Six year old Sheila had been abandoned by her mother on a highway when she was four. A survivor of horrific abuse, she never spoke, never cried, and was placed in a class for severely retarded children after committing an atrocious act of violence against another child.

Six year old Sheila had been abandoned by her mother on a highway when she was four. A survivor of horrific abuse, she never spoke, never cried, and was placed in a class for severely retarded children after committing an atrocious act of violence against another child. Everyone thought Sheila was beyond salvation, - except her teacher, Torey Hayden. With patience, skill, and abiding love, she fought long and hard to release a haunted little girl from her secret nightmare - and nurture the spark of genius she recognized trapped within Sheila's silence. This is the remarkable story of their journey together - an odyssey of hope, courage and inspiring devotion that opened the heart and mind of one lost child to a new world of discovery and joy. Torey Hayden deserves the kind of respect I can't give many people. She isn't just valuable, she's incredible. The world needs more like Torey Hayden. - Boston Globe

Parts of this book will enrage you. Parts of this book may make you cry. And parts may make you cheer. But whatever your reaction, I think you will agree that it has been a long time since you have read a book with the sheer emtional impact of One Child. -- The New York Times Page after page proves again the power of love and the resiliency of life. -- The Los Angeles Times