Listen free for 30 days
-
Murphy's Boy
- Narrated by: Loretta Rawlins
- Length: 12 hrs
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Professionals & Academics
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listen with a free trial
Buy Now for £22.89
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Ghost Girl
- The True Story of a Child in Peril and the Teacher Who Saved Her
- By: Torey Hayden
- Narrated by: Suehyla El'Attar
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jadie never spoke. She never laughed, or cried, or uttered any sound. Despite efforts to reach her, Jadie remained locked in her own troubled world - until one remarkable teacher persuaded her to break her self-imposed silence. Nothing in all of Torey Hayden's experience could have prepared her for the shock of what Jadie told her - a story too horrendous for Torey's professional colleagues to acknowledge.
-
-
Shocking and Most Intriguing
- By Zeinab on 01-11-14
-
Beautiful Child
- The Story of a Child Trapped in Silence and the Teacher Who Refused to Give Up on Her
- By: Torey Hayden
- Narrated by: Susan Larkin
- Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hayden has chronicled experiences from her long career as a special education teacher in several books, including One Child and The Tiger's Child. Successes in this difficult and often frustrating field can be few and hard won, a fact which Hayden deftly illustrates while simultaneously offering hope and joy in small victories. This time she brings to life the story of a scruffy seven-year-old, Venus, who is so unresponsive that Hayden searches for signs of deafness, brain damage, or mental retardation.
-
-
Excellent tale with fab kids
- By DianeF on 02-04-15
-
Twilight Children
- Three Voices No One Heard Until a Therapist Listened
- By: Torey Hayden
- Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A light in the darkness for severely troubled children, former special education teacher Torey Hayden faced three of her most extraordinary challenges after she left the classroom. Nine-year-old Cassandra, kidnapped by her father and found starving, dirty, and picking through garbage cans - a child prone to long silences and erratic, violent behavior, whose hard-won recollections of the nightmare she endured could not be fully trusted.
-
-
gripping
- By Anonymous User on 18-04-19
-
Just Another Kid
- By: Torey Hayden
- Narrated by: Tara Ochs
- Length: 15 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A dramatic and remarkable narrative of an extraordinary teacher's determination, from the author of the Sunday Times bestsellers The Tiger's Child and One Child. Torey Hayden faced six emotionally troubled kids no other teacher could handle - three recent arrivals from battle-torn Northern Ireland, badly traumatized by the horrors of war; an eleven-year-old boy, who only knew life inside an institution; an excitable girl, aggressive and sexually precocious at the age of eight; and seven-year-old Leslie, perhaps the most hopeless of all, unresponsive and unable to speak.
-
-
Just another kid
- By Kindle Customer on 06-01-22
-
Overheard in a Dream
- A Novel
- By: Torey Hayden
- Narrated by: Jean Alexander
- Length: 14 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bestselling author Torey Hayden's novel is a fascinating study of a fractured family, a troubled child, and a psychiatrist's attempts to rescue them. Conor, aged nine, arrives in the play therapy room of child psychiatrist James Innes with the diagnosis "autistic". His mother Laura, an aloof, enigmatic novelist, can't handle him. His rancher father, embroiled in divorcing Laura, does not feel there is anything wrong with Conor. His six-year-old sister Morgana insists he really does see ghosts.
-
-
Enjoyed it from the second half onward
- By Paige on 17-06-22
-
One Child
- By: Torey Hayden, Kati Nicholl (abridged by)
- Narrated by: Laurel Lefkow
- Length: 4 hrs and 51 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Sheila is one special child
- By DianeF on 19-03-15
-
Ghost Girl
- The True Story of a Child in Peril and the Teacher Who Saved Her
- By: Torey Hayden
- Narrated by: Suehyla El'Attar
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jadie never spoke. She never laughed, or cried, or uttered any sound. Despite efforts to reach her, Jadie remained locked in her own troubled world - until one remarkable teacher persuaded her to break her self-imposed silence. Nothing in all of Torey Hayden's experience could have prepared her for the shock of what Jadie told her - a story too horrendous for Torey's professional colleagues to acknowledge.
-
-
Shocking and Most Intriguing
- By Zeinab on 01-11-14
-
Beautiful Child
- The Story of a Child Trapped in Silence and the Teacher Who Refused to Give Up on Her
- By: Torey Hayden
- Narrated by: Susan Larkin
- Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hayden has chronicled experiences from her long career as a special education teacher in several books, including One Child and The Tiger's Child. Successes in this difficult and often frustrating field can be few and hard won, a fact which Hayden deftly illustrates while simultaneously offering hope and joy in small victories. This time she brings to life the story of a scruffy seven-year-old, Venus, who is so unresponsive that Hayden searches for signs of deafness, brain damage, or mental retardation.
-
-
Excellent tale with fab kids
- By DianeF on 02-04-15
-
Twilight Children
- Three Voices No One Heard Until a Therapist Listened
- By: Torey Hayden
- Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A light in the darkness for severely troubled children, former special education teacher Torey Hayden faced three of her most extraordinary challenges after she left the classroom. Nine-year-old Cassandra, kidnapped by her father and found starving, dirty, and picking through garbage cans - a child prone to long silences and erratic, violent behavior, whose hard-won recollections of the nightmare she endured could not be fully trusted.
-
-
gripping
- By Anonymous User on 18-04-19
-
Just Another Kid
- By: Torey Hayden
- Narrated by: Tara Ochs
- Length: 15 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A dramatic and remarkable narrative of an extraordinary teacher's determination, from the author of the Sunday Times bestsellers The Tiger's Child and One Child. Torey Hayden faced six emotionally troubled kids no other teacher could handle - three recent arrivals from battle-torn Northern Ireland, badly traumatized by the horrors of war; an eleven-year-old boy, who only knew life inside an institution; an excitable girl, aggressive and sexually precocious at the age of eight; and seven-year-old Leslie, perhaps the most hopeless of all, unresponsive and unable to speak.
-
-
Just another kid
- By Kindle Customer on 06-01-22
-
Overheard in a Dream
- A Novel
- By: Torey Hayden
- Narrated by: Jean Alexander
- Length: 14 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bestselling author Torey Hayden's novel is a fascinating study of a fractured family, a troubled child, and a psychiatrist's attempts to rescue them. Conor, aged nine, arrives in the play therapy room of child psychiatrist James Innes with the diagnosis "autistic". His mother Laura, an aloof, enigmatic novelist, can't handle him. His rancher father, embroiled in divorcing Laura, does not feel there is anything wrong with Conor. His six-year-old sister Morgana insists he really does see ghosts.
-
-
Enjoyed it from the second half onward
- By Paige on 17-06-22
-
One Child
- By: Torey Hayden, Kati Nicholl (abridged by)
- Narrated by: Laurel Lefkow
- Length: 4 hrs and 51 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Sheila is one special child
- By DianeF on 19-03-15
-
Behind Closed Doors
- By: Maggie Hartley
- Narrated by: Penny MacDonald
- Length: 5 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Foster carer Maggie Hartley is finally enjoying a well-earned holiday from fostering, savouring time with her brand-new baby granddaughter. One night, though, the peace and quiet is interrupted by an urgent call from Social Services. A man has been stabbed, and Social Services need to find an emergency placement for his little girl. Maggie is used to children arriving on her doorstep at all times of the day and night, but nothing can prepare her for the sight of 11-year-old Nancy.
-
-
Narration boring
- By Nic on 05-02-22
-
Neglected
- Scared, Hungry and Alone, Jamey Craves Affection
- By: Cathy Glass
- Narrated by: Denica Fairman
- Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Little Jamey, 2½ years old, is placed with experienced foster carer, Cathy Glass, as an emergency. The police and social services have no choice but to remove two-year-old Jamey from home after his mother leaves him alone all night to go out partying. When he first arrives with foster carer Cathy Glass, he is scared, hungry and withdrawn, craving the affection he has been denied for so long. He is small for his age and unsteady on his feet–a result of being left for long periods in his cot.
-
-
Did not enjoy
- By lassieduff on 25-03-22
-
Broken
- The Most Shocking Childhood Story Ever Told. An Inspirational Author Who Survived It.
- By: Shy Keenan
- Narrated by: Judy Mason
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
I was born and broken in Birkenhead, abused from infancy by a network of every kind of pervert from ‘thinks it’s love’ to ‘show it hurts’. I was unwanted, beaten, sold, swapped, photographed, filmed, left for dead, corrupted, blamed, betrayed, ignored and orphaned. But I was also born with a fire inside me. I call it my Phoenix Fire. I am no victim—that word only describes what happened to me. Nor am I a survivor because that implies I am over it. I am a Phoenix—a work in progress. This is my story....
-
-
Heartbreaking!
- By Kara on 05-08-22
-
Thrown Away Child
- By: Louise Allen
- Narrated by: Sarah Moule
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thrown Away Child is a memoir covering Louise Allen’s abusive childhood in a foster home, how she survived - using her love of art as a sanctuary - and how she hopes to right old wrongs now by fostering children herself and campaigning for the improvement of foster care services. It is a compelling and inspirational story. This book gives a voice to the many children who grew up unhappily in care.
-
-
brilliantly written
- By Melanie on 13-10-21
-
An Innocent Baby
- Why would anyone abandon little Darcy-May?
- By: Cathy Glass
- Narrated by: Denieca Fairman
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When foster carer Cathy Glass is asked to foster Darcy-May, a two-day-old baby, she is very concerned. The baby is coming to her straight from the hospital and will have no contact with her teenage mother, Haylea. Even more worrying, she will be brought to Cathy with a police escort, as it’s vital her extended family don't know where she is.
-
-
even more fabulous than usual
- By Anne on 18-10-21
-
Will You Love Me?
- The Story of My Adopted Daughter Lucy
- By: Cathy Glass
- Narrated by: Denica Fairman
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 11th memoir and latest title from the internationally bestselling author and foster carer Cathy Glass. This book tells the true story of Cathy's adopted daughter Lucy. Lucy was born to a single mother who had been abused and neglected for most of her own childhood. Right from the beginning Lucy's mother couldn't cope, but it wasn't until Lucy reached eight years old that she was finally taken into permanent foster care.
-
-
I think we all loved Lucy by the end of the book
- By DianeF on 01-12-14
-
Stella's Story
- Thrown Away Children, Book 1
- By: Louise Allen
- Narrated by: Melanie Crawley
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Named after the lager that christened her at birth, Stella's life is characterised instability and neglect. Her teenage mother abandons her in the first few weeks of her life, and left in the 'care' of her father, she ends up lying deserted in a house with no food, no water, no clothes and no warmth. She eventually lands in the care of foster carer Louise, who is determined to change her life for the better.
-
-
Brilliant but so sad
- By Anonymous User on 13-07-21
-
I Miss Mummy: The true story of a frightened young girl who is desperate to go home
- By: Cathy Glass
- Narrated by: Denica Fairman
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In her new book, Cathy Glass, the number one best-selling author of Damaged, tells the story of the Alice, a young and vulnerable girl who is desperate to return home to her mother. Alice, aged four, is snatched by her mother the day she is due to arrive at Cathy's house. Drug-dependent and mentally ill, but desperate to keep hold of her daughter, Alice's mother snatches her from her parents' house and disappears.
-
-
Such a tragic story
- By Susan Inglis on 10-01-17
-
Tiny Prisoners
- Two siblings trapped in a world of abuse. One woman determined to free them.
- By: Maggie Hartley
- Narrated by: Penny MacDonald
- Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Evie and Elliot are scrawny, filthy and scared when they turn up on foster carer Maggie Hartley's doorstep. Aged just two and three years old, this brother and sister have hardly set foot outside their own home. They have been prisoners, locked in a world of abuse, violence and neglect. Maggie soon realises that Evie and Elliot are lacking the basic life skills we all take for granted, and the outside world terrifies them. Gradually unlocking the truth of their heartbreaking upbringing, Maggie tells their shocking true story.
-
-
What a heart wrenching story
- By linda chenapa on 20-06-18
-
A Life Lost
- Jackson Is Haunted by a Secret from His Past
- By: Cathy Glass
- Narrated by: Denica Fairman
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jackson is aggressive, confrontational and often volatile. His mother, Kayla, is crippled with grief after tragically losing her husband and eldest son. Struggling to cope, she puts Jackson into foster care. Cathy, his carer, encourages Jackson to talk about what has happened to his family, but he just won’t engage. His actions continue to test and worry everyone. Then, in a dramatic turn of events, the true reason for Jackson’s behaviour comes to light....
-
-
Amazing true life story
- By Amazon Customer on 20-07-21
-
Girl Alone
- By: Cathy Glass
- Narrated by: Denica Fairman
- Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Aged nine Joss came home from school to discover her father's suicide. She's never got over it. This is the true story of Joss, 13, who is angry and out of control. At the age of nine, Joss finds her father's dead body. He has committed suicide. Then more recently her mother remarries, and Joss bitterly resents her stepfather, who abuses her mentally and physically.
-
-
cathy glass repairs another shattered life
- By J. Scrimshaw on 09-10-15
-
The Girl in the Mirror
- By: Cathy Glass
- Narrated by: Denica Fairman
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sunday Times and New York Times best-selling author Cathy Glass returns with her first novel. The Girl in the Mirror is a moving and gripping story of a young woman who tries to piece together her past and uncovers a dreadful family secret that has been buried and forgotten. When Mandy learns her much-loved Grandpa is dying, she is devastated and returns to the house where she spent so many wonderful summers as a child. But the childhood visits ended abruptly, and those happy days are now long gone.
-
-
A very well told story
- By crochetdiva on 03-06-22
Summary
His name was Kevin but his keepers called him Zoo Boy. He didn't talk. He hid under tables and surrounded himself with a cage of chairs. He hadn't been out of the building in the four years since he'd come in. He was afraid of water and wouldn't take a shower. He was afraid to be naked, to change his clothes. He was nearly 16.
Desperate to see change in the boy, the staff of Kevin's adolescent treatment center hired Hayden. As Hayden read to him and encouraged him to read, crawling down into his cage of chairs with him, Kevin talked. Then he started to draw and paint and showed himself to have a quick wit and a rolling, seething, murderous hatred for his stepfather.
More from the same
What listeners say about Murphy's Boy
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Wendy
- 12-12-14
Wonderful and Moving
Torey once again brings the story to life. I listened to the book in one weekend and didn't want to stop. It's a must listen in my opinion. If you like to laugh and then in the next minute be deeply moved, this book is for you. Definitely my book of the year. Buy it now!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
- Natasha
- 16-01-15
good book
a really good book. a very sad but interesting book. very well written and narated. i would recommend this book i really felt sorry for kevin it is sad these things go on. i will read more of this author's books.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kerry
- 27-04-21
very gripping story
This book is great. it is so easy to listen to and the story line pulls you in and keeps you wanting to listen to more xx
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 31-03-21
interesting gripping story throughout
and he started to sound out words making his lips form letter sounds.... h h e he
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sally
- 05-03-21
really good
as ever, a classic of Torey Haydens amazing true stories! easy to follow, superbly written and a full total story which is a pleasant surprise!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- mandy wales
- 12-01-21
Struggle to stay interested
A nice ending but struggled to stay interested at times and nearly gave up , overall just an okay book
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Cherish
- 14-10-15
want to meet Kevin
I want to meet Kevin within the first 10 chapters, by the second section I just want to hug him like a mother would their own son. By the 3rd section I pray he has an amazing life from here on. Such an amazing story
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Amber
- 25-04-22
one of my favorite authors
my only regret is that I finished it so fast! I've read many of her books and this was the first I listened to. highly recommend!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- SchroederTx
- 01-02-22
Great Book
I read this book MANY years ago. I just started buying the audiobooks of Ms Hayden. My only druther … an update on Kevin / Brian.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Pink Amy
- 27-09-21
Interesting
I’m on a Torey Hayden binge. In MURPHY’S BOY, Kevin, a selective-mute teenager is her client. Over several years they work together through his anger and trauma. At times Kevin is violent, so violent Torey fears for his safety. Most everyone has given up on him, but Torey refuses.
MURPHY’S BOY is another dated book. Some of the terminology is antiquated and cringe-worthy. In one case a male therapist is fired because he’s “a homosexual” which is still legal in some states in the USA.
Torey frustrates me, at times brilliant with clients, yet often unethical and probably breaks laws. In one case, Kevin has a formulated plan and has built a weapon to kill his stepfather. Hayden not only doesn’t document this or alert the other members of the team in order to protect Kevin, she confiscates the homemade knife and brings it back because she promised Kevin she would. As therapists, we have an ethical obligation and duty to inform when someone is homicidal. Kevin not only had a plan, he talked about it week after week. Additionally, he was a resident in a treatment facility that Torey visited to see him a few times a week. Not alerting staff was reckless. Yet, at times she shows so much skill and patience she seems like she is giving him a chance at a decent life.
I truly enjoyed MURPHY’S BOY, but can’t rate it higher because of her ethical quagmires.
***ETA Hayden repeatedly refers to Kevin as ugly and unattractive. Even if I thought that about a client, which I likely wouldn’t because my brain doesn’t usually go there in terms of physical unpleasantness, I would never, ever write it in a book about a REAL PERSON, especially who might or might not read the book. If I think about all the kids I’ve worked with, some are cuter than others, some stunning or downright adorable. Every one had something worthy of positive mention.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Karlees123
- 07-06-20
good but repetitive
I love Torey Hayden but this book was hard for me. she seemed to lengthen the book substantially by drawing out scenes and saying things over and over. still a good story but not favorite.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- MountainMom
- 25-10-18
Incredible
The story was incredible, but very difficult to hear in parts so if you are sensitive you would be better off skipping this book. Though if you're looking to read a Torey Hayden book you're probably not too sensitive for this one. I didn't care for the narrator. Her voice didn't match up to how I imagine Torey's to sound and it is a bit stiff/mechanical at times. I really would have preferred a different narrator, but this was an enthralling tale regardless.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Anonymous User
- 20-10-18
I loved it.
I loved Loretta, the way she read it made me not want to put the book down. The story was amazing!!! I love Torey Hayden, her books are amazing. moving on to the next book of hers.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Lace M. Jackson
- 23-03-18
Enjoyed and Unforgetable
Loved it. It was emotional and unforgetable. I fell inlove by the end of it.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Amazon Customer
- 05-05-17
Murphys boy
story long winded and narrator not good at all very slow in place's and just could not get on with her voice
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Beth
- 16-01-17
Powerful, Heartbreaking, Heartwarming
Hated for it to end. An incredible story about a broken kid & the incredible therapist who patiently & lovingly helped to restore him. Would like to know the rest of his story.