THE BOOK

When you've been abused, abandoned or rejected, at times the pain is deeper than your gut can tolerate. It's easy to forget or perhaps feel you don't know who you really are after being separated from the mother, father, sister, or brother given to you through birth. I never wanted sympathy, but I always wanted someone to understand why I felt lost and inadequate for so long. As I've grown and met other youth and families, I've witnessed the common struggle many face every day as they strive to endure. I've also celebrated the miracles and victories with many champions who overcome in spite of it all.

20 years of traveling to almost every state in the union, meeting various people engaged in the foster care system, has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. Regardless of the part of the country you experience foster care as a child, or your gender or your ethnicity; I've learned that while the road we each travel may be a little different, the journey is one shared by most.

Under a new publisher who believes everybody ought to feel the powerful impact from the journey of "Fostering Hope," through adversity, foster care, and searching for a dream, this book is my story, but not mines alone. Nestled in it, are pieces of joy and pain most of us can relate to. We all have baggage, some a little lighter than others. The ultimate test never the less, is our capacity to check the baggage at the door we walk through each day, in order to live, laugh, and enjoy love abundantly. Overcoming the impact from multigenerational family stuff is something people are dealing with every day.

Many readers speak of the book as an experience, with each page as an evolving adventure on a journey. They often say something like, "It's an easy read, I couldn't put it down and read it in two days." I must admit, I am very humbled by the impact this story is having on children and adults because it's still very real to me. I am now convinced it was my destiny to invite others into my space as I continue learning how to live life, forgive frequently, laugh often and love myself enough, to accept the journey towards my dream.

When you purchase the book, you help to direct a portion of my royalties from the first printing to the Shane for Kids Foundation. My family and friends sought to acknowledge my birthday and 20th year of contributing to systems reform through the launch of the foundation. You can learn how to support the foundation's strategy of ensuring we never forget that, "it is much better to keep our children strong, than to spend a life time repairing broken adults."