Dear Mom of an Adopted Child

Woman looking up

From the blog manager: this guest post comes partly because, well, it’s just that good, and also comes in honor of next Sunday, a.k.a. Mother’s Day, a day that for many of us is loaded with meaning and memories both good and bad. Infinite thanks to Kathy Lynn Harris, blogger and author of two novels and three children’s books, for giving us permission to re-post here. You can read more about and by Kathy at http://www.kathylynnharris.com

20 Years after the Fetal Alcohol Diagnosis

–Craig Peterson Manager’s note: you can read the original post, along with many others, on Craig’s own blog at https://adoptingfaithafathersunconditionallove.org/ Craig also has a forthcoming memoir, Adopting Faith: A Father’s Unconditional Love, and you can follow his son Andrew’s story by clicking “Like”  on his special Facebook page, Andrew Peterson Goes for the Gold   Jan was a gem, a […]

Unanswerable questions

by: Laura Dennis “So many unanswered and unanswerable questions.” That’s how my December 29 journal entry ended. One month later, not much has changed. The same old questions are still chasing each other round and round in my head, all thanks to Saroo Brierly’s A Long Way Home. Haven’t heard of it? What if I tell […]

The 10 Most Common Myths about Attachment & Trauma

What is childhood Trauma

There is so much that society doesn’t understand about attachment and trauma. People don’t “get it” when it comes to how a child can be traumatized, how a child reacts to trauma, and how difficult it is to help a child heal from early childhood trauma. The importance of forming healthy attachments and what can impede attachment […]

Meet your new blog manager

My name is Laura, I’m a college professor (French and Spanish) in Kentucky, and I am a now-single (circa 2012) mom to three who are now 20, 17, and 14. About this time last year, I hit parenting rock bottom, again, and was forced to make hard decisions. ATN was there to help. I believe […]

What if it’s NOT the most wonderful time of the year?!

Greetings from your new blog manager. You will be hearing more from me next week. Meanwhile, does the chaos of this image remind you a little too much of the holidays where you live? Craig Peterson shares some wisdom for helping our trauma kids through a time that can be filled with anything but love, joy, […]

ATN Angel Encore: Julie Beem

Julie Beem

In celebration of ATN’s 2016 Angels in Adoption award, we’re profiling ATN members who have helped ATN win the award — and who have themselves been Angels to families and children. Editor’s note: Many contributors remember that first time an ATN member saved our life. Some ATN members have saved many lives, and so for them, […]

ATN Angels: Kenneth Frohock and Peg Kirby

In celebration of ATN’s 2016 Angels in Adoption award, we’re profiling ATN members who have helped ATN win the award — and who have themselves been Angels to families and children. by:  Stephanie Reh Garde Our family is here today because of “Ken and Peg”.  Kenneth Frohock and Peg Kirby, founders of the Attachment Institute […]

ATN Angels: Cindy McMurry, MaryBeth Storrow, Jenny Dew, Susan Woodruff

In celebration of ATN’s 2016 Angels in Adoption award, we’re profiling ATN members who have helped ATN win the award — and who have themselves been Angels to families and children. by:  Toni Hoy While I parented two children of trauma, it never crossed my mind that my passion for helping them heal would lead […]

ATN Angel: Bob Burroughs

In celebration of ATN’s 2016 Angels in Adoption award, we’re profiling ATN members who have helped ATN win the award — and who have themselves been Angels to families and children. by:  Sheilah Davidson I first met Bob when I picked him up for an ATN Board retreat in California. We had a long drive […]