When Rain Hurts
An Adoptive Mother's Journey with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
“A searingly candid chronicle of the heroic struggle of two adoptive parents to raise their multiply disabled son . . . inspiring.” —Kirkus Reviews
When Rain Hurts is the story of one mother’s quest to find a magical path of healing and forgiveness for her son, a boy so damaged by the double whammy of prenatal alcohol abuse and the stark rigors of Russian orphanage life that he was feral by the time of his adoption at age three. Bizarre behaviors, irrational thoughts, and dangerous preoccupations were the norm—no amount of love, it turns out, can untangle the effects of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
More people are coping with and caring for those affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders than individuals living with autism, but because there is a stigma associated with this preventable, devastating birth defect, it is a pandemic of disability and tragedy that remains underreported and underexplored. When Rain Hurts puts an unapologetic face to living and coping with this tragedy while doggedly searching for a more hopeful outcome for one beautiful, innocent, but damaged little boy.
“Emotionally complex, fascinating, gritty, exhausting, and teeming with protective mother-energy and love. Three cheers for Mary Greene’s fighting spirit and the work she’s doing to create and protect her family while educating so many of us about the complexities of international adoption and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.” —Sheri Reynolds, #1 New York Times-bestselling author
“Greene’s searing account of learning to parent her prenatal alcohol-exposed, bipolar, orphanage-veteran son is an unforgettable lesson in commitment, fortitude, and unconditional love.” —Jessica O’Dwyer, author of Mamalita: An Adoption Memoir
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
More than a year after adopting Peter, a three-year-old Russian boy, Greene discovers that her son suffers from fetal alcohol syndrome, ADHD, severe post-traumatic stress disorder, autism, seizures, and psychotic episodes. Greene, an environmental lawyer, presents a fully reasoned case history of a grueling process she likens to an "iron triathlon," alongside the decisions she and her husbandmade before, during, and after the adoption. With vivid language and strong imagery, she describes the harsh deprivations characteristic of Russia's orphanages, the incompetence of its international adoption agency, and her frustrated need to be a mother. At times, Greene's candor is unnerving: she admits to resenting the bitter process of breaching the "closely guarded chalice of Peter's hobbled heart." Each chapter ends with a journal entry, giving readers real-time views of coping with Peter when he smears blood on walls, rubs feces on himself, or throws away Greene's cherished jewelry. Peter is eventually sent to a residential treatment center, and some readers may have trouble savoring his small achievements or Greene's ultimately useless victory over an uncooperative school district. Yet others will find in Peter's story fertile suggestions for a public support system capable of addressing the complex problems of formerly institutionalized children.
