Customer Reviews

Damaged Angels : A Mother Discovers the Terrible Cost of Alcohol in Pregnancy

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This is a wonderful book which deals with the human side of Fetal Alcohol. I know that I will be reaching for it time and again as a reminder of the REAL problem when dealing with our own damaged angels. It helps put things into perspective when reaching that level of frustration we all encounter with our FAS/FAE kids. Teachers, CPS, Doctors, Birth and Adoptive Parents, Judges - PLEASE read this book before you unwittingly do more harm than what has already been done.

This book is a must read for everyone who wishes to understand why so many Canadians are disadvantaged, forgotten about, and labelled because teachers and medical professionals have deemed them as being lazy, having poor problem solving skills or products of bad parenting.
This book will provide new and MUCH needed accurate and uncanny insights for all those struggling with FASD.

This book has a spectacular impact. The examples of the lives of children living with FASD and their families struggling to cope are portrayed with accuracy and empathy that is rare and profound.

This book portrays the lives of children living with FASD and their families struggling to cope with accuracy and empathy that is rare and profound. The author's examples are so vivid and unassuming , they can change your life!

I am an adoptive mother of three school-aged children. I read an article by Bonnie Buxton re: her daughter, Collette. That article would change our lives. Our eldest, then 5, exhibited numerous secondary characteristics of fetal alcohol effects. I called Bonnie and she put us in touch with the fine people at St. Michael's Pediatric Clinic. Since then, we have been involved with a wonderful support group and are familiar with FASWORLD.
Bonnie's book is loaded with information for parents such as ourselves, not informed about our children's disabilities prior to adoption. It is a must read for all, especially your kids in their child-bearing years. I read it feverishly, as I reflected on the testimonials that appeared to reflect the complexities of our own lives. Buy copies and share them with your friends, doctor, children's schools, psychologist, etc. It is the one book that could literally save a child. Be informed. Pass it on!

Upon starting this book I found it was very difficult to put down.The story line even, though it was a biography, was very smooth and free of too much graphic detail. There was no feeling of "Ah, gee, poor me" while reading. Very professional.
This book should be mandatory reading material for all educators, legislators, CAS workers, medical practitioners and caregivers.
Would highly recommend as being up there with The Broken Cord.

After reading 'Damaged Angels' one might feel that it was divine intervention that caused Bonnie and her husband to adopt their angels. Certainly there is a great need for society to understand the anguish and pain those with FASD and their families experience.
The author conveys with sensitivity and skill the trials and tribulations of raising an FASD child. FASD parents will be grateful that some one has told their story. Other parents, who's child has not yet been diagnosed, will recognize their child in the pages of the book. For many of these parents it will be a revelation of relief that at last they have an explanation for their child's problems.
The cost to society of FASD is dealt with. The figures are startling.
Society can no longer afford to ignore this issue.
Bonnie Buxton has combined her skills as a journalist and her compassion as a parent to produce a book that is so right for its time.

Bonnie Buxton did the research of a disertation and more for this book. This truthful work uses a mix of biographical information combined with leading authorities' studies and findings on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. She relays how this devastating disorder is implicated in our parental, educational, psychological, and judicial systems. Buxton conveys in an easy, conversational tone how alcohol use during pregnancy is the most devastating drug possible. Until this is realized we will not be able to come to terms with the educational and behavioral problems affecting many children today. Even subtle effects of prenatal alcohol, such as ADD and ADHD, have lifelong consequences.

"DAMAGED ANGELS" is a book about a subject most people would rather not talk about. Most physicians will ask a patient about their tobacco habits and sex life before they will ask about alcohol intake. Alcohol is legal. Research has given alcohol respectibility as an agent of protection for cardiac disease. So what's the big deal if a pregnant woman drinks? The "big deal" is millions of children born every day in every country of the world with irreversible brain damage and often physical birth defects caused by the intake of alcohol by their birth mothers. Most, if not all, of these children, or "rogue sunflowers" as Bonnie Buxton names them, struggle their whole lives. Some are retarded and have abnormal facial features but many more are intelligent, actually beautiful children that don't fit in, don't quite "get it". Unless diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder early enough in life to receive support services, they go through life thinking they are "stupid" and/or "lazy", the two names most frequently associated with their school performance. They are the children who have chidren, drop out of school, and become involved with the justice system. Bonnie Buxton does an incredible job of integrating the heartbreaking story of her family's struggle with their adopted daughter Colette's FASD with the research information that exists today about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. Her book is full of up-to-date information gleaned from many sources and interviews with people on the frontlines of the battle against FASD, the only totally preventable birth defect. "DAMAGED ANGELS" should be mandatory reading for every person who interacts with children; from birth, adoptive & foster parents, educational and social service agency personnel to the medical and criminal justice system members. Bravo to Bonnie for bringing it all together in a great, informative read!!

I am raising a daughter with FASD and found Bonnie's book gave me hope for the future. It is full of good, solid information, and touching stories. My heart aches for the children and families so devastated by this nearly invisible disorder. I am grateful to Bonnie, and Collette, for trying so hard to bring attention to this far reaching medical and social issue.