Today I was handed a book, by a dear lady friend who has done nothing but help grow my mind for the last year .. and since I started it this morning I just cannot put the thing down!

Well, I had to put it down so I could work. But, gee how many books have you read that have you wishing you could take the day off to finish it? That's as rare as rocking horse **** Stick out tongue [:P]

It's called One Child by Torey Hayden. Amazons synopsis does it far more justice than I could so heres a rip from their site:

Synopsis
This beautiful and deeply moving tale recounts educational psychologist Torey Hayden's battle to unlock the emotions of a troubled and sexually abused child who, with the help of Hayden, was finally able to overcome her dark past and realise her full potential. Six-year-old Sheila was 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 recognised 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, you have a beautiful mind. If it was medically possible I would have your babies! Big Smile [:D]