No One to Miss Me

ONE REMARKABLE WOMAN.

OVER 30 YEARS OF FOSTERING.

CARER TO MORE THAN 150 CHILDREN.

Can Cathy help troubled Lily sort her life out and piece together the truth?
Late on boxing day, Cathy hears a strange noise outside her house, only to find Lily – a girl she fostered briefly years ago – shivering on her front step.

But Lily is no longer the vulnerable child Cathy once knew. Withdrawn and on edge, she has nowhere else to turn – and it soon becomes clear she is hiding something far more serious than she first admits.

Can Cathy reach her in time, or has Lily’s past already caught up with her?

Perfect for fans of Cathy Glass, especially readers of Hidden, Mummy Told Me Not to Tell and Helpless.

The latest title from the author of Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller Damaged.

Cathy Glass's book 'Mummy Told Me Not to Tell' was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 2025-01-20.

Hi

I live in England and have three children, two birth children and one adopted. When I left school I held a clerical position in the civil service, which I left to start a family. At the same time I became a foster carer, which is the inspiration for much of my writing. I have been a foster carer for over twenty-five years and am what's known as a specialist foster carer, sometimes referred to as a level 3 carer. This is in recognition of my experience and qualifications and means that I am often asked to look after children with complex needs or very challenging behaviour. I have a degree in education and psychology which I was awarded as a mature student.

I have always been a writer - from when I was at school, with poems in the school magazine. In my teens I began writing short stories, articles, a few radio plays, and entering writing competitions. Like many writers it was a hobby - something I did almost furtively in my spare time, while working, and then later fostering and looking after my family. The two halves of my life - writer and foster carer - came together in 2007 when I wrote about a child I'd fostered and the book immediately became a number one best seller. Since then there have been many bestsellers, thanks to you, my readers. I really appreciate all your support and best wishes.

For more details about me and my books and to read updates on the children please visit my website www.cathyglass.co.uk

I also write thriller books under the pen name Lisa Stone: www.lisastonebooks.co.uk

Cathy xx

No One to Miss Me by Cathy Glass is a deeply moving memoir about fostering, childhood trauma, abandonment, social care, and the extraordinary difference that one caring adult can make in the life of a vulnerable young person. Published in September 2026 by HarperElement/HarperCollins, the book follows Cathy Glass as she unexpectedly encounters Lily, a girl she had fostered briefly about ten years earlier. What begins as a shocking late-night visit gradually becomes a troubling journey into Lily’s past and the circumstances that have left her without a safe place to go. Cathy, an experienced foster carer who has looked after more than 150 children over more than three decades, is once again confronted with the complicated realities of a child who has fallen through the gaps of the social-care system.

The story begins on Boxing Day night. Cathy is at home when she hears an unusual noise outside. At first she cannot see anything, but when the noise comes again, she becomes concerned and goes downstairs. When she cautiously opens the front door, she discovers a teenage girl huddled on the doorstep, cold and frightened. The girl introduces herself as Lily and tells Cathy something astonishing: she had stayed with Cathy years earlier for two weeks. Cathy is stunned. After so much time has passed, the appearance of a former foster child at her home in the middle of the night is completely unexpected.

Yet Lily's arrival is more than an emotional reunion. It immediately suggests that something has gone badly wrong in the intervening years. The vulnerable child Cathy remembers is now an older girl who appears withdrawn, anxious, and deeply unsettled. She has nowhere else to turn, and the fact that she has chosen Cathy's doorstep after so many years speaks powerfully about the impression Cathy made on her during that short period of care. The official description makes clear that Lily has fallen through the social-care net and eventually ended up on the streets before returning to someone she remembers as safe.

This situation establishes one of the book's central ideas: for a child who has experienced instability, even a relatively short period of genuine care can remain important for years. Foster children may move from one placement to another, and adults may sometimes think of a placement as something temporary, but a child can remember kindness, security, routine, and affection long after leaving. Lily's return therefore carries an important emotional meaning. Cathy represents a connection to a time when Lily was cared for and, perhaps, when she felt that she mattered to somebody.

Cathy, however, is not presented as someone who has an easy solution. Her reaction is human and realistic. She does not suddenly know exactly what to do. Lily is no longer the young child Cathy once fostered, and the circumstances surrounding her are far more complicated. Cathy has to work out how to help without knowing the complete story. The author describes herself as initially having no idea what to do and simply trying to muddle through as best she can.

That uncertainty is important because No One to Miss Me is not simply a story about a heroic foster carer rescuing a child. It explores the limits of what one person can accomplish when a young person's life has been shaped by repeated disruption. Cathy can offer warmth, food, a listening ear, practical support, and emotional reassurance, but she cannot erase years of difficulty overnight. Her challenge is to understand Lily while also trying to work within the responsibilities and realities of the care system.

Lily's behaviour adds another layer of mystery to the story. She is described as withdrawn and on edge, and it soon becomes apparent that she is concealing something more serious than her immediate circumstances. She has not simply arrived because she needs somewhere warm to sleep. There is a secret behind her return, and Cathy gradually realizes that she needs to understand what Lily has been carrying alone. The book's central question consequently becomes whether Cathy can help Lily confront the truth about what has happened to her and find a safer direction for her life.

The title, No One to Miss Me, captures the emotional heart of Lily's situation. At its deepest level, the book is concerned with what happens when a young person comes to believe that nobody would notice if she disappeared. Such a feeling is not merely loneliness. It represents a profound absence of belonging. Children need to feel that somebody knows where they are, cares about what happens to them, and would be affected by their absence. When that emotional security is missing, a child can become increasingly vulnerable to neglect, exploitation, unsafe relationships, homelessness, and despair.

Through Lily's experience, Cathy Glass draws attention to the difference between being physically present in the world and actually feeling that one matters. A child can have contact with professionals and still feel completely alone. A young person can pass through various systems of support without developing a stable sense of home. Lily's story therefore raises difficult questions about what happens when institutional systems are unable to provide the continuity and emotional security that vulnerable children need.

Another important theme is the long shadow of childhood experiences. Lily's problems cannot be understood simply by looking at the circumstances in which Cathy finds her on Boxing Day. Her present behaviour has roots in her earlier experiences. Cathy remembers the child Lily once was, while the girl standing at her door represents the accumulated effects of the years that followed. The contrast between the two versions of Lily becomes one of the most painful aspects of the story.

Cathy's perspective also gives the book a strong sense of compassion. She does not simply judge Lily's behaviour from the outside. Instead, she tries to understand what might have caused it. This is particularly significant because troubled young people can easily be misunderstood. Withdrawal, secrecy, anger, fear, distrust, or unpredictable behaviour may look like deliberate defiance when they can actually be expressions of fear, trauma, or insecurity.

The book therefore encourages the reader to look beneath behaviour. Lily's difficulties are not treated as isolated incidents. They are connected to her experiences, her relationships, and her lack of stable support. Cathy's role becomes partly that of a patient listener: she must allow Lily to reveal her story in her own time rather than demanding immediate explanations.

At the same time, No One to Miss Me is a story about trust. Lily has returned to Cathy after a decade, which suggests that something about those two weeks of fostering remained meaningful to her. Trust is particularly significant for children who have experienced repeated disappointment. When adults have disappeared from their lives, promises have been broken, or placements have ended, trusting another person can become frightening. Cathy therefore has to demonstrate through consistent actions that she will listen and take Lily seriously.

The book also highlights the emotional complexity of fostering. Foster care is often described in terms of providing children with a safe home, but Cathy Glass's memoirs repeatedly demonstrate that fostering involves much more than providing accommodation. Foster carers become part of children's emotional histories. Even when a placement is short, the relationship can have lasting consequences. Lily's return is an especially striking example of this idea because she remembers Cathy many years after leaving her care. The author's own background reinforces this perspective: Cathy has spent more than 30 years fostering and has cared for more than 150 children of different ages and backgrounds.

As the story develops, Cathy's concern grows because Lily reveals a heartbreaking secret. The official description deliberately keeps the precise nature of that secret undisclosed, making it a central mystery of the book. Cathy realizes that she cannot simply provide temporary comfort and hope that the problem disappears. She has to act. This shift—from unexpected reunion to urgent responsibility—drives the emotional movement of the memoir.

The narrative consequently becomes both personal and social. On the personal level, it is about Cathy's relationship with one vulnerable young woman. On the wider level, it asks what happens to children when they do not receive the stable support they need. The book's classification includes adoption and fostering, social work, social welfare, and memoir, reflecting this combination of personal experience and broader social concerns.

One of the most affecting aspects of the story is the contrast between Lily's apparent isolation and the persistence of one remembered relationship. When Lily has nowhere else to go, she remembers Cathy. That decision is significant because it suggests that care can have a lasting impact even when the carer may not realize how deeply it has been remembered. A safe adult can become a kind of emotional landmark in a child's life.

Cathy's response also demonstrates that compassion does not mean ignoring difficult realities. She has to balance empathy with responsibility. She cannot simply make promises she cannot keep, nor can she pretend that Lily's situation is straightforward. Helping Lily means confronting uncomfortable truths and finding a practical way forward.

Ultimately, No One to Miss Me is a story about being seen. Lily's greatest need is not simply a roof over her head but recognition that her life matters. Cathy tries to give her that recognition by listening, remembering, and refusing to dismiss her situation. The title therefore carries a painful irony: Lily may have come to believe that there was no one to miss her, yet the person she once stayed with remembers her and is willing to help.

The book's emotional power comes from this simple but profound idea. Children who have experienced instability may begin to believe that they are forgettable, unwanted, or unimportant. Cathy's relationship with Lily challenges that belief. It shows how even a brief period of genuine kindness can survive for years and can become a source of hope when everything else has failed.

In the end, No One to Miss Me is not merely a memoir about one difficult foster-care case. It is a compassionate exploration of abandonment, memory, trust, resilience, and the responsibilities adults have toward vulnerable children. Cathy Glass uses Lily's unexpected return to show how complicated a child's journey can become after leaving foster care and how easily a young person can become lost when stable support disappears. At the same time, the story reminds readers that people are not defined solely by what has happened to them. With patience, safety, honesty, and someone willing to listen, there can still be a way forward.

The deepest message of the book is therefore one of human connection. Lily's story demonstrates that sometimes the most important thing a person can offer another is the reassurance that they have not been forgotten. Cathy cannot undo Lily's past, but she can stand beside her in the present and help her face what comes next. In that sense, No One to Miss Me becomes a moving reflection on what it means to care for another human being: not to promise that every problem can be solved, but to make sure that, at least for one person, loneliness does not have the final word.