Completing my series covering my interview with Andrew Bridge, author of Hope’s Boy, I asked Andrew how he felt a child’s individual choices influenced the child’s trajectory. Here is Andrew’s response:

I don’t know how to answer that question. I can tell you that my gut says we spend far too much time pathologizing children rather than looking for their strengths and what they can do. I am usually critical of large congregate care (group homes) especially for younger kids. I actually... more

I ended my previous post about Andrew Bridge by stating that his mom had, in spite of her mental illness, managed to instill in Andrew a hope for future possibilities. She clearly did some things right. Andrew agreed, for he had this to say:

There had to have been love and attachment in those early years. I did things I see other kids who grew up in foster care struggling so hard to do and not getting. In my heart of hearts, I know there were things... more

Continuing with my series on my recent interview with Andrew Bridge and my discussion of his about-to-be-released book, Hope’s Boy, I asked Andrew about one quote from his book that leapt off the page at me …

With only a bit more from Mrs. Leonard (his foster mom), I might have claimed her as my own. I might have surrendered Hope entirely.

(Hope is the name of Andrew's birthmother.) Andrew spent ten years in a foster home where he was always “the outsider”. He... more