Troubled children that are taken to and treated in a pediatric psych ward of a medical facility have reached that location after much anguish and mental and physical abuse of their parents and anyone that has attempted to work with them.
The path is long, troubled, and many times caused by former abuse to those children by another person, usually a family member or close friend.
It can be various kinds of abuse, not just sexual, but regardless they end up needing long professional treatment.
Sometimes that treatment is successful and sometimes not.
In some few situations the professional furthers the abuse creating a worse monster out of the child, but in most cases the child is helped with improvement, slight as it may be, occurring over time.
Lisa Gardner had to have done much research to take the reader into this world to the point that you can feel the tension, the personal games played, the many ways attempted to help these children even though the professionals themselves are sometimes hurt physically by a child.
Sergeant Detective D.
D.
Warren is a tough cop who has seen all types of crime but even she was awoken when she entered this world of children's mental problems.
She was a 12-year member of the Boston Police Department who was a workaholic who seemed to prefer work to a meaningful date, or so it seemed lately.
When several families were murdered seemingly by one of their own family members, D.
D.
got dragged into this world of child psychotic behavior.
Many characters were a part of "Live to Tell" from the children themselves to the parents, to the nurses and workers in the psych wards, and of course the police.
You will be Victoria, the mother of a broken family that has a problem son; Danielle, a pediatric psych ward nurse who doesn't remember exactly what occurred when her family was killed; Andrew Lightfoot, a believer in spiritual powers and "other" planes of being; and of course the children who could behave one minute and be hollering or attempting to hurt someone the next.
There was some love interests in the book, most of which couldn't get off the ground because of the severe cases all of which they were a part.
D.
D.
was working with Alex who was on temporary assignment with her and they did have interest in each other when time allowed.
The depth that Lisa Gardner obtained in the entire book creates an inner feeling as one reads.
How can families get in this situation with a child that can go so wrong and create such havoc to so many people? The work that the professionals perform in such hospitals, or sections of regular hospitals is so unnerving to their lives that they have to have burnout more often than other professions.
I will not go into more about the book other than to tell you that this is a must read of one of Lisa Gardner's books.
I have enjoyed her other books but this one took me to places I have not even imagined in my long life.