Writing, Parenting, and Working in the Mess: Authentic Spirituality and Social Justice

We are heartbroken. S's youngest brother has been with the same family since the kids were removed six years ago. About a year ago, the family decided not to adopt him, but said they would have him under guardianship for the rest of his childhood. He chose not to be put up for adoption, and by all accounts, he was doing well. S has not heard from him since before Christmas, and we didn't get any response when we sent him Christmas gifts. She's written him two or three times since--no response. The middle brother and his adoptive dad will be visiting this summer, and his dad inquired about having the youngest brother join us. We were told this probably wouldn't work, as he was going through a "hard time." Today, we learned that the family has given him up. We don't know any other details--where he's staying (foster home? residential treatment center?), or anything else, but we will be involved in talking about a strategy for finding him a permanent fami...

Getting Ready I have realized I need a retreat in early June—that this is a necessity I’ll need to work into my schedule, probably forever. So, almost exactly a year to the day after taking my life-changing retreat last year, I went away again. While I wanted to return to the apartment where I’d stayed last year in the middle of the woods, far from everyone and everything, I opted instead this time for a room at a nuns’ residence in the city, mainly because the college student who would have S was living nearby for the summer, and so, it made sense to show up in the city, surrender my car and my daughter to her, and retreat. (I will admit that my long and painful battle with poison ivy after last year’s retreat also played a role in my decision). In preparation, I read through what I’d written in my journal while on retreat a year ago. The demon I was battling then was anger—anger at all the people who had hurt S; anger at the school, their treatment of her and me, their inability to ...