Reclaiming Hope: Overcoming the Challenges of Parenting Foster and Adoptive Children

Do you ever doubt your decision to foster or adopt? Do you feel hopeless in the challenges of parenting your foster or adopted children? Do you worry that you really ARE a failure as a parent? You are not alone. Too many people become foster and adoptive parents without having accurate information or knowing what to expect. Of those who do, many find they don't have the resources or support they need to do it well. Many parents find themselves inadequate, insufficient, and incapable of the task of parenting foster and adopted kids. These parents are often unable to find the help they need or too embarrassed to look. This book is for the parents who question their decision to foster or adopt, who feel beaten down by the judgments of others and themselves, and who deal with regret, loss, and disappointment. It's also for those hoping to be better prepared for the adoptive struggles ahead. You can enjoy the new life and family you're creating. In this unique blend of memoir and guidebook, Marcy shares with you the lessons her family has learned along the way, the problems that have nearly flattened them, and the way they've seen, and continue to hope for, good in each one. Marcy covers the greatest challenges, as revealed through her own experience as a foster mother, adoptive mother, and professional counselor. Whether you are considering foster parenting or adopting, or are already in it and drowning, or you just want to throw a lifesaver to a foster parenting/adoptive friend or family member, then this book is your must-read resource. Reclaiming Hope gives you truth about adopting, fostering, and taking guardianship of children in a new and easy-to-understand way through: * Breaking down misinformation fed to prospective foster and adoptive parents * Finding community to validate your existence, remind you of your purpose, and encourage you to keep on * Naming the 10 greatest challenges of fostering and adopting, so you can align your expectations with reality (the stuff they don't tell you about in promo videos, fliers, and information meetings) * Help for the friend or family member who wants to support adoptive/foster families. * Reclaiming hope when circumstances scream fear and helplessness. Follow the advice in this book and fostering and adoption can be a beautiful, wonderful experience for you and your family. It will be hard. But it doesn't have to be devastating. If you're tired of pretending you've got it all together or that you've got the perfect kids or that this is always easy... if you sometimes wonder if you've made a mistake... if you feel the strain of raising adoptive and foster kids on your marriage or on your own health, then keep reading. Together we are going to name these challenges, acknowledge that they exist, that they are hard, and that, at the end of the day, there is still hope. What's stopping you from reclaiming hope in your foster or adoptive situation? Scroll to the top and click the "buy now" button

Marcy was nearly convinced she was adopted. Or at the very least, switched at birth. In fact, in elementary school, she met a girl with a similar last name, similar hair color, born minutes apart, in the same hospital. Their mothers were probably roommates. Sometimes, Marcy would look at her parents and younger sister and be sure she’d been switched at birth. Or maybe it was hopeful. Either way, there’s no way around it... she’s one of them. Certified Rehabilitation Counselor, writer, wife, and mommy, Marcy lives in the serendipitous moments of God’s divine intentions. Over the last sixteen years, Marcy has worked with children, adolescents, adults, families, and couples through private practices, group homes, foster family agencies, community based services, and wrap-around programs. In addition, Marcy and her husband have fostered multiple children over the last decade, in addition to adopting two and birthing two. Marcy’s writing has appeared in newspapers, magazines, blog posts, children’s books, and books for adults. She lives in the Black Forest of Germany with her husband and four children (two of whom are adopted through foster care). She works as a counselor for the local English-speaking community in their German village. She blogs inspirationally about her work, writing, and other resources at www.marcypusey.com.