Fall Or Fly: The Strangely Hopeful Story Of Foster Care And Adoption In Appalachia
by Wendy Welch /
2018 / English / PDF
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Chaos. Frustration. Compassion. Desperation. Hope. These are
the five words that author Wendy Welch says best summarize the
state of foster care in the coalfields of Appalachia. Her
assessment is based on interviews with more than sixty social
workers, parents, and children who have gone through “the
system.” The riveting stories in
Chaos. Frustration. Compassion. Desperation. Hope. These are
the five words that author Wendy Welch says best summarize the
state of foster care in the coalfields of Appalachia. Her
assessment is based on interviews with more than sixty social
workers, parents, and children who have gone through “the
system.” The riveting stories inFall or Fly
Fall or Fly tell what
foster care is like, from the inside out.
tell what
foster care is like, from the inside out.
In depictions of foster care and adoption, stories tend to
cluster at the dark or light ends of the spectrum, rather than
telling the day-to-day successes and failures of families
working to create themselves. Who raises other people’s
children? Why? What’s money got to do with it when the love on
offer feels so real? And how does the particular setting of
Appalachia—itself so frequently oversimplified or
stereotyped—influence the way these questions play out?
In depictions of foster care and adoption, stories tend to
cluster at the dark or light ends of the spectrum, rather than
telling the day-to-day successes and failures of families
working to create themselves. Who raises other people’s
children? Why? What’s money got to do with it when the love on
offer feels so real? And how does the particular setting of
Appalachia—itself so frequently oversimplified or
stereotyped—influence the way these questions play out?
In
InFall or Fly,
Fall or Fly, Welch invites people bound by a code of
silence to open up and to share their experiences. Less
inspiration than a call to caring awareness, this pioneering
work of storytelling journalism explores how love, compassion,
money, and fear intermingle in what can only be described as a
marketplace for our nation’s greatest asset.
Welch invites people bound by a code of
silence to open up and to share their experiences. Less
inspiration than a call to caring awareness, this pioneering
work of storytelling journalism explores how love, compassion,
money, and fear intermingle in what can only be described as a
marketplace for our nation’s greatest asset.
