A Care-Full Mother’s Memoir Lights a Path of Enlightened Parenting.
If we are open to the intricate, and sometimes surprising, facets of love, and strive for healthy relationships, we make can make contributions toward elevating our village, one family, and one child at a time.
When I was a step-kid, I first became conscious of the words Betsy talks about in her memoir. ‘We,’ ‘us,’ ‘ours’ is positive and binding. While, ‘me,’ mine,’ and, ‘you’re not my real ____,’ painfully divide.
As a young woman, coming into a family with teens, I shared Betsy’s anxiety and musings about belonging while co-parenting.
From Fasbinder’s special crafting of her name (and her second son’s name) to her sensitive handling of changes and losses experienced by her oldest son, Betsy shows how love and mindfulness have the power to heal.
Later, when I was widow and mother of a toddler, I experienced the incredible blessing of a wonderful step-in parent joining our family.
Betsy is right again; grief and loss are the flip side of the coin that also holds joy and gratitude.
I like thinking that Max’s first mom has always been a huge fan of Betsy’s. What greater gift could there be than knowing a loving someone picked up where you left off?
With a thoughtful approach to the vulnerability of parent-child relationships and a strong commitment to unraveling a legacy of domestic violence and adverse stepfamily stigmas, Betsy Graziani Fasbinder wears her own shoes while showing others how to walk a path of enlightened parenting.
Read more about Besty Graziani Fasbinder and her books.
