I’ve Got Some BIG News…

Guess what, friends?

I did a thing.

A thing that has taken me over a year to complete.

A lot of late nights and early mornings and time spent sequestered in a room somewhere while my husband takes on all the parenting duties.

A lot of research and tears and laughs and edits and pouring my heart out through a keyboard.

That’s right, friends….

I WROTE A BOOK.

Am I crazy?!? I WROTE A BOOK! An entire book. An entire book that is going to be published into the hands of anyone who wants to have it in their hands. A BOOK.

As you can see from these photos, the book is still a rough draft. My aim and goal is to have final edits and publish it by the end of this summer.

I. AM. TERRIFIED.

First of all…I am terrified that it’s terrible. That I will put it out there and get only scathing one star reviews. Or worse yet…no reviews because no one will even read it.

I am terrified that I’m so under qualified for writing this that it’s not even funny. That my brief three year stint as a foster parent won’t even scratch the surface of what needs to be written/communicated. That my experience won’t be enough to justify writing an entire book. But you know what they say?

Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.

So here I go. Attempting to open my mouth and put out a book that will teach what it’s like to be a foster parent. It covers most of the FAQs I get on a regular basis and it’s intended as a general non-fiction tool to educate on the ins and outs of foster care from the foster parents perspective.

Introduction

            This book is for you. 

            Yes, you. 

            It’s not just for foster parents or those involved in the system. It’s not just for pastors or community volunteers or teachers or for “those people” who need to step up to the plate to fill the gaps in the foster system. 

            It’s for you. 

            Sure, you may not know the first thing about foster care in the United States. You may have never been exposed to it, and you may never plan to. 

            And that is exactly why this book is for you. 

            It’s a book about the foster care system in the United States. A system that is both simultaneously broken and beautiful. It’s about my story to becoming a foster parent and the different things that we have experienced in the years that we have been foster parents. 

            You are probably assuming that I am a very experienced and well-accomplished foster parent. What you don’t know about me is that the entire time I have written this book, I have felt ill-equipped. I mean, who wants to read the words of a foster Mom who has only been doing this for two years, and has only fostered two children from the system? Can my words really make a difference? Can my story change any lives? Every time I start to have creeping doubts, I remember you. 

            Yes, you. 

            Maybe you are a college student, not sure where your life is going to go next. Maybe you want to make a difference but the world and its brokenness seems too scary (the answer is yes, it’s scary…. but the real answer is… yes, you can do it). 

            Maybe you are a young Mom or Dad who is wondering if there is anything that you can do to use your home to help hurting kids (the answer is yes). 

            Maybe you are a bored person who is scrolling through Amazon, or the library or a bookstore and you just picked it up because you are curious (the answer is yes, this book will cure your boredom, because you will never be the same after reading about the ins and outs of foster care). 

            Maybe you are a mother with grown children who tell you that they would like to become foster parents. Your gut reaction is to talk them off that foolish ledge, because we all know that “hurting people hurt people” and foster care is clearly not a safe place to be (the answer is yes, your kid is crazy, and congratulations because you must have done something incredibly right in raising them to want to give back to the world, even if it is scary). 

            Maybe you are a pastor or a church member who is watching someone else walk through the process of fostering. You aren’t sure how to help or encourage them but you want to know (the answer is yes, you can help them in incredible ways). 

            Maybe you are already a foster parent, deep in the trenches. Just today you dealt with more trauma and grief than anyone on your Facebook feed could understand, and yet here you are…. still wiping off high chair trays, changing diapers, and talking to the teen late into the night. You aren’t sure if you can go on like this, or if there is anyone else in the world who can understand your pain (the answer is yes, there are tons of us out there who are feeling equally as lonely and wondering if we can really put one foot in front of the other. And, yes, you can.). 

            This book is for you. It’s for all of you. 

            On a more personal note, I’m always up front and honest in all that a write or say. I want you to know from the beginning that although this book is not a religious book, there are many references to my faith in Jesus Christ and his gospel. There is just no way I could separate my faith and my motivation for what I do from my writing contained in this story. 

            Now, you, take a deep breath…and dive in. Welcome to the world of foster care. Where we are fostering love with every fiber of our beings. 

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If you have any questions about the book, or want to be involved in helping me launch this book baby into the world, please feel free to leave any questions or comments you have!

Here are a few FAQs I’ve received:

How are you publishing the book?

I am self-publishing this first little book through Amazon publishing services. I aim to learn some of the ins and outs of publishing through this book.

How can I support you?

Well, thanks for asking! I would love your support mostly through sharing! Share about me and my online space (publishers really like seeing numbers), share about my upcoming book and share the actual book when it is published!

I will know more about this as I get closer to an official publication date. I would love to have a launch team that will read and share the book with their people and spread the word through them. But the best thing you can do to support an author is to buy my book! I will let you know when it is released.

Honestly, if I sell 10 copies of this book I will be delighted. I’m terrified of putting it out there and just having a major flopping fail, but here I am…putting out my very own BOOK that I have written!!!!!