Vol. 13, No. 1• November 2008

Books on the Nightstand

Book reviews by Becky Burmester

I am still reading, but much more slowly. At age 60, I have decided what I want to be when I grow up, and so have started back to school. I’ve read that students in the community college system tend to be older than just out of high school, but you sure couldn’t prove it to me looking at the students in my classes! I am the class great-grandparent. Textbooks are just as heavy both to carry and to read as they were 40 years ago.

Recently I have read a couple books that should be required reading for foster parents and for foster youth. Let me tell you about them.

Surviving the Storm
Surviving the Storm: the Life of a Child in Foster Care by Julia S. Charles is a wonderful book in a small package. Tipping the book scales at fewer than 100 pages, one might think it was a lightweight. To dismiss this book because of its brevity would be to squander the opportunity to really see things through the eyes of someone who has been part of the “system” and triumphed. Julia Charles carries the storm analogy throughout the book, including the dedication. Joe and I have been foster parents to several young people who are now out on their own, making it, but just barely. The “girls” are all getting a copy of this book in their Christmas stockings this year. It is short enough that they will read it (perhaps more than once), real enough that they will know that the author has “been there,” and inspiring enough that they may think of Julia Charles at one of those times when everything seems just too hard.

The Women Who Raised Me
This work by Victoria Rowell differs from most of the books that I recommend in that it is a book that truly is about the women who raised her. My book club, which reads books by African American authors, chose this book for our August book discussion. This is the book to read if you are asking yourself whether you are making a difference. I like to think that I am a strong advocate for young people sharing our home, but Agatha Wooten Armstead was a force to be reckoned with. There were many important women in Victoria Rowell’s life but none as determined as Agatha Wooten Armstead.

Rowell’s memoir contains more information about the women in her life than about her own life. Members of my book club speculated that the author had not yet dealt with some of the issues in her past. Two members flatly stated that this book was a fairy tale. They simply could not relate to Victoria Rowell and the life she described. Only three of our eight members finished the book. Following the discussion one member said that she was going to finish the book; the others were turning it in and starting on something else.

People in this group know me as a foster parent. Claudia said that, except for this book and knowing Becky, she had never heard or read anything good about foster parents. For me, that moves it into the category of books my non-fostering friends ought to read.

I need to end this and hit those textbooks. What’s on your night stand? Share what you are reading with me! You can reach me at 919/870-9968 or [email protected].

Copyright � 2008 Jordan Institute for Families