Welcome To the Cedar Grove

Anton turned to me. "She looks like a spirit, doesn't she? Like if you blinked too hard, she'd be gone." One Child Torey Hayden

Torey Hayden is a rare and precious spirit - the embodiment of love. A teacher of special Ed classes who tells the story of some of the children who crossed the threshold of her classroom, she does so in masterful style.

Sheila is one of her children. A 'wild child' from the beginning. Neglected by a reluctant father after being abandoned - literally by the side of the road by her mother. Torey tells the story of all the lengths she went to to help the child and to educate her in spite of her reluctance. I won't spoil the book by going into too much detail, suffice to say it's a well written, articulate book - sometimes harrowing, but sometimes as heartwarming as it is heartbreaking.

I'd recommend this as a book for any education professional to read. I picked it up by accident in the airport, and now want to read all of the books Torey has written about 'her' children. As a warning I'd say, read it with a box of kleenex to hand.