The Idea Farm's Blog

  Rather than 'speaking' about using a trauma-informed approach with children in foster care, " The Seven Core Issues Workbook " aid parents in understanding what that means and how to better implement those techniques in daily life. It's the perfect vehicle to understand their own elements of loss and trauma and strengthen their parenting knowledge about children experiencing trauma and loss. It's also a great resource for those anticipating fostering or adopting, and for parents already on their life-long parenting trip. Therapists will find the workbook useful in working with clients or as weekly assignments so clients can better understand what they bring to their parenting. This workbook is a companion to the authors' original book, " Seven Core Issues in Adoption and Permanency ." It's intended as a hands-on tool to guide families through the healing process as they learn what they bring to the parenting experience so that they have a d...

  A sweet love story about the twilight years. If Haruf (who died November 30, 2014 at age 71) hadn't titled his previous book Benediction (2013), that might have been perfect for this one. It's a slim novel of short chapters, and it would seem to bring the cycle of books about small-town Holt, Colorado, to a close. This isn't a dark night of the soul but one filled with hope and with second chances. Here's how it opens: "And then there was the day when Addie Moore made a call on Louis Waters." Addie is 70, a widow, and she was close with Louis' late wife. She and Louis don't really know each other that well, other than as nodding acquaintances, but she has a novel proposition: she wants him to sleep with her. Not to have sexual relations, but just to have someone with whom she can talk and share and make it through the night. He appreciates the risk she's taken in making the request, and he agrees, though on their first night he's filled wit...