Kay West

Diane Lierow

Bernie Lierow

The story that captivated a nation?how a horribly neglected little girl was rescued by her loving adoptive parents In July 2005, a six-year-old girl named Danielle was removed from her Florida home after authorities found her living in bug-ridden squalor, subjected to horrific neglect and so damaged by her own mother that recovery seemed hopeless. But hope was waiting for Dani?and help. In October 2007, Bernie and Diane Lierow, a hard-working couple with five boys of their own, adopted her and utterly transformed her life. This book tells the moving story of how the Lierows rescued Dani and helped her recover to the point where she can not only communicate, something once thought impossible, but can say of herself, "I pretty." Dani's story was featured on Oprah and the subject of a Pulitzer Prize-winning article published by the St. Petersburg Times The Lierows describe their struggle to adopt Dani, how they bonded with her and made a home for her, how they satisfied her craving for contact and stimuli, how Dani began to overcome her severe learning disabilities, how she learned she no longer had to steal food, and how their son Willie may be the greatest brother ever For readers who enjoyed Mistaken Identity: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope; Hope's Boy; and Sickened: The True Story of a Lost Childhood Charting a perilous journey from hardship to hope, a new family, and a second chance at life, Dani's Story is a book you cannot put down and will never forget.

A Journey from Neglect to Love

Dani's Story

In 2005, a six-year-old girl named Danielle was removed from her Florida home after authorities found her living in bug-ridden squalor, subjected to horrific neglect and so damaged by her own mother that recovery seemed hopeless. In 2007, Bernie and Diane Lierow adopted her and transformed her life.

Neglected beyond belief, rescued by love... Dani was so severely neglected by her birth mother that she grew up knowing only squalor. She never went to school or the doctor, and rarely glimpsed sunlight. Desperately malnourished, she couldn't talk and had never been toilet-trained. The social worker who took her into care had never heard of a case so horrific. The doctors believed Dani would never recover from such a terrible start in life. Then she met the Lierows - a unique, blended family who were seeking to adopt a child. Despite being warned that she was way beyond hope of a normal life, they were instantly drawn to her and sensed a bright light behind her pale complexion. When they finally adopted her, they showered Dani with so much affection and encouragement that she came to life for the first time. Proving all the experts wrong, Dani would go on to open up and express herself in a way that no-one could have expected. Dani's remarkable and heartwarming story is a testament of the power of kindness to overcome even the most seemingly insurmountable challenges.

In juli 2005 treft de politie van Florida in een piepklein achterkamertje van een vervallen huis een kind aan, een meisje van een jaar of zes, vervuild en onder de vlooien- en luizenbeten. Ze kijkt dwars door hen heen, wiegend en zwijgend. Het meisje wordt acuut meegenomen en blijkt in de bijna zeven jaar van haar leven nooit geknuffeld, voorgelezen of verzorgd te zijn. Er lijkt geen hoop op herstel, de jaren dat een kind leert praten en liefhebben liggen al een jaar of twee achter haar.Diane en Bernie Lierow hebben besloten een kind te adopteren. Ze hebben samen al een zoon en willen graag nog een dochter. Liefst een die zindelijk en zelfstandig is en al een beetje voor zichzelf kan zorgen. Maar dan kijken ze in de grote bruine ogen van Dani. Tegen ieders advies in adopteren ze haar. Met kleine stapjes leren ze Dani communiceren, eten, liefhebben... kortom, weer een kind te zijn.

Bernie Lierow

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