A Family of My Own

A fun-loving and engaging young man, Stuart had a pretty normal childhood during the first nine years of his life, or so he thought.  It was then that a woman whom he later came to know was a social worker, informed him that the family he’d lived with all those years were not his “real” parents.  Feeling that his life had been a big lie, and betrayed by his foster parents because he had to learn this from a stranger,  he began to feel uncertain, alone, unwanted, and angry.

“Home was a place I no longer knew andI didn’t trust anyone anymore. I was madder than mad and my life began to take a turn for the worse”. 21 foster homes and 3 group homes later, Stuart “aged out” of the Maryland State foster care system.   “I didn’t have any friends and it was better that way. No one could hurt me if I didn’t let them get close to me”

 He was in his early twenties when he realized that he was not going to get anywhere in life as long as he held on to the past.  Today Stuart is a husband and proud father of four; and states that it is time for him to “come out of hiding” and speak from his heart!