Showing titles in Adoption & Fostering

In the late 1950s, when a shy, 13-year-old girl and a 15-year-old, outgoing boy fall in love in a small Midwestern town, population 695, their happiness is short-lived when they discover she is pregnant. Forced by their very young ages and family expectations, they place their child up for adoption and separate—each living their lives apart for 53 years. But a corner of Dennis' heart still belonged to Karen. Despite the many passing years, he searches for and finds his lost love, and later, together they find their daughter. Love is not what you say; love is what you feel.

This is a powerful true story of one young girl's struggle to survive the state-care-system in the 70s and 80s. Amelia has just one wish, to make it through to adulthood and hold her destiny in her own hands. This is a harrowing true story, one of survival and human strength. Amelia has been tragically separated from all her siblings, never to see them again for many years.

From this inauspicious beginning, entirely without support, Crystal Lindsey has created a system for survival allowing her to thrive and develop her emotional resilience. Crystal knows trauma unlocks superpowers, and she has developed biohacks to show you how to discover your own superpowers using daily gratitude and grit psychology. She gives you a story of hope and optimism while "getting real" about the challenges you will face in adulthood after growing up with abuse and/or aging out of foster care.

In a crumbling mansion in a small Irish village in County Wicklow, two elderly sisters, Ella and Roberta O'Callaghan, live alone in Roscarbury Hall with their secrets, memories, and mutual hatred. Long estranged by a dark family tragedy, the two communicate only by terse notes. But when the sisters are threatened with bankruptcy, Ella defies Roberta's wishes and takes matters into her own hands, putting her baking skills to good use and converting the mansion's old ballroom into a café.

With hurricane Sandy slamming into the East Coast, an epic spiritual storm ensues for Mark and Missy Worton, who courageously board the last plane to Ethiopia to rescue a six-year-old girl. Although Favor has already been declared their daughter, she is about to be wrongly placed into a foster care system that looks more like child slavery. Once they land, the storm is far from over. The couple faces false accusations of illegal actions, fears of imprisonment, and threats to their family's safety.

How does a mother cope when she is forced to walk away from her three children and never see them again? That is what happened to JB's mother, Myrtle. Eventually, rescued from her despair by tall, dark, and handsome George Rowley, who fell in love with her, Myrtle started a new life and had seven more children. She buried the grief of losing her first children deep within and kept her pain secret. JB and her siblings were unaware of the existence of Myrtle's first three children until after she died.

Michelle and her brothers are fresh out of foster care when they're reunited with their father in southern Ohio. Michelle has dreams of mending fractures in her family and moving past the trauma of the previous 12 years. But leaving the stability and guidance of a loving foster family, she discovers her single father is plagued with PTSD and not equipped to handle raising her and her brothers.

House on Fire, a raw and riveting memoir by author and publisher Jenn T. Grace, explores her journey growing up as an adopted child in a chaotic household. Surviving a turbulent childhood marked by family conflict, mental illness, and alcoholism, Grace promises herself that life will get better. But as an adult, Grace’s personal and professional successes belie her inner turmoil.

When Lisa Faulkner learned that she wouldn’t have biological children, her plans and expectations for her life were derailed. But, in the months and years that followed, she discovered that there was more than one way to build a family - and that there is a lot of joy to be found in life’s unexpected detours. In a raw and inspiring story of one woman’s journey through motherhood, family life and self-discovery, Lisa explores the many forms that family can take and discovers the power of embracing your plan B.

Disruptors, entrepreneurs, and unconventional do-gooders, Drs. Jodi and Garry Vermaas are not the people you would expect to parent 12 children. From the child-trafficking slums of Manila to the barren corners of China to the baggage compartment of a long-distance train to Mumbai, each of their children has a tale to tell - if only they could find the words.

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.

Behind the Ivy Walls is based on the true story of a young boy seemingly born with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth. It is written in the time-honored tradition of a feel-bad/feel-good story in which someone else's tragedy teaches us life lessons about positive thinking and seizing each day as a gift. This book details the quest for a true identity, the love of a family, and a safe place to call home.

50 Things to Know About Being a Stepparent gives you practical ideas on how to successfully blend your new family. Just remember that it is not going to happen overnight. Blending your new family is going to take lots of time and patience. 

The echo of the spinning tire beneath her car seemed to ring louder than the music she attempted to drown her thoughts in. Watching the world pass by in a haze, America sped down the freeway and out of the city while flashbacks of her long-forgotten childhood consumed her. Her parents failed her; the foster care system failed her; social workers, probation officers, teachers, and everyone who was supposed to protect her tossed her aside.

"Our adopted angel"—that's what Danielle's adoptive parents called her. She grew up adored, doted on, and unconditionally loved. It wasn't until she was in college that she first felt a gnawing curiosity about her roots. From time to time, she would wonder: Where did this face come from? Where did this body come from? Where did this blood come from? Her search to find her biological parents had begun-one full of surprises and revelations.

**The Heart of Adoption Nurturing Emotional Connections and Building Strong Family Bonds** Discover the profound and transformative journey of adoption in "The Heart of Adoption," a comprehensive guide dedicated to understanding and navigating the emotional and relational dimensions of adoptive families. This invaluable resource dives deep into the complexities of adoption, offering insightful strategies and heartfelt advice for both adoptive parents and those considering adoption. Embark on a journey that begins with understanding the emotional landscape of adoption. Explore how emotional ...

A troubled rich wife and poor husband yearns for a shot at redemption in this heartbreaking yet hopeful story from Eva Nash.The Lesters were killed in one night! Clarence Lester was saved by a college girl on his way to escape. In return for his kindness, he becomes the superfluous son-in-law of The Burnetts, who are unaware of his true identity and treat him with hardship and insult. Suddenly, one day, he finds himself and the whole world trembles ...... “If you like Pride and Prejudice, Sense And Sensibility, and Billionaire Romance, you won't be able to put down the compulsively ...

Journey with the author on the emotional roller-coaster of preparing to adopt a baby girl through international adoption. Be with them as they fly to China to receive their daughter. You will laugh and cry as you listen to the journal that the author kept of his experiences as they happened.

So, you want to help your child by therapeutic parenting, but how are YOU? This easy-to-follow, dip-in dip-out resource addresses common challenges and feelings experienced by therapeutic parents and offers 80 practical strategies to help you cope and survive. Best-selling parenting author Sarah Naish writes with humour and compassion, sharing her personal and professional experiences covering all of the essentials: self-maintenance, coping with isolation and rejection, scheduling holidays and, of course, the therapeutic importance of cake!

This gripping memoir details a California woman's quest to adopt a baby girl from Guatemala in the face of overwhelming adversity. At only 32 years old, Jessica O'Dwyer experiences early menopause, seemingly ending her chances of becoming a mother. Years later, married but childless, she comes across a photo of a two-month-old girl on a Guatemalan adoption website and feels an instant connection. When the process drags on for more than a year, Jessica quits her job at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and moves to Antigua, Guatemala, to finish the adoption herself.