Protecting Other People's Children --
• "Clear and step-by-step instructions for creating effective child protection policies." - Tim Keller, Center for the Rights of Abused Children
• "A must-read for leaders who manage organizations that work with youth." -- Henry Jackson, Buckner Children & Family Series
• "Outstanding resource for organizations that want to create a culture of safety and fulfill their mission of serving our most vulnerable children.." - Judge Juanita Stedman, Together Georgia
• "A comprehensive handbook that should be required reading for anyone who comes in contact with a child" - Isabelle Finney, Finding Kids
• "Guaranteed to learn something." Rebecca Lindstrom, Award-winning Investigative Reporter
• "Real to what we do in child welfare." - Riley P. Green III, Winshape Homes
• "Must-read contribution to the field of family and children's services." - Hal Jones, Wellroot Family Services
Raising Other People's Children --
• "Eloquent... raw and real." - Natalie Ford Ph.D., Truett McConnell University
• "A must read." - Judge Juanita Stedman, Together Georgia
• "Compelling and candid." - Emily Acker, Hillside, Inc.
• "Hard-won wisdom." Rhonda Sciortino, author of 30 Days to Happiness
• "Excellent and profound." - Pastor Demensio Barton, We Are One Ministries
• "Practical perspective." - Irene Clements, National Foster Parent Association
In the book, I explain why commitment is more important than love, why raising our children’s self-esteem requires allowing them to fail, and why we cannot leave them believing that they are no more than the sum of their trauma. It is a frank and compassionate discussion of the challenges and heartaches involved in raising non-biological children, and the uplifting story of why I would do it all over again.
Raising Other People’s Children recounts the lessons that my foster children taught me about raising children who had lost their intact biological families, and how I put those lessons into practice when I married and helped raise a blended family.
The book recounts the principles that I learned about parenting children who came into my life after suffering abuse, neglect, or the loss of divorce. I understood that I was not the person who was supposed to be in their lives, but that I still could forge a strong and meaningful relationship with my children as I helped them heal from their losses.
