I Would Be Loved [Paperback]

Linda Falkner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2002

In the early 1990s, at the peak of the crack cocaine epidemic, the author, Linda Falkner, became a foster parent. Most of her children were infants who had been exposed to alcohol and drugs. Trying to help these children fit into her home, and the world, was only the beginning of the challenges she and her family faced. I WOULD BE LOVED is about kids who were damaged by drugs, alcohol, abuse, and by the system meant to protect them. The older foster children had been emotionally, physically, and often sexually abused. One foster child, a girl named Pixie, came to live with the Falkner family after leaving foster care at eighteen. She had grown up in hundreds of foster homes and was severely mentally ill. Pixie lived with the Falkner?s, on and off, for ten years. In that time, they taught her many life skills, and tried to let her know that she is loved -- but that was the hardest lesson of all for her to learn. I Would Be Loved is Pixie?s story as much as it is Linda?s.

Editorial Reviews

Review

I Would Be Loved says what every foster care worker would like to say but can't because they're afraid. -- Jeanne Poland
Delinquency Case Management Counselor
Twenty years with Florida HRS

Superb! Thoroughly researched, compellingly written. A 'must read' for all who are touched by Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. -- Karen E. Jorgensen
Exceptional Education Teacher
Waukesha, Wisconsin

This is an important book. It should be required reading for all high school girls. -- Ann Cook
English Teacher and writer
Tampa, Florida

About the Author

Linda Falkner was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on New Year's Eve. As a child, she wrote poems and stories and decided to become an author. She read a great deal in high school, but never what the teachers assigned, and thus surprised her parents by not only graduating high school but earning a Bachelor's degree in Speech Therapy and later a Master's degree in Mental Health and Rehabilitation Counseling. After college, Linda joined the Milwaukee Deaf Club, where she met her husband and learned American Sign Language. She worked with disabled children for years until, looking for a change, she ran away with the carnival. Eventually she settled down, got married, and raised children -- many more than she actually gave birth to. She is presently living in Florida with her teenaged son and completing her second book, Americans Lost.

Product Details

• Paperback: 220 pages
• Publisher: Virtualbookworm.com Publishing (March 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1589391640
• ISBN-13: 978-1589391642
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,925,780 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fostering for Special Ones with Fetal Alcohol, April 13, 2002

By 

"fastxfar" (SE Minnesota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Would Be Loved (Paperback)

In this memory of foster caregiving Ms. Falkner brings together the true flavor of foster parenting in the age of "coke babies" and "crack moms". Little did we- as reader- know that ALCOHOL would prove to be the greater toxin. The first wave of little cocaine and other drug exposed children appeared to do well clinically and even educationally until a certain age, around 5-8 years. Suprisingly when alcohol was the come-down drug, or the drug not-of-choice in times of coke scarcity; the babies did not fare so well. These organic damages were evident from birth and never let up. Alcohol is a legal drug and Ms. Falkner makes it very clear how permanently her clients were affected; how readily accessible this legal teratogen remains and how terribly devastating pre-natal alcohol exposure is. There is no known safe amount of alcohol from conception through nursing. That is the premise of this book. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder is the underlying thread which runs throughout. Subtle in its forces of confusion, overwhelm and lifelong vulnerability, a simple working knowledge of FASD is conspicuous by its absence in so many circles [CD treatment, adult child circles, the field of corrections, special education etc]. This book makes a good read for anybody beginning to see how very wide spread and unspoken FASD is still- despite two and a half decades of available wisdom in the public health arena as to the dangers of alcohol use by pregnant women. Judges, sherrifs, social workers, school principals, teachers and aides, as well as daycare providers, latch-key providers and foster caregivers and related professionals can all benefit by taking this book along on their summer breaks. Read something else for fun; because as human and warm as this memoir of a very special family is--you will no longer wonder "what's up with johnny?" or "why jane won't try?". Linda Falkner tells no lies. This is exactly how the system feels when in our homes. This is how pervasive and frightening the developmental delays and other disorders caused by exposing a fetus to alcohol......are when in our lives. Our kids are so very special. They need an outside brain. These biological moms can recover while their children [exposed] can never. As a foster caregiver during that same epoch, I am grateful to Linda Falkner. She has spoken my mind......and more. My heart sighs in sadness.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read, November 19, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: I Would Be Loved (Paperback)

I use this book in jr and high schools. The kids are fascinated and amazed. Hopefully, this will prevent some of them from drinking during pregnancy, and save a child from this tragedy. This book is not only a great read, but it's full of must know facts. Very highly researched, and written from her heart.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Caregiving Reality, April 16, 2002

By 

Jodee Kulp (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I Would Be Loved (Paperback)

Ms. Falkner provides readers with a dose of realism in living with children exposed prenatally to alcohol. Social service professionals, foster parents and adoptive parents would be wise to read this to gain a better understanding of the devastation FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder) causes in the life of the child. Only by facing the truth as a society will we be able to prevent this 100% preventable birth defect. This book would also make great reading for high school students in health classes.