Strength for Parents of Missing Children guides parents through their journey and helps them find joy and deeper purpose in the midst of pain. It's The Purpose Driven Life for parents of missing or alienated children.
Marie has used the pain of her experience to reach out to others who are desperate for answers while their child is gone.
Strength for Parents of Missing Children: Surviving Divorce, Abduction, Runaways and Foster Care by Marie White is a self-help and spiritual guide for parents, guardians, and loved ones of children who have been removed from their lives under a variety of circumstances. White's book details her personal journey and struggles while offering insight on how she was and is able to deal with a situation that most cannot even comprehend. With the use of scriptures and stories, White weaves empathy and hope throughout the book in a way that only a parent who can relate to the devastation of losing a child themselves could.
In the interests of full disclosure, I believe it is important for me to state that I am a foster parent myself. The children who come in and out of my life have their own issues and grief to contend with, which ultimately becomes mine. Initially, it was easy for me to blame a parent who lost their child or children to the system. Over time, with the assistance and guidance of social workers, child psychologists, and interaction with the children's parents (through contact, which some children receive), my viewpoint changed. At this juncture of my own journey, Strength for Parents of Missing Children: Surviving Divorce, Abduction, Runaways and Foster Care by Marie White is a guide that is sorely needed. It's beautifully composed and written without judgement and - most importantly - without suspicion that the situation is due to fault on the part of a parent. All reassurance given is in the form of God's plan... His plan for you, His plan for us, and His plan for the child. Even as a non-Christian, I found solace in what White provided and will keep this book on hand as a reference if and when I am ever in doubt again. Highly recommended.
