Another Place at the Table

All I can say is WOW. I wish this book was required reading for everyone. I was intrigued and ordered it on Amazon, and saw that I could get the audiobook from the library while I waited for my package to arrive, and I ended up listening for hours on end and finishing the entire book before it even shipped. I could have cancelled the order and saved my money, but I was so dumbfounded that I just needed to have the physical copy. This is a jarring firsthand account of the foster care system, from a woman who has fostered over 100 children in her lifetime. One hundred! Children who traumatized, children who are violent, children who are born from tragic circumstances, children who have been sexually abused, children who sexually abuse show more other children. It seems like for every situation possible, Kathy Harrison has experienced it and lives to tell the tale. I have always wanted to foster/adopt, and rather than deter me or scare me away like this book probably should have, I now have a renewed sense of purpose and determination. The system is absolutely broken but people like her make such a huge difference and it was so inspiring to see, even amidst the heartbreak and the custody battles. It gave me more insight as to what life is like for the adopted special needs kids I have worked with and the struggles I see them facing now. The world is being changed, one broken child at a time. I really appreciate the brutally honest portrayal of what accepting foster care children into your home is like and the heavy weight and trials that come with it. This book was so raw and real and simply amazing- may there always be another place at my table, too. show less

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.

*may contain spoilers*

An AMAZING true story about a foster family and all that goes on in their world. This isn't just another "poor mistreated kids" book, this book gives some real insight on the social services system and all that goes into fostering, adopting, visitation, etc... I learned more by reading this book then I have ever learned throughout all of my adoption research. The book is sad, happy, hopeful, and scary all at once.... scary to realize that children actually go through these horrors, unbelievably sad when more bad things/decisions happen to the child, and yet filled with hope and happiness for the children who are fortunate enough to stay in such a wonderful home and become a part of such a loving family.

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.

So I haven't actually completely finished this book, but I skimmed and read the first few chapters. This book is AMAZING. Written from the perspective of one of the most experienced and caring foster mothers I have ever heard about. It allows you into her home to see the challenges of parenting and being a child without a family.

A fascinating yet heartbreaking look at one family’s experience with foster parenting.

Even for those not personally interested in fostering...this was a great book and I now understand fostering better.