I Was Called "That Foster Kid"

Linda Gray-LeBlanc was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada in 1948 and at the tender age of seven was placed in the Halifax Protestant Orphanage along with her five sisters after her alcoholic parents separated.  She tells about her life with her parents, the hardships the children encountered while under their care and how their father had to give his children up when he couldn’t support them.

From her memories of a child of 8, she tells of what it was like to live in the Orphanage, her loneliness, fears and abuse of some of the caregivers during her stay there.  She tells of “The Horror Room” and punishments given out to the children in this institution. Then she tells how the sisters were separated and placed into different foster homes and adoptions.

 She then goes on to tell her stories of life in her two foster homes on the Eastern Shore, the abuse of a foster father for five years, the verbal and mental abuse of a foster mother and grandmother over the years.  She tells of her lonely life, trying to keep in touch and finding her real family.  

She tells of leaving her foster home at 18 years and going back to work at the Halifax Protestant Orphanage. She tells about going to Ontario to try and connect to a mother who never wanted her.

She tells of getting married at 21,raising her sons and finding all her siblings. Over the year she tells of getting into tracing her family tree and her genealogy work and writing the books.

Linda then tells about her mental breakdown at age 58 and her stay in Hospital for a year and her road to recovery.  She tells how she finally was able to tell her Doctors about the years of abuse as a child, then to go on and tell the family what their parents did to her and their reaction.

This book started out as therapy, writing down what happened and then writing poems about events in her life. She would like other men and women, even in their 60’s, to read her story and to be able to see that they too can tell.  Don’t wait for a breakdown, tell now.

To Get your copy of Linda's Book just email her at:

Chaper 1 ---- Why I Wrote This Book    

Chaper 2 --- Life Before The Orphanage

Chapter 3 --- The Halifax Protestant Orphanage

Chapter 4 --- My First Foster Home        

Chapter  5 --- My Second Foster Home

Chapter 6 --- Working At The Orphanage

Chapter 8 --- Marriage and Sister Reunion

Chapter 9--- Death of My "Loving Parents"

Chapter 10 --- Breakdown and Road To Recovery 

Chapter 11 --- I Told The Family

My Poems

Seven Little Sisters

My Memories

More Memories

My Father and Mother  

The Orphanage    

My Foster Home

My Grandmother                                                 

Foster Home Memories

Death of My Father

Night of Darkness 

Remembering the Abuse

My Demise

Carol    

Letter To My Mother

Mr. Jones       

SEVEN LITTLE SISTERS

Seven little sister are now alone

Sent to the Orphanage, they have no home

In a small room they sit and wait

For the matron to come, what is their fate

In the horror room we had to stay

Till all our head lice had gone away

We ate and slept, we played in there

For two long weeks we lived in fear

In our beds we could not sleep

We laughed out loud, played hide and seek

The matron comes in, she is so mad

The bed-jackets are put on, were we so bad

We lay there now, tied to our beds

Crying out loud for Mom and Dad

Why are we here, when can we go home

We are not orphans, but we sob alone

Our dad came to see us, we were so glad

He brought us an orange, he looked so sad

At the fence he would stand, watching us play

He never came in, he just went away

Our mother came a couple of times

Wanted to know if we were all fine

But how could we tell her we were so scared

She was the one who had put us here

Then one day we were taken away

Into foster homes we had to stay

We were now split up and all alone

Never again to go back home

You try to fit in, call them Mom and Dad

But the things they say, you feel real bad

You build a wall, you cry alone

Many times, you run away from home

Who do you talk to when things are bad

Who gives a darn when you are sad

You have no friends, the kids are cruel

That foster kid is what you are called in school

It's been years since we went to the home

We're getting old, grandchildren of our own

Tell them our story, how we were given away

Those little girls, now getting old and gray

But God will be waiting, we hope and pray

When the Angels come to carry us away

Seven little sisters who were so alone

Will cry no more, for they have come HOME 

By: Linda Gray-LeBlanc