Rob Scheer

Before Rob Scheer met his wonderful husband, he endured abuse and abandonment as a child and teenager which segued into an abusive relationship as an adult. It’s amazing that he turned out to be not only a functioning adult but a loving parent with a generous spirit.

I chose this book because my family is also transracial and my daughter was adopted through the foster care system. I like reading stories of the journeys that other foster parents and transracial families have taken. This book is that and more. It alternates between flashbacks of Rob’s heartbreaking past to his relationship with his husband Reece – the most patient man in the world – and how they came to be foster and later adoptive parents. While I wish Rob discussed more about the challenges of raising children of a different race, I enjoyed reading this book.

I think one of the reasons that Rob wrote A Forever Family was to draw awareness to Comfort Cases, the charity he founded. They provide foster children with a duffel bag or backpack filled with essentials that a child needs their first night with a foster family – toiletries, pajamas a book and more. What a great idea! Our daughter came to us with her things in garbage bags which is not uncommon and can make a child feel like garbage, like they are being thrown away. A couple of the children we fostered before our daughter came with nothing at all. At the end of the book, there is information on how to donate items to or volunteer for Comfort Cases.

A Forever Family is both heartbreaking and uplifting. Recommended.… (mehr)