Forever Mom {Review}

Mary Ostyn's latest book takes a look at adoption and many of the twists and turns that adoptive parents face.  Some of the topics included: 

• building heart connections
• preparing other children for siblings
• addressing attachment issues
• special issues with adopting older children
• nurturing your marriage in the season of life

There's a variety of topics covered in this book that range from sibling adoptions, older child adoptions, foster care and international adoptions.  Woven throughout this book is Ostyn's personal story of adoption.  From the high and lows, the author speaks from her heart, sharing how hard adoption is when you're in the middle of the mess.  But it's hope that keeps us going to the end.

For someone just looking into adoption, the beginning of this book would be great.  It addresses a lot of the emotional issues that parents walk through.  The second half of the book is more geared toward special issues such as reactive attachment and adopting older children.  So it really does offer a lot for a variety of adoptions.  I'm in a weird place in my adoption journey where a lot of this book didn't apply.  We're certainly not at the beginning, nor are we dealing with any specialized issues.  But it would be a great reference for the future.  

Ultimately my biggest takeaway from this book was the emotional journey we moms walk through in adoption.  There's nothing like having another mom to tell you that what you're going through is normal.  And Ostyn isn't afraid to share the ups and downs of this crazy journey.

*Disclaimer:  I received a free copy of this book for review.  All opinions are my own.