AGAINST ALL ODDS

A young man reflects on his life in the foster care system in this memoir that offers both hope and guidance.

Even before his mother died of a heart attack when he was 7 years old, Smith endured a loving but tumultuous childhood. The author recalls walking almost two miles in each direction just to get to the corner grocery store and noticing the stares he and his younger brother, Preston, received for being “mixed-race.” Smith asserts that things only become more chaotic after the brothers were forced to live with their abusive aunt and uncle following their mom’s death. After their uncle’s abuse escalated, with one particularly harrowing instance in which he attempted to drown Preston in a bathtub, the author recalls that his own bruises were finally noticed at school and Child Protective Services was called. After being removed from the house, Smith and Preston were shuffled between foster families. While some were better than others—the author fondly recalls living with Ann and Eric Wyatt for two years, sharing that they “became my refuge, my safe haven, and the only place where I truly felt like I had found my forever home”—he was never able to find true security before aging out of the system. Once he turned 18, Smith embarked on another terrifying journey: college, followed by the National Guard. The second half of the memoir includes the author’s strategies for improving foster care, including upgrading recruitment efforts, prioritizing kinship placements, addressing the lack of resources for foster families, increasing mental health resources, highlighting education and life skills for foster kids, and tackling “the systemic issues that contribute to the overrepresentation of marginalized communities within the foster care system.” He also provides advice for both foster kids and foster parents.

Smith never shies away from revealing the horrific experiences that he faced while growing up, particularly when it came to his uncle’s abuse. But his even-keeled narrative tone makes these emotionally upsetting moments bearable, imbuing a sense of calm into even the most wildly heart-wrenching memories. Readers are all the luckier for it, because the author packs an impressive amount of important foster care information in a relatively small package. In between his personal experiences, he peppers his memoir with plenty of statistics (like the average number of children in foster care in the United States is around 391,000, while only about 28% of those are adopted before aging out of the system) that drive home the drastic need for change. While some inspirational messages may come across as overly generic platitudes (Dreams “became the compass that guided me through the labyrinth of foster homes”), Smith largely demonstrates a keen insight and a way with words that will connect with readers of differing backgrounds: “The very notion of ‘home’ became an elusive concept.” The memoir also provides an intriguing glimpse into the world of foster care, like cooking classes at the transition home where the author lived just before he aged out of the system. Smith ultimately presents a moving account as well as intelligent and actionable suggestions for achieving change that will likely prove useful to foster kids and parents—as well as anyone who might be interested in getting involved.

A powerful, sometimes painful testament to the strength of the human spirit.