Confessions of an Adoptive Parent: Hope and Help from the Trenches of Foster Care and Adoption

by Mike Berry

Publisher:

Harvest House Publishers

, 2018

Overview

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 role—because 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.

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, co-creator 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

Product Details

• Title : Confessions of an Adoptive Parent: Hope and Help from the Trenches of Foster Care and Adoption
• Author: Berry, Mike
• Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
• Publication Date: 2018
• ISBN: 9780736970846

About Mike Berry

Mike Berry is the cofounder, along with his wife, Kristin, of the award-winning parenting blog Confessions of an Adoptive Parent and the support and resource site Oasis Community. He is a featured writer and influencer for Disney website Babble.com, and his work has also been featured on Yahoo Parenting, The Good Men Project, The Huffington Post, RightNow Media, Michael Hyatt's Platform University, and goinswriter.com. A sought-after speaker, he travels across the U.S. extensively throughout the year to camps, retreats, and conferences. Before becoming a full-time author and speaker, he spent 17 years in family life ministry in churches in Ohio and Indiana. He lives in Indianapolis, Indiana, with his wife and their eight children.