A Toxic Child : The Lifetime Impact on Every Member of the Family Help For The Troubled Child and The People Who Love Them

What happens when an educated, motivated family gives their best and it's not enough? A Toxic Child is the story of Katie, an emotionally disturbed child, and the family who loves her. Written from the unique perspective of both her family and Katie herself-explaining the behavior of a severely troubled child from her own perspective-this book is both brutally honest and heartwarming. Contrary to popular belief, some children are intent on creating chaos and pain for the people who love them. Katie, our second child, entered institutional and special schools at age 10, the North Carolina Mental Hospital at 12, and was on the streets as a stripper at 16. By age 25 she had brought five children with four different fathers into the welfare and Medicaid system. She also tried most of the known drugs, except those that involved needles. Katie mentally, emotionally, and sexually tortured the two younger children when they were small-especially our daughter Amy. She controlled them by threatening to kill my wife and me. The children were petrified and held this terrifying secret for a long time. A Toxic Child is told in chilling detail by Amy and to a lesser extent by my wife Pat, son Josh, and me-Katie's father. At times it reads like a mystery; or like a horror novel. We tried to bring Katie back into the family on several occasions, but it never worked and we did not know where she was for a number of years. Her issues were adoption and abandonment. Katie was never officially diagnosed as mentally ill and never had a criminal record. She even overcame a crack addiction. However, she clearly had some form of mental problem, and she had some medical problems that caused major issues for her. We now can fast forward 25 years. When Katie was 35, she came to us and asked for help to save her own daughter. Her daughter was just like Katie at the same age. Katie appeared to have found a path to follow to a better life, and we have worked with her since that