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“I've always looked at America like a foster mother doing it only for the check. At any minute, I just knew she'd be ready to give up on me.”
― Darnell Lamont Walker

“Shannon took her hand and squeezed it tightly. "We're here for you, Tianna. We're family now, just like Mary said."
"You were an emergency placement-" Mary began.
"Placement?" Tianna asked.
"I'm a foster mother," Mary explained.
"I have no home?" Tianna felt her heart drop, but it wasn't as much of a shock as it should have been. Part of her had known she had been running for a long time. Still, she had hoped.
"I'm sorry," Mary answered with true concern. "They called two weeks ago and asked if I could take..." She stopped.
"What?" Tianna asked, wondering if there was something wrong with her.
Mary regarded her kindly. "The social worker wanted to know if there was any way I could handle a problem teen."
Tianna waited for Mary to explain.
"She said you kept running away from your placement homes and she thought maybe I could make a difference because I had been so successful with others in the past.
Tianna knew immediately that there was something Mary wasn't saying.”
― Lynne Ewing, The Lost One

“Shannon took her hand and squeezed it tightly. "We're here for you, Tianna. We're family now, just like Mary said."
"You were an emergency placement-" Mary began.
"Placement?" Tianna asked.
"I'm a foster mother," Mary explained.
"I have no home?" Tianna felt her heart drop, but it wasn't as much of a shock as it should have been. Part of her had known she had been running for a long time. Still, she had hoped.
"I'm sorry," Mary answered with true concern. "They called two weeks ago and asked if I could take..." She stopped.
"What?" Tianna asked, wondering if there was something wrong with her.
Mary regarded her kindly. "The social worker wanted to know if there was any way I could handle a problem teen."
Tianna waited for Mary to explain.
"She said you kept running away from your placement homes and she thought maybe I could make a difference because I had been so successful with others in the past."
Tianna knew immediately that there was something Mary wasn't saying.”
― Lynne Ewing, The Lost One

“Can I stay here?"
In response, Mary smiled and opened the door wide. Tianna walked inside. Flames flickered in the hearth, and the smell of popcorn wrapped around her.
Shannon and Todd looked up in surprise when they saw her. Shannon ran to her with arms spread as wide as wings, and Todd did happy wheelies around the room.
Hours later, stomach filled with popcorn and Pepsi, Tianna crawled onto the soft cotton-flowered sheet and pulled the comforter over her head. Her bed smelled fresh and new, and she had a cozy feeling that she hadn't felt for a long time. Tears stung her eyes. She missed her parents and Jamie, but now at least she had a chance to start to live a normal life after so many years of running and living on the street.
She stared out the window at the dark night sky and touched the amulet hanging around her neck.
"Goddess," she murmured. The word felt so right.”
― Lynne Ewing, The Lost One

“When we place children to fill beds, we are creating a system of temporary housing rather than a long-term solution of finding children their forever, safe, and loving families.”
― Tori Hope Petersen, Fostered: One Woman’s Powerful Story of Finding Faith and Family through Foster Care