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Another Place at the Table (2003)

by Kathy Harrison

Other authors: See the other authors section.

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2539104,540 (4.3)5
The startling and ultimately uplifting narrative of one woman's thirteen-year experience as a foster parent. For more than a decade, Kathy Harrison has sheltered a shifting cast of troubled youngsters-the offspring of prostitutes and addicts; the sons and daughters of abusers; and teenage parents who aren't equipped for parenthood. All this, in addition to raising her three biological sons and two adopted daughters. What would motivate someone to give herself over to constant, largely uncompensated chaos? For Harrison, the answer is easy. Another Place at the Table is the story of life at our social services' front lines, centered on three children who, when they come together in Harrison's home, nearly destroy it. It is the frank first-person story of a woman whose compassionate best intentions for a child are sometimes all that stand between violence and redemption.… (more)
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Showing 1-5 of 9 (next | show all)
Kathy Harrison tells of her experiences foster parenting in this book. It's heartbreaking but inspiring.

We all hear horror stories of foster care in the news and they seem so far removed from our everyday lives, but it is Kathy's normal. I appreciated her honesty and her fairness in assessing the children, the birth and foster parents, the professionals, and the system in general. She is quick to point out the bad, as well as the good. She is humble and gracious, and forthright about her own failings.

I would recommend this book to any prospective foster parents who want to know what really goes on in the system; and also believe anyone who knows a foster parent or child could benefit from reading it, for a better understanding of the other individual's circumstances.

Update 9/28/20: I just finished reading this for the second time, and it's just as good as it was the first time around. I did notice a few curse words and typos this time, but honestly, the book as a whole is so good that I still feel it deserves five stars! ( )
  RachelRachelRachel | Nov 21, 2023 |
Kathy's Harrison's memoir of her life as a foster parent to over one hundred children is at times funny, sad, and heart-wrenching, but always completely honest. She is honest about her own failures and weaknesses, about the difficulty in fostering troubled children, about the many shortcomings of the foster care system, and about the tremendous need each child in that system has for a loving, attentive family. She sugarcoats nothing, yet manages to show the reader each sweet, loving, unique child she took in under the labels of "abused," "troubled" and "mentally ill." Selected Reading Questionnaire.
  ACRF | Sep 28, 2022 |
This glimpse into foster care enlivens my heart to a multi-paradox: In reading thine parts of intersecting lives I experience: terror, anger,and pity juxtaposed by love, humor and hope. At all of my empathy and sympathy struggles to contain, forcing to read and consider though tears, both visible and invisible. For all these God must continue to intervene--I must borrow, among other things, his mercy and empathy. ( )
  NAKnott | Jan 1, 2016 |
I cried through the whole book. And read it straight through except for when I had to put it down for a couple of very hard parts. ( )
  2wonderY | Feb 14, 2014 |
This memoir tells it like it is. Kathy Harrison does not sugar coat anything she has seen or has felt and as a reader we can see and feel what she has lived through and for.

This book let's us into a world few of us understand. It opens our eyes and our hearts to those who take in children and who really do care for each of them.

It is definitely one of my favorites. ( )
  callmejacx | Dec 12, 2013 |
Showing 1-5 of 9 (next | show all)
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Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Kathy Harrisonprimary authorall editionscalculated
Caspani, Lucia CorradiniTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Haskå, EvaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Dedication
This book is dedicated to my many families.
My husband, Bruce, and our children, BurceJr. Nathan, Benjamin, Neddy, Angie and Karen, provided the love and support that made our odd family possible.
My sister and brothes, Gloria Williams, Robert Scott and James Scott, are a constant reminder of the importance of a shared history.
My mother, Jean Scott, always knew I could.
The children who came to us, alone and afraid, never arived without a story that needed to be told and never left without taking a peice of our hearts with them.
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Given the life I have chosen to lead, I have come to dread that moment in cocktail party conversation when somebody asks the inevitable question "What do you do?" I envy my husband's easy answer. Bruce is the director of building services for a large extended care facility. Managing staff and budgets and projects falls within a framework of experience that most people can understand. My response is a bit more difficutl. For the past thirteen years, I have been a foster mom.
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The startling and ultimately uplifting narrative of one woman's thirteen-year experience as a foster parent. For more than a decade, Kathy Harrison has sheltered a shifting cast of troubled youngsters-the offspring of prostitutes and addicts; the sons and daughters of abusers; and teenage parents who aren't equipped for parenthood. All this, in addition to raising her three biological sons and two adopted daughters. What would motivate someone to give herself over to constant, largely uncompensated chaos? For Harrison, the answer is easy. Another Place at the Table is the story of life at our social services' front lines, centered on three children who, when they come together in Harrison's home, nearly destroy it. It is the frank first-person story of a woman whose compassionate best intentions for a child are sometimes all that stand between violence and redemption.

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