A practical, clear, relevant and optimistic book that will give adoptive parents a deeper insight into the lives of their children, and an effective intervention made all the more attractive because of its basis in the universally familiar and compelling business of telling stories about life's most significant emotional experiences. -- British Journal of Social Work
The book is well laid out and takes readers though the process starting with a description of how the child can be affected by their earlier experiences. The authors then devote chapters to the four different narrative types: claiming; trauma; developmental; and successful... There is a good mix of theory and practical examples to allow the reader to see where the theory may fit with their child... I liked Connecting With Kids and would recommend it as a resource those involved in adoption and fostering. -- Children Now
I found this work to provide simple, practical and coherent parenting ideas... Connecting With Kids Through Stories provides a creative; child centered and individually created method for developing... Connections between insecurely attached children and their adoptive families. -- Adoption Quarterly
This book is a fascinating read, really interesting and thought provoking and also an excellent tool and resource for all adoptive parents. The book focuses on explaining how a child's 'early life experiences' impact on their whole life and effect their behaviour and reactions to future life experiences. It explains that unless addressed a child struggles to respond appropriately to love and security and develops poor self-esteem and confidence. The narrative provides in-depth information regarding this and really useful examples through a fictional `adoptive family'. This helps the reader to make sense of the theoretical aspects. The book goes on to provide guidance on how to construct `stories' to heal and support your child... Although there are lots of examples of stories the reader could use, the idea is to create stories tailored to capture your own child's imagination and help them, through identifying with the message... I would absolutely recommend it to all adoptive parents; its content is fascinating and exceptionally helpful and practical. -- www.adoption-net.co.uk
Having developed their techniques during years of therapeutic work with adopted children and their families, Lacher, Nichols, and May (all with the Family Attachment and Counseling Center of Minnesota) present `Family Attachment Narrative Therapy,' which uses stories to help parents communicate and connect with their troubled children. Written as a `how to' guide for parents, the concepts are illustrated through a story of fictional parents and their adopted child. Coverage includes the formation of the child's inner working model; discovering the child's unique model and piecing together the meaning of behaviour; and telling the narratives that bond, heal, and teach. Additional chapters focus on four specific categories of parent narrative - claiming, trauma, developmental, and successful child. -- Book News
Written simply and coherently... It provides an excellent guide for showing parents how to create stories that enable the child to discover new meanings: those associated with success, not failure, hope, not hopelessness. -- Daniel A. Hughes, Clinical Psychologist, So. China, ME
Offers parents a supportive tool for entering their child's life in a subtle though direct manner. Parents should find that this book is one answer to their on-going question of "What can we do?" -- Gregory C. Keck, Founder and Director of the Attachment and Bonding Center of Ohio, Cleveland, OH
The stories of the children in this book allow the reader to look at their world prior to adoption or 'salvation' when they are taken from a place of danger, vulnerability and cruelty and placed in a secure, stable environment whether to be a permanent family member or a long term foster child... This is a good book to have on the shelf if you are an adoptive parent or foster carer. It is invaluable for professionals who work with such damaged children, especially when they also run out of ideas as they offer support and counselling to the families. -- Children's Webmag.