Friday, March 25, 2011

Books every child advocate should read


There are two books I believe should be required reading for anyone interested in serving as a child advocate or current CASA volunteers - One Small Boat by Kathy Harrison and Three Little Words by Ashley Rhodes-Courter. 

Kathy Harrison and her husband served as foster parents for many years.  In her second book, One Small Boat, she tells the story of Daisy, one of their most challenging foster children who came to them in a voluntary placement.  The view of the lives of foster children along with the challenges faced by good foster parents makes this book worth reading.  This will be our summer book club selection for CASA book club. 



Ashley Rhodes-Courter spent most of her childhood in foster care, until she was adopted by CASA volunteer and author Gay Courter and her husband (Gay wrote another excellent book, I Speak for this Child about her experiences as a CASA).  Ashley's book, Three Little Words, describes her childhood experiences along with the ambivelience she felt about adoption (her three little words were, "I guess so," when asked by a judge if she wanted to be adopted).  The one person who made the biggest difference in Ashley's life was her CASA volunteer, who was with her for the duration of her case and helped find her an adoptive home with the Courters. 

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