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Counting Down
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From the sterile isolation of infertility and its treatments to the emotional rollercoaster of adoption and foster care, Rachel McCracken gets it! She gets the heartache and the sorrow of the desolate valley called Infertility. She gets the dedication and work that it takes to blend a family. She gets the commitment and purpose one needs to help children rise from the ashes of abandonment and fear. Rachel's new book, Chasing Kites: One Mother's Unexpected Journey Through Infertility, Adoption, and Foster Care weaves her real-life experiences of struggle, heartache, and loss into a wonderful narrative of faith, hope, and the joy that can come through it all.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Helped me with my most difficult students.
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The heartbreaking story of three little children searching for someone to love them. Maggie Hartley faces one of the toughest challenges of her career when three abused and neglected siblings she’s been caring for are placed for adoption with a family she believes are unsuitable. The couple are looking for a perfect ready-made family, and Maggie knows that they’re not going to find it with these traumatised children. And when her worst fears come true, Maggie must fight against the very system she’s part of to have the siblings returned to her so that she can start to undo some of the damage that has been done.
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 79
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5 out of 5 stars
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Truly Captivating!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 19
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 18
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Story5 out of 5 stars 18
Ruth was a ghost of a girl when she arrived into foster mother Maggie Hartley's care. Pale, frail, and withdrawn, it was clear to Maggie that Ruth had seen and experienced things that no 11-year-old should have to, that she's been conditioned to "see no evil, speak no evil". Ruth is in desperate need of help, but can Maggie get through to her and unlock the harrowing secret she carries? Through love, reassurance, and patience, Maggie starts to unravel Ruth's painful past - a past defined by cruelty and abuse.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Adopting? Fostering? A must listen
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 82
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With increasing urgency, the plight of the American family grips the national conscience. The family courts are often our society's last safety net to prevent disaster. In this penetrating exposé of the inner workings of the U.S. family court system, two award-winning journalists provide an intimate look at the lives of the children whose fate it decides.
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5 out of 5 stars
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great overview of foster care & judicial system
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 10
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 8
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Who Will Love Me Now?
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- By: Maggie Hartley
- Narrated by: Penny MacDonald
- Length: 6 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 17
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 17
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Story5 out of 5 stars 17
At just 10 years old, Kirsty has already suffered a lifetime of heartache and suffering. Neglected by her teenage mother and taken into care, Kirsty thought she had found her forever family when she is fostered by Pat and Mike, who she comes to see as her real mum and dad. But when Pat has a heart attack and collapses in front of her, Kirsty's foster family says it's all her fault. They blame her temper tantrums for putting Pat under stress and they don't want Kirsty in their lives anymore.
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5 out of 5 stars
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amazing heart
- By gina on 01-19-18
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The Family Next Door
- The Heartbreaking Imprisonment of the 13 Turpin Siblings and Their Extraordinary Rescue
- By: John Glatt
- Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
- Length: 8 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 93
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 81
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Story4 out of 5 stars 79
On January 14, 2018, a 17-year-old girl climbed out of the window of her Perris, California home and dialed 911 with shaking fingers. Struggling to stay calm, she told the operator that she and her 12 siblings - ranging in age from two to 29 - were being abused by their parents. When the dispatcher asked for her address, the girl hesitated. "I've never been out," she stammered.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Rehashed other writers
- By Thinker on 08-18-19
Publisher's Summary
When Deborah Gold and her husband signed up to foster parent in their rural mountain community, they did not foresee that it would lead to a roller-coaster 15 years of involvement with the traumatized, yet resilient, birth family. They fell in love with Michael (a toddler when he came to them), yet they had to reckon with the knowledge that he could leave their lives at any time.
In Counting Down, Gold artfully tells her story of forging a family within an often confounding system in ways that defied the expectations of everyone involved. The remarkable characters we meet include social workers, a birth mother with the courage to give her children the childhood she never had herself, and a father parenting from prison. We also encounter members of a remarkable fellowship of Appalachian foster parents - gay, straight, right, left, evangelical, and atheist - united by love, loss, and quality hand-me-downs.
Unlike child welfare manuals and textbooks, Gold’s memoir brings us a foster parent’s perspective (and, through Michael’s own poetry and essays, that of a former foster child). The book shakes up common assumptions and offers a hopeful look at an experience usually portrayed as bleak. For those who have fostered, Counting Down will be validating and familiar; for everyone else, it will inspire.
“A deeply moving memoir about both the rewards and the daunting challenges of being a foster family...a unique and valuable book. Bravo.” (Ron Rash, author of The Risen)
“An extraordinary story of loss and recovery that documents the breakdown and rebuilding of lives, family, and human potential. Deborah Gold is a gifted writer....” (Robert Morgan, author of Chasing the North Star)
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Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Deedra
- 09-04-18
Counting Down
I enjoyed this book.It was a wonderful memoir of the ups and downs of foster parenting.It shows how the system is lacking and truely,no one knows how to fix it.Kristi Burns was an excellent narrator.I was given this book by the narrator,author or publisher free for an honest review.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Victoria Haugen
- 09-03-18
WOW. TRIUMPHS & TRAGEDIES OF FOSTER PARENTING...
This book really touched me. I don't have kids of my own and, although I have limited experience as a stepmom, can only imagine the amazing joys and heartwrenching sorrows involved in parenting. Foster parenting... wow, that really takes some special people. I was blown away by the challenges involved, the constant fear, and the neverending joy. I loved also hearing MIchael's writings, it really lent a great perspective. I applaud all parents, and especially foster parents, for the hard work and love they put into everything they do. Lovely story, and the narration was beautiful. Definitely recommended :)
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful