Dandelion on My Pillow, Butcher Knife Beneath: The true story of an amazing family that lived with and loved kids who killed

I became very interested in the case of Beth Thomas after seeing an interview/documentary done in 1989 by HBO called "Child of Rage" about Beth and it was disturbing...to say the very least! I could NOT imagine a child this sick ever recovering. I opened this book yesterday and I'm literally 3/4 of the way through it. In the book they list other people who suffered from RAD (Reactive Attachment Disorder) to include serial killers Ted Bundy & Jeffrey Dahmer as well as Helen Keller...this doesn't give away any bit of the story...so, trust me, this isn't a spoiler. I would recommend this book to anyone: parents with children who exhibit sociopathic behaviors and even just those who work with children in general. This book will leave you in absolute awe of the power of love and the ability of the human spirit to heal and that love can prevail in even the most dire of situations. Run out an purchase this book...I guarantee that you will walk away feeling enlightened with a warmth in your heart you didn't know possible.

This is a story of Nancy Thomas, a foster mother with a passion to love and to heal the worst cases of abused and attachment traumaized children. She shares some of her hard earned insights into the causes of RAD, Reactive Attachment Disorder, but this is not a book to use for therapy. Instead, it's a story of her life, her family, and the children entrusted into her care. She was a ditch hope for these children and many of the stories are shocking and heartbreaking, especially Beth's story. Beth gaves us some insight to her thoughts and motivations for her crazy and violent behavior which I found to be very helpful. At the end of the book, all that I can say is, "Bravo Nancy! You lived out your faith and your God-given desires to love children. I am so happy that all of your dreams came true, you, more than anyone else that I know of, certainly deserve all of the love, happiness and respect that the world can offer you. Thank you Beth, Nancy and Terena for the gift of this book. I'll treasure it forever.

My husband & I are parenting children like the ones Nancy talks about in her book, & her story was an inspiration to us...an inspiration of endurance! Some days, it is hard to comprehend living with such children for yet another day, but Nancy empowers us parents of RADs to persevere & persevere with hope, joy, & love. Her methods have been extraordinarily beneficial to our children, & I think I would have collapsed by now without knowing that someone else out there does indeed understand. Nancy's books are vital, as some states (like mine) have ZERO resources for RAD. We needed to be validated. We needed to know we're not alone, & if her books serve no other purpose, they serve those. True, like others have said, some of the language is hard to read through. It can be far to "flowery" at times & sounds like a high school writing student who's been urged repeatedly to use "descriptive imagery." Well, in a book about RAD, most readers don't care what the mountains or leaves looked like, but considering the weight of most of the content, the unbearable descriptions can be forgiven (or skipped over). Bravo! Bravo! EVERY RAD parent should read this book (as well as Nancy's other books)!

Great read enjoyed the back story of it.

only book I have ever read that I had to put it down, and process the emotions it brought out. True-not a fictional account. Knowing the authors, personally, I can attest to their character and honesty. Even though I knew some of what Nancy faced, I was clueless about the darkness out there in people destroying kids. Wow!

I had to read this book for foster parent training. It was well written with lots of information that I had no clue about. If you have kids in your home (yours or others) I encourage you to read this book.

As a foster mom myself, I identified with much of this story. There is so much bad press about foster care in general that it was good to hear the true experiences of someone on the other side of things. These kids do go through some horrifying things which, through no fault of their own, make them a challenge to parent - and often a threat to our own families. This book was a very good insight to dealing with and helping deeply disturbed children. Thank you for sharing your experiences and for doing what you do...

Absolutely couldn't put this book down. I am facinated by the stories of these children and the incredible patience of Nancy Thomas to care for them! Knowing these are true events just makes it more emotionally thrilling of a story with interesting twists and hope. I highly recommend this book to everyone!!

I bought this book on the strength of an article I'd read several days prior in the Daily Mail. It was about this woman. What she went through as a child at the hands of her so-called 'parents' would enough to shatter the strongest amongst us. No wonder so many children - so many traumatized children turn inwards, put up a wall around their feelings and lash out at others. Still, after going through intensive therapy, she has utterly changed into a loving and compassionate, caring adult. I won't spoil it for you - you need to read this book. The article was heartrending, her life story after therapy is inspiring. Sometimes a person can overcome the trauma of certain things in childhood and become an inspiration. This is a book about overcoming, this is a woman's triumph of hope.

Nancy Thomas is proof that this AFT approach works extremely well for those children with attachment disorders and you cannot but applaude the intuitive passionate work she has given her life to. Wonderful book and exceptional achievement

Great book! Give a good description of what life is like living and working with these tough kids.