10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great book - smart, honest, insightful, May 4, 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: Memoirs of a Baby Stealer: Lessons I've Learned as a Foster Mother (Paperback)
Considering Callahan's choice to raise therapeutic-level foster children (children diagnosed with behavioral and emotional abilities) one is first impressed with the author's ambition.
But it is the honesty, the frank and sometimes humorous descriptions of the successes and failures that endeared this reader to the book itself.
Callahan is a smart and intuitive foster mother, trained as an emergency-room nurse, who is great with the kids and has a special ability to step outside of the complex and emotional circumstances in which she finds herself. One is struck by the conclusions she arrives at as she is able to consider the situations in a clinical objective fashion. At one point she diagnoses a child in her care to have a rare genetic disorder, an affliction missed by doctors and social workers who had been shuffling the child around in the "system" for years.
It is the sudden and clear insights offered by Callahan during the tale that are most impressive about this story. Combined with true caring and compassion, common-sense offered in a world gone down the rabbit hole, this is a well-written, an easy and enjoyable read.
I think that this book is more than just a must for anyone who has had contact with the foster care system - I think that non-foster parents with teenagers will also find it to be a moving and worthwhile read about the struggles of raising children.
Callahan has become well-known in Maine recently as an activist looking to improve the foster care system, and a bright and articulate spokesmen for the children and parents who encounter foster care. This is a writer with many dimensions, extensive personal experience, and growing respect and influence in the foster care community.
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11 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
For anyone considering foster care, June 19, 2003
This review is from: Memoirs of a Baby Stealer: Lessons I've Learned as a Foster Mother (Paperback)
Memoirs Of A Baby Stealer: Lessons I've Learned As A Foster Mother by Mary Callahan is the personal account of a foster parent and her struggles to cope with an uncaring child welfare system -- one that, in the words of the author, is "taking kids from places that aren't that bad, putting them in places that aren't that good, and completely ignoring the bond that exists between parent and child". Callahan's struggles and effort to help children, defend herself against unsubstantiated charges, dealing with power politics, and relate the stories of those in her care make Memoirs Of A Baby Stealer very highly recommended reading for anyone considering offering themselves to their community as a foster care resource.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Candid story of experiences in Maine Foster Care, July 2, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Memoirs of a Baby Stealer: Lessons I've Learned as a Foster Mother (Paperback)
Mary Callahan is very candid in describing the difficulties and struggles she encountered in the Maine Foster Care System. She tells the interesting and frustrating story of her struggles to advocate for the children with whom she is entrusted. It is clear to the reader, that Mary's exposure of the system, is aimed at trying to improve life for children and families in need of services from the state.
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