Children suffering from abuse. Neglect. Malnutrition. Even drug-related problems passed on from a mothers addiction. Children rejected by those who were to love them most, their parents. When placed into a foster home, many of these children carry with them the physical and emotional scars that prevent them from accepting the love of another. This journey as a foster parent is the most difficult thing John DeGarmo has done. Through the sleepless nights with drug-addicted babies, the battles with angry teens, and the tears from such tremendous sadness, John DeGarmo learns that to follow Gods call in his life means to take up His cross in his own home. Fostering Love: One Foster Parents Journey is the true-life account of his experience as a foster parent, along with his wife and their own three children, as he followed Gods call to take foster children into his home. This is a story of heartbreak, sadness, and ultimately love as he came to find God in the tears and smiles of many foster children.

A Children's book designed to explain the process involved with becoming a foster family.

Families are the foundation of society. When we care for and protect children, we ensure that future generations thrive as well. The devastation that abuse and neglect cause have taught us the immense impact-good and bad-that parents have on children. This book will enlighten readers beyond those directly involved with foster children to see the resiliency and potential that can be hidden in these vulnerable girls and boys. Each of our foster children has blessed our lives with their own unique story. Many people are drawn to the foster-care world. This book's message will help you learn about the life of a foster child. If you are thinking about becoming a foster parent, need sound parenting advice, or are intrigued by the foster-care system, this book is for you!

Many people say being a parent is the toughest job there is. John DeGarmo, foster and adoptive parent, tells us just how tough it can be, having parented over 40 children. At times he and his wife, Kelly, have cared for up to nine children at a time, many with severe trauma and learning difficulties. Love and Mayhem is an honest and open account of the struggles, sadness and joy that comes with the job of being a parent to a traumatised child. From the sleepless nights with babies withdrawing from drug-addiction, to the heartbreak when a child moves on to another home, and the loving chaos that comes with a large and blended family, John DeGarmo fights for the many children who have come through his home. Ideal for foster families, general readers, fostering agencies and social workers who are looking for a true to life memoir of what it really is to be a foster parent.

This handbook integrates and discusses a growing evidence base concerning individual development across middle and late adulthood. The book includes a comprehensive analysis of what growth implies within midlife and older age and considers how different developmental areas are intertwined (i.e., physical, cognitive, social and emotional development as well as personality growth). As the gap between theory and practice still constitutes an issue in developmental research, the handbook also aims to provide illustrative examples of prevention and intervention from a positive psychology perspective. These were selected to represent a variety of topics, relevant for individual development where research informs practice, ranging from happiness, grandparenthood, love and sexuality to loneliness, depression, anxiety, suicide prevention and coping with death. This handbook is a must-have resource for students and researchers working in developmental psychology, health psychology, gerontology and, public health. It will also be of interest to practitioners such as counsellors, life coaches, psychotherapists, organizational psychologists, health professionals, social workers or public health planners.