On May 12, 1986, Amber was brought into a world in which she had no control. Amber was in and out of the foster care system due to parental neglect as well as alcohol and drug use. Due to an unstable environment, Amber did not steadily go to school until the middle of her sixth-grade year. At age eleven she was placed with her new foster family, the Sanders. Five years passed with her foster family as her birth mother slowly lost all of her parental rights. She was finally adopted her junior year in high school by the Sanders family. From living unsteadily in motels and shelters to a loving adoptive family, Amber successfully made it to the University of California of Los Angeles. She managed to exhibit a positive outlook on life no matter how many obstacles she had to endure.
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More About the Author
This book was fundamentally discovered as a necessity demanded by teenagers. After telling her personal story of life pre and post her foster care experience to a class of 30 one afternoon at a California high school, students were moved and wanted to know more.
Born and raised in California, Kimberly graduated from the University of California, Irvine, majoring in Honors Social Science, Public and Community Service and Education.
With a commitment to public service and policy, Kimberly also had the opportunity to study at Princeton University's Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) summer program of 2008, to work on the juvenile justice system in New Jersey. To conclude her undergraduate experience, she studied international adoption procedures for at-risk youth in Rome, Italy. Now a Risk and Prevention graduate, from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, she has returned to California to expand a program she launched in Boston, REACH (www.reachforyou.org).
She has been involved with foster care and at-risk youth education advocacy projects and non-profit work for over five years now; as her personal former foster care experience fuels her motivation. Kim is currently serving on the Foster Care Alumni of America, MA board, Gift For a Child on the advisory board, and has collaborated work with Together We Rise.
She has completed two books on foster care issues, one for teens, and one for young children to understand the transition into foster care and difficult life situations. Her passion for founding REACH derives from her childhood in foster care. Kim's mission is to help others to help themselves--motivating young teens to do their ultimate best in life.
Kimberly is not currently writing any books at this time, but wishes to expand on her first version of Things Happen For a Reason in the near future. Her current work includes non-profit management and curriculum development for teens in foster care.
Born and raised in California, Kimberly graduated from the University of California, Irvine, majoring in Honors Social Science, Public and Community Service and Education.
With a commitment to public service and policy, Kimberly also had the opportunity to study at Princeton University's Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) summer program of 2008, to work on the juvenile justice system in New Jersey. To conclude her undergraduate experience, she studied international adoption procedures for at-risk youth in Rome, Italy. Now a Risk and Prevention graduate, from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, she has returned to California to expand a program she launched in Boston, REACH (www.reachforyou.org).
She has been involved with foster care and at-risk youth education advocacy projects and non-profit work for over five years now; as her personal former foster care experience fuels her motivation. Kim is currently serving on the Foster Care Alumni of America, MA board, Gift For a Child on the advisory board, and has collaborated work with Together We Rise.
She has completed two books on foster care issues, one for teens, and one for young children to understand the transition into foster care and difficult life situations. Her passion for founding REACH derives from her childhood in foster care. Kim's mission is to help others to help themselves--motivating young teens to do their ultimate best in life.
Kimberly is not currently writing any books at this time, but wishes to expand on her first version of Things Happen For a Reason in the near future. Her current work includes non-profit management and curriculum development for teens in foster care.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Extraordinarily Inspiring,
By kat r "kat" (Norman, Ok) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Things Happen for a Reason: Even Foster Care and Adoption (Paperback)
After years of mentoring and fostering, I can not believe I found such an inspiring book! Kimberly's story illustrates the lives of America's throw away children - those who have been abandoned, neglected and abused. Without over-dramatization, yet with searing truthfulness, Kimberly gives us a first hand view of these children's daily lives.She lets us see how the children struggle, how some are incapable of breaking the cycle of poverty, drugs and abuse. She shares the triumphs, the set-backs, and most importantly, the emotional effort it takes for these kids to become whole, successful and productive adults. But best of all, Kimberly teaches us what our part needs to be to help these kids. Without judgement of those who caused her to stumble, she models and instructs us with patient perserverance. I laughed, I cried, but most of all, I longed to reach out and touch these children and show them the love every child deserves to have. A must read for anyone dealing with Foster children or children in mentoring programs.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A True Inspirarion!,
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This review is from: Things Happen for a Reason: Even Foster Care and Adoption (Paperback)
Snodgrass's book is heartfelt and truly an inspiration to all us, especially the foster youth community. Her story is well-written and captivates the true struggles Amber had to go through in order to achieve her goals in life. This book will make you cry, laugh, smile, and bring out emotions you don't even know you have. Snodgrass proves that being a foster youth does not create a brand for failure! Instead she illustrates Amber developing into a successful woman even after enduring several hardships. This is a great read and I would highly recommend it to anyone- foster community or not!
5.0 out of 5 stars
perseverance is inspirational,
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This review is from: Things Happen for a Reason: Even Foster Care and Adoption (Paperback)
This is a truly inspirational account of a young woman who persevered through seemingly insurmountable odds to achieve success. The author's narrative style illustrates how the dedication and motivation of one individual can overcome an otherwise tumultuous world. At the same time, this book illustrates many of the shortcomings of this nation's foster care system that can lead to barriers for some children on the societal and personal level. However, Amber's story provides a window of opportunity for future policymakers to improve the system to make the lives of foster youths brighter in the future. Definitely recommended reading.
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