Born Broken: An Adoptive Journey

As a foster parent and adoptive mom, I related well to much of the author’s story. However, the overarching message of the book to me was hopelessness.I recognize the reality that not every story has a happy ending, and I appreciate that details were not sugar-coated in the book. But as I talked through the synopsis with my husband, I cannot help but wonder what the author hoped to accomplish with this book? What did she want readers to take away? If I was not already involved, it would surely not compel me to look into foster care or pursue adoption. As a mom in the thick of raising kids with a history of trauma and substance exposure, it did not provide insight or resources to assist on the journey. It actually left me feeling quite demoralized.Overall, I would not recommend the book. My heart does ache for this family, and I pray for miraculous turn in the life of “Alexander.”

Kirstin and Mike had adopted a couple of daughters.Kristin tells of the excitement they had as their first son joined their family, and the challenges they experienced as he grew over a few uewes. She shares the frustration as many professionals told them there was nothing wrong with their son, it must be something they were doing wrong. There was nothing wrong with him. He looked normal. This just added guilt to the frustration they were living with.After years of misdiagnosis, they finally found a professional who recognized that a diagnosis of Fetal Alochol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) would be appropriate for him. It wasn't them. It was a prenatal brain injury caused by his birth mother consuming alcohol during pregnancy.This book shares the struggles an adoptive family can face as they walk their journey.You will laugh, cry, feel their joy and pain as you read this book.It is an honest description of the highs and lows a family can experience.I highly recommend it, especially for adoptive families and those around them.

This is a must read for not only foster/adoptive families, but for extended family and friends. It is a real look inside a family from trauma. We are often misunderstood and it is easy to hide from the world. This is an honest look into what it is like to parent children who experienced significant trauma before they came to us. We have 5 adopted children and have been on a very similar, lonely journey for 15 years. It is far from over, but books like this are so helpful to validate our experiences and let our extended families get a glimpse of what life is really like.

This book is so genuinely and thoughtfully written. It would be such a helpful read for any family coping with a child who has FASD or other trauma, or parenting a child living outside of your home. The author writes in such a raw and vulnerable way that makes it easy to connect to the story, especially as a mother. It was hard to put down and I finished it in just a couple of days. I'm a licensed clinical social worker and I found myself wanting to hand this out to colleagues and my mom friends too!

Kristin's tenderhearted memoir of raising her adoptive son Alexander drew me in, and I found myself bartering, "Only 3 more pages, then I HAVE to get the dishes done." And then of course I read the whole next chapter, wholly ignoring the chores that needed my attention.As a foster and adoptive parent, I knew about FASD ... but I was naive about how it affects a whole family. As I expected, I will highly recommend this book to all foster and adoptive families.What I didn't expect is that I would recommend this book to all moms. Her vulnerability and candor about what it means to be an imperfect mom parenting a broken child had me sucking in my breath at times, thinking, "yeah, me too." Sure, our families look different. We have never had a FASD diagnosis. But I can definitely relate to loving with everything in me, still getting it wrong sometimes, and waiting for God's grace to come in where I have faltered.Overall, this is a beautiful testament to the power of family, of love, of vulnerability, and of hope in God's redemption.

Being a foster parent is tough and the writer doesn't sugar coat it and there is no 'Happily ever after' and I loved that!I hope I am half as grounded in my faith and Gods grace as you are when we reach some of those hard decisions for our son.

As a mother of 2 bio kids, 2 adopted kids and 3 permanent fosters, with various issues and difficulties including suspected FASD with 2-3 of them - I could relate to many of the scenarios in this book. It was awesome to feel like someone else understood the struggles I face.Superbly written, heart-wrenching and yet encouraging - so real!! I love this book. It was hard to focus on anything else that I needed to do as I just wanted to keep reading. Thanks for the opportunity to hear your story.

This book was selected by my county CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) as the monthly book club selection. A a CASA I have a great interest in children who are in the foster care system, many of whom have been born to mothers who have used illicit drugs and alcohol during pregnancy. A great deal of attention has been given to infants born with drugs in their system but not as much attention to the FASD infants. As the author reveals in honest heartbreaking detail, these children suffer a wide range of lifelong issues. The lack of understanding of these issues by not only the adoptive family, but also by medical, police, and even DCS caseworkers, made the journey even more painful.The author is unflinchingly honest in sharing her story of loving a child who was born broken and in spite of every possible effort remains a threat to the wellbeing of his family and himself. Ms. Berry is a skillful writer and I found myself cheering her and family on in spite of the impossible odds. Her Christian faith shines through in even the darkest times.I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in foster care and adoption or anyone who wants to learn about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

I want to thank the author for such an honest portrayal of the struggles her family has faced. Writing from the stance of her strong Christian faith doesn't make it any less relatable and her end thoughts really struck me. We adopters are only human.

I don’t know how to express in words my thanks to Kristin for opening her heart and allowing her raw moments, thoughts, and prayers to be published for all of us to read. I hope she knows that her sacrifice and valley of turmoil has truly been used to encourage, support, and lead others in such a journey. Thank you for all your hard work and faith. Thank you for sharing. Thank you for seeing the need to educating others through your experience and not hiding it. This book has truly added a level of understanding of FASD that textbooks just cannot give because Kristin’s book is written with real life, everyday, examples of what exactly FASD can look like and what parenting struggles exist. Again, thank you for your commitment and care Kristin, I am so thankful that you wrote this book.