{"quotes":[{"text":"I hit him for every single thing that was wrong in my life and kicked him in a fierce fury of madness as he sobbed and covered his face and screamed. I hit him because Walter hit me and I hit him because I hated my life and I hit him because I just wanted to go home and I hit him because I didn’t know where home was.","author":"John William Tuohy","tags":["anger","fighting","foster-child"],"id":1690,"author_id":"John+William+Tuohy"},{"text":"I don’t know what I would have done if they had hugged me. I probably would have frozen in place, become stiff. It took most of my life to overcome my distaste for physical contact and not to stiffen when I was touched, or flinch, twitch, fidget, and eventually figure out how to move away. I learned to accept being hugged by my children when they were infants. Their joy at seeing me enter a room was real and filled with true love and affection and it showed in their embraces. Like a convert, when I learned the joy and comfort of being hugged by and hugging those I loved, I became a regular practitioner.","author":"John William Tuohy","tags":["foster-child","kindness"],"id":109364,"author_id":"John+William+Tuohy"},{"text":"What makes a family is neither the absence of tragedy nor the ability to hide from misfortune, but the courage to overcome it and, from that broken past, write a new beginning.","author":"Steve Pemberton","tags":["adoption","adoption-search","adoption-story","family","family","family-relationships","family-values","foster-care","foster-child","foster-children","foster-kid","foster-kids","identity","therapy"],"id":170315,"author_id":"Steve+Pemberton"},{"text":"Destiny is not always preordained. Life is about making choices. Our lives are the sum of all the choices we make, the bridges we cross, and the ones we burn. Our souls cast long shadows over many people, even after we are gone. Fate, luck, and providence are the consequence of our freedom of choice, not the determinants. When justice is served by following our principles, making good decisions brings us inner peace.","author":"Judith Land","tags":["adopt","adopted-child-syndrome","adoptees","adoption","adoption-detective","adoption-reunions","adoption-search","adoption-stories","adoptive-parents","birth-father","birth-mother","foster-child","genealogical-bewilderment","memoir","orphan","parental-alienation","selective-mutism","social-worker"],"id":197328,"author_id":"Judith+Land"},{"text":"Adoption is a lifelong journey. It means different things to me at different times. Sometimes it is just a part of who I am. Other times it is something I am actively going through.","author":"Kelly DiBenedetto","tags":["adopted","adopted-kids","adoptee","adoptees","adoption","adoption-and-attitude","adoption-story","adoptive-family","adoptive-parents","foster-care","foster-child","foster-children","mental-health","mental-health-professionals","nonfiction-self-help","self-care","self-care","self-care-self-awareness"],"id":230845,"author_id":"Kelly+DiBenedetto"}],"pagination":{"page":1,"page_size":10,"total":5,"pages":1}}