I have blogged, fairly openly, about the fact that I was physically, emotionally and sexually abused. I am working on these issues and am exploring having EMDR done to help with some of my anxieties. While talking with my counselor, she recommended the book, "The Four Agreements" by don Miguel Ruiz.

I got it in an audio version and have been listening to it on my MP3 player when I am walking. It is great uninterrupted time when I don’t have to think about anything... more

While doing all the paperwork for Hannah’s adoption there was a list of books and other things we could do to earn “credit” for pre-adoption education. On the list was a book that I was a contributing author to. Honestly, I had forgotten about writing for it since it was an easy topic for me to write on, and required very little effort on my part, although I did find it amusing that I could get credit for reading a book that I contributed to.

The book is, “Adoption Parenting: Creating a Toolbox, Building Connections” by EMK Press. It is a fantastic book,... more

I received a copy of Adopted Teens Only: A Survival Guide to Adolescence from the publisher. For the most part I really like this book. It is written as a book for teens to help them understand adoption issues and the feelings they have as they struggle for independence and identity.

Here’s a little bit about the author, Danea Gorbett. She’s an adult adoptee who met her birth father when she was a teenager. It was a tenuous relationship. She became a psychologist... more

I love to read and my kids have developed that passion as well. You will often find both of them with books in their hands. Reading with your kids is always a good thing, especially if this is not something that your child is used to. The books listed below can give some great messages to your kids, along with having that special one on one time that kids love to have with their parents.

Corduroy by Don Freeman

I love... more

My husband gave me this book by Deanna Favre, and I was a little less than thrilled. I didn’t tell him, but I had no intention of reading the book, since I considered it “the breast cancer book.”

I was pleasantly surprised when I read the book that it’s not all about breast cancer. In fact, I learned quite a bit about Brett and Deanna Favre, and being a Packer fan, I was quite interested in learning about Brett.

There were several things that were informative... more

I was browsing through the bookstore the other day and stumbled across two books that are great for foster care adoption. One is specifically an adoption book, but the other is not.

First I’ll tell you about the non-adoption book.

I am a fan of the author Jan Karon. She wrote a series of books called “The Mitford Series”. I have read every one of them. The two main characters in the book are Father Timothy Cavanaugh, and his neighbor turned wife, Cynthia Coopersmith. A secondary character, but very much... more

I blogged briefly about this book by Dr. Robert F. Newby, PH.D. The full title is “Your Struggling Child: A Guide to Diagnosing, Understanding & Advocating for Your Child with Learning, Behavior or Emotional Problems”. It is a long title for a great book.

I am only a few chapters into it, and I think it is a must have for almost every parent, and especially for kids from foster care or with any type of trauma in their history. I very rarely read “work” books... more

I picked up this book by Brian Schulenburg at a church sponsored event. It is an incredibly fun book. It is a Christian based book, but does not have to be used this way if you don’t want to.

Sometimes our kids can be very hard to reach, and nearly impossible to get them to open up. This book helps that. It is designed to be used for teenagers, but Hannah loves to “play” along with it, and often asks if we can do the... more

I just finished reading this book by Katharine Leslie,and all I can say is WOW!

One of the cool things about Katharine is that she’s a parent in addition to being a therapist. Actually, my favorite therapists all parent traumatized kids. Not to say you can’t be a good therapist if you haven’t parented a traumatized kid, but it sure does give them an additional insight into our lives.

Back to my point. This book is incredible. Katharine is writing... more

Summer is almost over. Are you looking forward to the kids going back to school, dreading the ending of beautiful summer weather, or a combination of both? For me it’s both.

If you have a vacation coming up yet this summer, maybe you’d like a good book to read. I have a knack for stumbling across adoption themed books, even when I don’t mean to. Sometimes I will actively go searching for adoption themed books though.

My day is so filled with “work” helping parents, conference planning, parenting, and various other... more