Tiny Prisoners

Book excerpt: TRUE STORIES. Evie and Elliot are scrawny, filthy and wide-eyed with fear when they turn up on Maggie Hartley's doorstep. Aged just two and three years old, this brother and sister have been through a horrific home life - abuse, violence and neglect have defined their young lives. They came into foster care with Maggie when their mother was committed to a psychiatric hospital and their father was imprisoned. Gradually unpicking what happened to them, Maggie tells their shocking true story and how she helps them to heal and grow. They slowly learn to overcome their agoraphobia (the children never left the house before), gain basic life skills that we all take for granted and finally let themselves smile again. From emotionally scarred and damaged little children, we see how - with love, warmth and dedication - Maggie transforms their lives after two years in her care.