Confessions of an Adoptive Parent

Mike Berry

Description

Know That You Are Not Alone on This Journey Adopting or fostering a child brings its own unique set of challenges only another parent facing the same uphill climb could possibly understand. From parenting children with traumatic pasts, to dealing with attachment issues, to raising a child with special needs, it can sometimes be a struggle just getting through the day. Mike Berry knows the loneliness and isolation you can easily feel in your particular parenting rolebecause he's been there. He's still there, and he wants to give you the hope and encouragement you so desperately need. There are plenty of how-to guides out there on parenting, but this one-of-a-kind book is specifically designed to address your needs as a parent of an adopted or foster child. With a refreshing dose of honesty, empathy, and care, you'll discover you are definitely not alone on your journey and God has a very special plan for you and your family.

Informations

• Publié par: Harvest House Publishers
• Date de parution: 06 février 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780736970846
• Langue: English

Extrait

Praise for Confessions of an Adoptive Parent
As an adoptee, I m always a little leery of books about adoption because I don t know what angle they will take. Will they make adoptees sound like problem children? Will they come across bleak or disparaging? But after reading this book, I feel refreshed and encouraged. It s real and honest but filled with hope. I recommend it to any foster or adoptive parent (as well as adoptees!).
Tony Wolf
author of Serve One
As the father of three biological children, I never knew the challenges or the amazingness of being an adoptive or foster parent. In Confessions of an Adoptive Parent , Mike takes you on a journey filled with hope and accurately captures the beauty of being an adoptive parent. You will laugh, you will cry, and you will be filled with a sense of deep hope. It s a must-read for anyone on this journey, or considering it!
Jackie Bledsoe
speaker and author of The 7 Rings of Marriage
With rare transparency, Mike Berry reveals the raw realities of parenting adopted and foster kids. What a gift to adoptive parents to find validation and know they are not alone! This is a must-read for every adoptive and foster parent who needs edification and encouragement. Highly recommended.
Sherrie Eldridge
author of 20 Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew
As Mike says, this journey is not meant to be lived alone. Thanks to this book, it doesn t have to be. Confessions of an Adoptive Parent provides guidance and desperately needed comfort, healing, and hope to parents who are struggling. I am grateful to reap the wisdom of Mike s authentic testimony; his words are laced with grace, conviction, and reassurance. Mike s transparency weaves together stories of pain that has been lifted by abundant purpose, and through his encouraging book, we come to recognize our real need for Jesus in our struggles and the intense beauty found in the mess.
Courtney Westlake
author of A Different Beautiful
Doing good is simple and significant, but that does not mean it s easy. Mike reminds us that caring for vulnerable kids is in fact hard. However, he gives us the practical tools we need to find comfort and success as we struggle to love and bring hope to those who are in need of a healthy family.
Chris Marlow
founder and CEO of Help One Now
author of Doing Good Is Simple
In Confessions of an Adoptive Parent , Mike Berry speaks right into that place seldom spoken of outside support groups huddled in church basements or conferences for foster and adoptive parents. His words are helpful, his words are true, and his words help us see our lives and work as parents in the proper perspective. Even though the road is long and sometimes grueling, Mike continually leads us back to the hope we have not only for our children s futures, but for all of us in Christ.
Amanda Bacon
cocreator of TheMasterpieceMom.com
This book contains the words adoptive parents long for, plus many of the statements we are afraid to voice ourselves. Confessions of an Adoptive Parent is validating, reassuring, encouraging, and clearly written by someone who has slogged through the trenches of adoption and is still standing there, hip-deep, reaching out to help the stumbling. Mike Berry knows grief and grit, and he speaks our language.
Shannon Guerra
author of Upside Down: Understanding and Supporting Attachment in Adoptive Families
Mike Berry shares his journey as a foster and adoptive parent with unmatched candor, humor, and insight. From uncertainty to optimism, reality to discouragement, and finally to a deep reservoir of hope, he walks parents through his story, giving us courage for our own. Confessions of an Adoptive Parent is a fresh reminder to parents in all phases of the foster and adoptive journey that we are not alone. There is a community ready to surround us and a loving God who will never leave us.
Lisa Qualls
writer/speaker/encourager at OneThankfulMom.com
I greatly value Mike Berry s frank and winsome voice. Mike is both insightful and funny, gutsy and compassionate, and he consistently brings together big-picture perspective with nitty-gritty practicality. I imagine most all of us wish we could have a friend like Mike in our corner, especially amid difficult foster and adoption journeys. Through this book, we all can.
Jedd Medefind
president, Christian Alliance for Orphans
author of Becoming Home
As an adoptive dad of three, a nonprofit adoptions attorney, and founder of a national conference for foster and adoptive parents, by far the most common thing I hear from other foster/adoptive parents is We feel so alone or We feel like nobody gets us. If that s you, this book is for you! The word Confessions in this title is perfect-Mike Berry is not just writing words on a page, he s telling his story. And I ll bet you ll find parts of it are your story too. Mike s been where you are in fact, he is still there right along with you! If you need to be encouraged, if you need to laugh, or if you need a reminder that your insane, jacked-up life as a foster/adoptive parent isn t so strange after all, read this book. You can thank me later.
Andrew Schneidler
nonprofit adoptions attorney
cofounder of the Refresh Conference
I love this book! In Confessions of an Adoptive Parent , Mike Berry has written a wonderful resource for adoptive and foster parents who are in the trenches of caring for vulnerable children or considering the journey. You will truly feel understood. Mike doesn t shy away from the challenges of the journey, but offers hope and practical strategies for parents on every page.
Jenn Ranter
founder and director of Replanted Ministry
managing director, Humanitarian Disaster Institute, Wheaton College
This book is a phenomenal resource for any adoptive or foster parent looking for help and hope along their journey. If you need encouragement, guidance, and assurance that you are not alone in your circumstances, you need to buy this book.
Jason Jones
author of Limping but Blessed: Wrestling with God After the Death of a Child
HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version , NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Verses marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Cover design by Bryce Williamson
Cover photos paci77, Hibrida13 / iStock
Interior design by Janelle Coury
Published in association with Hartline Literary Agency, LLC, of 123 Queenston Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15235.
CONFESSIONS OF AN ADOPTIVE PARENT
Copyright 2017 Mike Berry
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97408
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
ISBN 978-0-7369-7083-9 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-0-7369-7084-6 (eBook)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Berry, Mike (Parenting blogger), author.
Title: Confessions of an adoptive parent: hope and help from the trenches of foster care and adoption / Mike Berry.
Description: Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 2018.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017016830 (print) | LCCN 2017040724 (ebook) | ISBN 9780736970846 (ebook) | ISBN 9780736970839 (paperback)
Subjects: LCSH: Foster parents. | Adoptive parents. | Parenting. | BISAC: RELIGION / Christian Life / Family.
Classification: LCC HQ759.7 (ebook) | LCC HQ759.7 .B47 2018 (print) | DDC 306.874-dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017016830
All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other-without the prior written permission of the publisher. The authorized purchaser has been granted a nontransferable, nonexclusive, and noncommercial right to access and view this electronic publication, and purchaser agrees to do so only in accordance with the terms of use under which it was purchased or transmitted. Participation in or encouragement of piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of author s and publisher s rights is strictly prohibited.
Dedication

To Kristin-
your belief in me is overwhelming.
You re a way better human being than I ll ever be.
Thank you for suggesting we go on this journey in the first place.
Forever yours.
To Rachel, Krystal, Noelle, Jaala, Andre,
Elisha, Jacob, and Samuel-
you re the reason this book exists.
Thank you for making my heart warm every day.
I love you more than anything.
Contents

Praise for Confessions of an Adoptive Parent
Dedication
Introduction
Part 1: You Are Not Alone
1. Beginning with Hope
Identifying Your Expectations and Apprehensions
2. Jumping Off
The Joy and Struggle of Choosing This Journey
3. Learning to Swim
What to Do When You re In Over Your Head
4. Me Too
Finding Strength in Relationships
5. I Didn t Sign Up for This
Learning to Accept Your New Normal
6. The Middle of the Wreckage
Discovering Hope Where You Least Expect It
7. You Are Not Alone
The Healing Power of Shared Experience
Part 2: Finding Hope
8. The Story of Your Scars
Redefining Failure
9. The Voices in Our Heads
Overcoming Spiritual Attacks
10. Limping Together
Building an Effective Support System
11. Behind Every Cloud
Finding Light in Dark Times
12. Legends Versus Legacies
Your Influence Goes Deeper Than You Know
13. Remember Jeremiah
God Has a Plan for Your Child
14. A Girl Named Renee
The Transforming Power of Love and Compassion
15. Hope Has Arrived
God s Beautiful Story in You
About the Author
About the Publisher
Introduction

I stand in the back of