Breathing Hope

In 2016 there were 437,465 children and teens across America removed from their homes and placed into foster care. The majority brought with them trauma from neglect and abuse they had experienced early in life.


For over 45 years, Bruce T. Anderson has worked with hundreds of youth who have known trauma firsthand. Many have learned to breathe hope and have gone on to live productive lives. For Joni it was on a bicycle. For Allie it was on a mountain in Colorado. For Trina it started with disappointment at school.   These are their stories.


What others are saying:


I laughed. I cried. Reading this helped me to understand a lot about troubled teens and even myself.   You cannot read this book and not experience hope. Easy to read, but hard to put down.

Faye B


This book has the WOW factor …   full of expectations, hope, anxiety and reassurances.    … a must read full of faith, belief and security.        

Evie, Artist and Poet


An inspirational account of a life's work in changing directions of broken young lives.   Breathing Hope gives shape and substance to what hope looks like in the making.

John C

                                                                                                             

In Breathing Hope, I found inspirational stories of youth who because of deep trauma had too often been deemed hopeless by unspoken norms. At nine years of age, that was me. I recommend this book to anyone who has known the scars of trauma and to those who genuinely care about children and youth: parents, teachers, social workers, childcare workers, church/synagogue volunteers and anyone who wants to make a lasting difference.   Dave E, Survivor and Breather of Hope


Bruce T. Anderson is a graduate of Taylor University and has an MSSW degree from the University of Cincinnati. He has been a licensed social worker (LCSW) in the State of Maryland since 1985. He lives in Western, Maryland.