜My heart felt heavy with sadness for these two little girls.’ Foster carer Maggie Hartley is used to all manner of children arriving on her doorstep, but nothing can prepare her for sisters Billy and Bo when they arrive at her home. It is clear from the moment she sets eyes on them that four-year-old Bo and seven-year-old Billy have...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Groomed to be a Bride
    Mama is gone and I cry every night. When a terrified young girl is discovered hiding in the back of a lorry, she is quickly taken into the care of social services. Arriving on the doorstep of foster carer Maggie Hartley, she is painfully thin, bruised and unable to speak a word of English. What atrocities has she escaped to...
    Paperback
    $2499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Too Scared To Cry
    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 unresponsiveβ€”he doesn't...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Who Will Love Me Now?
    The Sunday Times Bestseller At just ten years old, Kirsty has already suffered a lifetime of heartache and suffering. Neglected by her teenage mother and taken into care, Kirsty thought she had found her forever family when she was fostered by Pat and Mike, whom she comes to see as her real mum and dad. But when Pat has a...
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • The Little Ghost Girl
    Ruth was a ghost of a girl when she arrived into foster mother Maggie Hartley's care. Pale, frail and withdrawn, it was clear to Maggie that Ruth had seen and experienced things that no 11-year-old should have to, that she's been conditioned to 'see no evil, speak no evil'. Ruth is in desperate need of help, but can Maggie get...
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • Daddy's Little Soldier
    Quiet and polite, obsessively neat, clean and tidy, eight-year-old Tom is unlike any child Maggie has ever fostered before. Tom has been taken into care following concerns that his dad is struggling to cope after the death of Tom's mum. At first, Maggie doesn't know what to make of this shy, nervous little boy who never cries and is terrified...
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • Please Don't Take My Sisters
    Three-year-old Lexie, five-year-old Amelie, and thirteen-year-old Leo come to Maggie after Leo confesses to a teacher that his mother's addiction problems and her latest violent relationship have left him as the sole carer to his younger sisters. Maggie welcomes the three children into her home and is touched by the gentle care Leo shows to the two little girls. It...
    Paperback
    Sold Out

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781409197430

Publisher: Orion Publishing Co

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 06 August 2020

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Seven Dials

Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 24.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 196.0mm

Weight: 212g

Pages: 240

About the Author

Maggie Hartley has fostered more than 300 children while being a foster carer for over twenty years. Taking on the children other carers often can't cope with, Maggie helps children that are deemed 'unadoptable' because of their behaviour or the extreme trauma that they've been through. She's looked after refugees, supported children through sexual abuse and violence court cases, cared for teenagers on remand and taught young mums how to parent their newborn babies.

You can find her on Facebook at /MaggieHartleyAuthor, where she would love to hear from you.

Also by Maggie Hartley

View all
  • Denied a Mummy
    When Maggie’s latest placement arrives on her doorstep, the three young siblings have clearly been through unspeakable traumas in their short lives. Violent, malnourished, and showing signs of sexualised behaviour, the two brothers and their big sister have been left to fend for themselves by their drug-addicted parents. Maggie must use all of her skills and experience as a foster...
    Paperback
    $2799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Don't Leave Me Here
    'Don't leave me here! Please, don't leave me.' What possesses a mum to kidnap her own child? That's what Maggie asks herself when she's asked to foster 13-year-old Saskia, the subject of a bitter custody battle between her parents. When Saskia's mum, Rosa, fears the courts are going to favour her ex-husband, James, she takes matters into her own hands....
    Paperback
    $2999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Exploited
    'He said he loved me.' Fourteen-year-old Hannah comes to live with foster carer Maggie Hartley after her mum pleads with Social Services to take her into care, unable to cope with her daughter anymore. Previously a good student, a loving daughter and sister, Hannah is now playing truant, drinking, and taking drugs. Angry and mistrustful, it seems that nobody can...
    Paperback
    $2799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Tiny Prisoners
    Evie and Elliot are scrawny, filthy and wide-eyed with fear when they turn up on foster carer Maggie Hartley's doorstep. Aged just two and three years old, this brother and sister have hardly set foot outside their own home. They have been prisoners, locked in a terrifying world of abuse, violence and neglect. Maggie soon realises that Evie and Elliot...
    Paperback
    $2499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Battered, Broken, Healed
    When six-week-old Jasmine is placed into her care, foster mother Maggie Hartley is delighted to have a baby in the house again. Maggie's been given temporary custody of Jasmine after social services were concerned that the baby was failing to thrive and develop. Her mother Hailey vehemently denies that anything is wrong, however, and social services allow her to have...
    Paperback
    $8500
    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks
  • A Sister's Shame
    β€˜My heart felt heavy with sadness for these two little girls.’ Foster carer Maggie Hartley is used to all manner of children arriving on her doorstep, but nothing can prepare her for sisters Billy and Bo when they arrive at her home. It is clear from the moment she sets eyes on them that four-year-old Bo and seven-year-old Billy have...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Too Scared To Cry
    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 unresponsiveβ€”he doesn't...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Who Will Love Me Now?
    The Sunday Times Bestseller At just ten years old, Kirsty has already suffered a lifetime of heartache and suffering. Neglected by her teenage mother and taken into care, Kirsty thought she had found her forever family when she was fostered by Pat and Mike, whom she comes to see as her real mum and dad. But when Pat has a...
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • The Little Ghost Girl
    Ruth was a ghost of a girl when she arrived into foster mother Maggie Hartley's care. Pale, frail and withdrawn, it was clear to Maggie that Ruth had seen and experienced things that no 11-year-old should have to, that she's been conditioned to 'see no evil, speak no evil'. Ruth is in desperate need of help, but can Maggie get...
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • Daddy's Little Soldier
    Quiet and polite, obsessively neat, clean and tidy, eight-year-old Tom is unlike any child Maggie has ever fostered before. Tom has been taken into care following concerns that his dad is struggling to cope after the death of Tom's mum. At first, Maggie doesn't know what to make of this shy, nervous little boy who never cries and is terrified...
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • Please Don't Take My Sisters
    Three-year-old Lexie, five-year-old Amelie, and thirteen-year-old Leo come to Maggie after Leo confesses to a teacher that his mother's addiction problems and her latest violent relationship have left him as the sole carer to his younger sisters. Maggie welcomes the three children into her home and is touched by the gentle care Leo shows to the two little girls. It...
    Paperback
    Sold Out

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