It's tough being a foster kid. In addition to dealing with the abuse, trauma and/or neglect in their home of origin, kids in the foster care system face the fear and uncertainty inherent in having one or more temporary family placements. For kids who never find a permanent home, but instead age out of the system, homelessness, unemployment, drug addiction, and debilitating mental health illnesses are often their reality as they enter adulthood. But that doesn't have to be their future! A Foster Kid's Road To Success teaches teens in foster care the most important life lessons needed to succeed after aging out.
This book covers common open adoption situations and how real families have navigated typical issues successfully. Like all useful parenting books, it provides parents with the tools to come to answers on their own, and answers questions that might not yet have come up.
The author tells how she overcame the events of her childhood, how she went from poverty, filth, hunger, and loneliness to affluence, order, fulfillment, and relationships, and more importantly, how others can use the obstacles in their lives as stepping stones to a great future.
Rhodes-Courter spent nine years of her life in 14 different foster homes. In this unforgettable memoir, the author recounts her years growing up in the foster care system, revealing painful memories but also her determination to discover the power of her own voice.
Growing up, they didn't believe they had a future. Together, they are building forever. Alexis Black persevered through her mother's death and her father's imprisonment. And after escaping a long and abusive relationship, the college junior promised her foster parents not to date for at least a year. But when she meets an incoming freshman on the first day of their scholarship program, she feels the world melt away, as though it were only the two of them in the room. Justin Black lived in the poorest section of Detroit before his parents surrendered him to the foster care system at the age of nine. But when he grabs the chance for better opportunities by pursuing higher education, he can't help but be drawn to a beautiful third-year student. At first, their past traumas--and their age difference--conspired to complicate their attraction. But the joy each took in the other and eventually conquered those obstacles, and these two survivors journeyed together toward healing. In a stark and wholehearted true story that shares how two individuals on separate paths found each other, Alexis and Justin merge their course into one full of hope and purpose. And hand-in-hand, with a desire to help others, they learned to reject the abusive patterns of their past, thereby intentionally breaking the cycle of generational violence and unhealthy behaviors. Written in an engaging novelistic style, the authors put forward a thoughtful exchange of ideas and personal experiences illustrating how anybody, no matter their backgrounds, can have a life of self-empowerment and joy. Broken down into four sections that cover crucial topics such as "Worthiness" and "Mental Health," this compelling narrative will help any who are learning to love themselves and want to end the line of toxic relationships. Redefining Normal: How Two Foster Kids Beat The Odds and Discovered Healing, Happiness, and Love is a page-turning memoir that will open your eyes to possibilities and dreams. If you like honest tales of triumph, refreshing transparency, and resilient faith in God, then you'll adore Justin and Alexis' inspirational story. This story contains mentions of domestic violence, trauma, sexual assault, and other difficult issues faced on the road to healing. Buy Redefining Normal to claim victory over harmful pasts today!
"A deeply touching story about survival, hope, and love." --Kathleen Glasgow, New York Times bestselling author A powerful and heartwarming look at a teen girl about to age out of the foster care system. Growing up in foster care, Muir has lived in many houses. And if she's learned one thing, it is to Pack. Light. Carry only what fits in a suitcase. Toothbrush? Yes. Socks? Yes. Emotional attachment to friends? foster families? a boyfriend? Nope! There's no room for any additional baggage. Muir has just one year left before she ages out of the system. One year before she's free. One year to avoid anything--or anyone--that could get in her way. Then she meets Francine. And Kira. And Sean. And everything changes.
New York Times Bestseller "Julie Lythcott-Haims is a national treasure. . . . A must-read for every parent who senses that there is a healthier and saner way to raise our children." -Madeline Levine, author of the New York Times bestsellers The Price of Privilege and Teach Your Children Well "For parents who want to foster hearty self-reliance instead of hollow self-esteem, How to Raise an Adult is the right book at the right time." -Daniel H. Pink, author of the New York Times bestsellers Drive and A Whole New Mind A provocative manifesto that exposes the harms of helicopter parenting and sets forth an alternate philosophy for raising preteens and teens to self-sufficient young adulthood In How to Raise an Adult, Julie Lythcott-Haims draws on research, on conversations with admissions officers, educators, and employers, and on her own insights as a mother and as a student dean to highlight the ways in which overparenting harms children, their stressed-out parents, and society at large. While empathizing with the parental hopes and, especially, fears that lead to overhelping, Lythcott-Haims offers practical alternative strategies that underline the importance of allowing children to make their own mistakes and develop the resilience, resourcefulness, and inner determination necessary for success. Relevant to parents of toddlers as well as of twentysomethings-and of special value to parents of teens-this book is a rallying cry for those who wish to ensure that the next generation can take charge of their own lives with competence and confidence.
Be a star that shines for others. Abandoned in an animal shelter, Ruby, an adorable mixed breed puppy with an underbite, wonders if a family will ever adopt her. When a goofy looking, scruffy-faced man stops by the shelter, he adopts Ruby. Mr. James is not the family she was expecting—but could he still be the answer to her prayers? Mr. James (known as Jimmy Wayne to his country music fans) is walking halfway across America to raise awareness for the thousands of foster children who desperately need our help. Ruby realizes that she’s not so very different from these kids: she’s scared and alone. If she doesn’t have help, she can’t have hope either. But Mr. James wants to change all that, for her and for every foster kid in the United States. On their adventure together, Mr. James teaches her about integrity, honesty, loyalty, faith, forgiveness, and trust, but mostly how love can rescue someone and forever change lives. As they walk along historic routes and locations throughout the Southeastern United States, Ruby quietly helps Mr. James overcome the issues he’s been struggling with too. By the time they get to Phoenix, both of their lives are changed for the better. But just when Ruby accepts Mr. James as her new family, an unexpected phone call challenges her to redefine family—and love—all over again. Ruby the Foster Dog will leave readers with a full heart, a desire to help foster dogs (and foster kids) find homes and forever families, and motivation to be a star that shines for others. Ruby’s story parallels the plight of the more than 400,000 children in foster care, the 30,000 who age-out annually at 18-years-young, and the 100,000+ children waiting to be adopted. To find out more, please visit Project Meet Me Halfway at ProjectMMH.org.
A New York Times bestseller! Imagine yourself a thirteen-year-old hundreds of miles away from home, in a strange city, and your mom leaves you at a bus station parking lot and drives off into the night with her lover. That’s the real-life story of country music star Jimmy Wayne. It’s a miracle that Jimmy survived being hungry and homeless, bouncing in and out of the foster care system, and sleeping in the streets. But he didn’t just overcome great adversity in his life; he now uses his country music platform to help children everywhere, especially teenagers in foster care who are about to age out of the system. Walk to Beautiful is the powerfully emotive account of Jimmy’s horrendous childhood and the love he received from Russell and Bea Costner, the elderly couple who gave him a stable home and provided the chance to complete his education. Jimmy says of Bea, “She changed every cell in my body.” This moving memoir chronicles: Jimmy’s life as a foster child and homeless teenager His adoption by Russell and Bea Costner, an elderly couple who gave him a stable home and provided the opportunities for him to thrive His surprising rise to fame in the music industry His tireless advocacy for children in the foster care system through his Meet Me Halfway awareness campaign, a 1,700 mile walk halfway across America from Nashville to Phoenix Join Jimmy on his walk to beautiful and see how one person really can make a difference.
Disregard the myth of the lone professional “superman” and the rest of our culture’s go-it alone mentality. The real path to success in your work and in your life is through creating an inner circle of “lifeline relationships” – deep, close relationships with a few key trusted individuals who will offer the encouragement, feedback, and generous mutual support every one of us needs to reach our full potential. Whether your dream is to lead a company, be a top producer in your field, overcome the self-destructive habits that hold you back, lose weight or make a difference in the larger world, Who’s Got Your Back will give you the roadmap you’ve been looking for to achieve the success you deserve. Keith Ferrazzi, the internationally renowned thought leader, consultant, and bestselling author of Never Eat Alone, shows us that becoming a winner in any field of endeavor requires a trusted team of advisors who can offer guidance and help to hold us accountable to achieving our goals. It is the reason PH.D candidates have advisor teams, top executives have boards, world class athletes have fitness coaches, and presidents have cabinets. In this step-by-step guide to the powerful principles behind personal growth and change, you’ll learn how to: · Master the mindsets that will help you to build deeper, more trusting “lifeline relationships” · Overcome the career-crippling habits that hold you back, once and for all · Get further, faster by setting goals in a dramatically more powerful way · Use “sparring” as a productive tool to make the decisions that will fuel personal success · Replace the yes men in your life with those who get it and care – and will hold you accountable to achieving your goals · Lower your guard and let others help! None of us can do it alone. We need the perspective and advice of a trusted team. And in Who’s Got Your Back, Keith Ferrazzi shows us how to put our own “dream team” together.
