The Best For You!

I wanted to take some time and introduce you to an amazing author named Kelsey Stewart. There are so many adoptive families and birth moms that have children of their own and I know that adoption is not an easy topic to explain to your kids. Kelsey has written an amazing book (can't wait to get my copy) for children explaining adoption from a birth mom's perspective. If you are in an adoption situation and have kids of your own this book is a MUST READ!! Here is a little more about Kelsey and her beautiful book!

Who is Kelsey?

Well, glad you asked! I have 5 children, a daughter and twin boys that I placed for adoption and two boys that I am raising with my husband. I am the author of a children's book titled The Best For You that explains why one mother chose adoption for her children. I have written articles for The Open Adoption Examiner, Adoptions From The Heart, The National Council For Adoption and have an eBooklet that was published by Tapestry Books titled Guilt, Grief and Pride.

I wrote my book for them so they would always understand why I chose adoption for them. I have relationships with all of them, not like hanging out with each other kind of relationships, but we keep in touch. They know that they can ask me anything, tell me anything and I will always do my best to help them understand what and why I did what I did. I chose adoption...


You can read more about Kelsey Stewart on her Blog.

What about her book?

I always wanted to find a way to express to my children the reasons that lead me to place them with other families, to not raise them myself. It is not an easy task to do, but the open adoptions that I had helped me heal and accept life as a mother without her children. I had the idea for the book in my head for over 15 years, but just could not find the right way to tell the story until almost 20 years later.

I often would look at book stores periodically to see if there were any children's books that explained adoption in a real way ... not the "you were a gift from heaven" or "we wished for you" book. I wanted to see something that kids could read and really think about, talk to their parents about, show them that they WERE wanted. Sometimes we take kids for granted and do not take their feelings into consideration when it comes to explaining adoption to them. The last thing a child wants is a phony story or a fairytale, I think they would prefer the truth.

The Best For You was written in two weeks and the illustrations took almost two years to complete. I do not consider myself an artist, but it is amazing what you can do when you set your mind to it! So once I finished the illustrations I tried to find a publisher for this unique perspective, but like life...many were afraid to touch this taboo subject. I finally decided to take my fate into my own hands and researched self publishing. I chose a publisher, sent the files and The Best For You is the result.

If you would like more information about where you can purchase her book please email me: ashley@blessingsinabasket.org