Forfeiting All Sanity: A Mother's Story of Raising a Child With Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

by Jennifer Poss Taylor

Jennifer dropped to her knees, trying to make sense of the doctor's 'Your daughter has fetal alcohol syndrome.' Her adopted daughter, Ashley, the blond, blue-eyed angel she longed and prayed for since she was a teenager, would forever be affected by her birthmother's decision to drink during pregnancy. Ashley would suffer all her life from mental and physical birth defects that were completely preventable, and she would have less than a 10 percent chance of ever being able to live on her own. In Forfeiting All A Mother's Story of Raising a Child with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Jennifer Poss Taylor shares her family's experience with FAS and the perseverance, sense of humor, and love that daily overcome its effects. Taylor's honesty and personal insight will capture readers as she describes the daily challenges of raising a child with special needs. Every parent will be touched by this story.

Genres: Adoption, Nonfiction

130 pages, Paperback

First published March 9, 2010

Reviews

[Thorn MotherIssues]

This one really didn't work for me from the hysterically overwrought title on down, though of course I know the writer's intentions were good. If it were fiction, I'd never have believed a character could be so superficial and looks-obsessed. There was just so much weirdness in ways that annoyed me -- changing a child's name while he was in foster care, claiming to be respectful of the childrens' birth families while saying nasty things about them in print, I'm sure more that I can't think of now -- and I don't think I'm just biased in not liking the kind of Christianity that's all about a god who makes kids suffer so they can end up in the families where they belong. There have to be better and less self-congratulatory books about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

[Laura]

A very short book written informally like a blog. I would recommend this book to anyone who cares for a child with special needs not just FAS. Teachers, foster parents, grandparents, Sunday School teachers...this may just give you a glimpse into the family of that really difficult child. The only thing I really disliked about this book is her preaching about no alcohol during pregnancy. It really felt wasted because the people who need those words are more than likely not picking up this book.

[pdxmaven]

read in 2014 and again in 2023. Found it very upsetting: supposedly framed as an objective reporting, and illuminating about FAS, it is really page after page of complaints, with little understanding of what it means for someone to had a "condition" with a neurobiological underpinning. Would NOT recommend for anyone really wanting to understand FASD and related conditions. There are much better resources out there for understanding what is going on with a child like Ashley and moreover how best to manage the presenting symptoms, and life!

[Diana Marlowe]

This is a great book for parents dealing with FAS children, or caregivers and relatives wishing to better understand what it is like to deal with a child with FAS on a daily basis. Sometimes it just helps to know that there are others dealing with similar issues, and you are not crazy. There is still so much more information and help needed for children with FASD and their parents. Great book.

[Woff]

Some interesting info, and OP seems like an excellent mother to a difficult child, but I'm afraid she isn't is a writer, and man there were a lot of bible quotes to plow through.

Makes me wonder how many difficult kids are in fact FAS. I mean, regardless of circumstances, what mother is gonna admit to drinking while pregnant? They'd totally be pushing for any other diagnosis.

[Lorenza]

This is a decent book about a family with special needs kids and learning that one has FAS. I could do without the religious link but that is how some families get through pain. If you know little to nothing about FAS, read this book, it does help people see what we go through as parents.

[Stephanie Melton]

I am not quite finished with this book but I have cried all the way through it as it has hit so close to home. Thank you so much for writing this book. This is my life...all the way down to the title!

[Ronda Sheldon]

I really appreciated this adoptive mother's perspective of raising a child with FAS. I related to her in many ways, and empathized with her. It's is always a blessing to be reminded I am not the only one out there!

[Jolene]

Good story of one family's dealings with fetal alcohol syndrome. It opened my eyes to the behavior issues parents must deal with.