I read this book in one day, Another Place at the Table by Kathy Harrison. It is about her adventures in foster parenting. Very eye opening, informative, and sad/hopeful - yes, all of those things at the same time. I appreciated reading the reality of foster parenting (as real as a well-edited book can be), understanding the amount of compassion, fortitude, wisdom, and tolerance needed to help troubled children. The sad part was reading about just a few of the kids who had issues so severe they couldn't be cared for in a traditional foster setting. That is sad, so so sad.
It was so good to read about her interactions with birth parents, both the successful and the scary. It was informative to see how her tendency to take on too much, out of compassion, didn't result in positive outcomes. If it's too much to handle it doesn't work out for anyone. As much as you would like to be super mom, no one is. A very good reminder for me going into this.
I don't know if I'd recommend this book to everyone. It's got some pretty harsh facts about the abuse that happens to children. For me, going into foster parenting, I want my eyes to be open because it motivates and informs, preparing me for what is coming. This book has a sequel and I'll be reading it also.
Now I'm onto a little fluff reading - The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison and I'm re-reading Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy.
While we're talking books I have to tell you about Rach's reading - she has read 3 books in the last week. One of them was The Hobbit by Tolkien (which is being made into a movie!). I am so proud!
It sounds like an interesting book. I'll have to look into it.
Posted by: Amanda D | March 21, 2010 at 11:31 PM