Fall or Fly

The Strangely Hopeful Story of Foster Care and Adoption in Appalachia

Nonfiction, Family & Relationships, Adoption, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Social Work
Cover of the book Fall or Fly by Wendy Welch, Ohio University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Wendy Welch ISBN: 9780821446232
Publisher: Ohio University Press Publication: January 8, 2018
Imprint: Ohio University Press Language: English
Author: Wendy Welch
ISBN: 9780821446232
Publisher: Ohio University Press
Publication: January 8, 2018
Imprint: Ohio University Press
Language: English

Chaos. Frustration. Compassion. Desperation. Hope. These are the five words that author Wendy Welch says best summarize the state of foster care in the coalfields of Appalachia. Her assessment is based on interviews with more than sixty social workers, parents, and children who have gone through “the system.” The riveting stories in Fall or Fly tell what foster care is like, from the inside out.

In depictions of foster care and adoption, stories tend to cluster at the dark or light ends of the spectrum, rather than telling the day-to-day successes and failures of families working to create themselves. Who raises other people’s children? Why? What’s money got to do with it when the love on offer feels so real? And how does the particular setting of Appalachia—itself so frequently oversimplified or stereotyped—influence the way these questions play out?

In Fall or Fly, Welch invites people bound by a code of silence to open up and to share their experiences. Less inspiration than a call to caring awareness, this pioneering work of storytelling journalism explores how love, compassion, money, and fear intermingle in what can only be described as a marketplace for our nation’s greatest asset.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Chaos. Frustration. Compassion. Desperation. Hope. These are the five words that author Wendy Welch says best summarize the state of foster care in the coalfields of Appalachia. Her assessment is based on interviews with more than sixty social workers, parents, and children who have gone through “the system.” The riveting stories in Fall or Fly tell what foster care is like, from the inside out.

In depictions of foster care and adoption, stories tend to cluster at the dark or light ends of the spectrum, rather than telling the day-to-day successes and failures of families working to create themselves. Who raises other people’s children? Why? What’s money got to do with it when the love on offer feels so real? And how does the particular setting of Appalachia—itself so frequently oversimplified or stereotyped—influence the way these questions play out?

In Fall or Fly, Welch invites people bound by a code of silence to open up and to share their experiences. Less inspiration than a call to caring awareness, this pioneering work of storytelling journalism explores how love, compassion, money, and fear intermingle in what can only be described as a marketplace for our nation’s greatest asset.

More books from Ohio University Press

Cover of the book Hip Sublime by Wendy Welch
Cover of the book Mountains of Injustice by Wendy Welch
Cover of the book Trampoline by Wendy Welch
Cover of the book The Tenets of Cognitive Existentialism by Wendy Welch
Cover of the book Alice Lakwena and the Holy Spirits by Wendy Welch
Cover of the book The Historical Ecology of Malaria in Ethiopia by Wendy Welch
Cover of the book Mirages by Wendy Welch
Cover of the book For the Prevention of Cruelty by Wendy Welch
Cover of the book Cases of Circumstantial Evidence by Wendy Welch
Cover of the book Following the Ball by Wendy Welch
Cover of the book Anglophone Poetry in Colonial India, 1780–1913 by Wendy Welch
Cover of the book Gibbons v. Ogden, Law, and Society in the Early Republic by Wendy Welch
Cover of the book Memories of Madagascar and Slavery in the Black Atlantic by Wendy Welch
Cover of the book The Fair Trade Scandal by Wendy Welch
Cover of the book Saving Seeds, Preserving Taste by Wendy Welch
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy