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    The Risk of Us
    The Risk of Us
    The Risk of Us
    Audiobook5 hours

    The Risk of Us

    Written by Rachel Howard

    Narrated by Susan Bennett

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    A poignant, dazzling debut novel about a woman who longs to be a mother and the captivating yet troubled child she and her husband take in. What is the cost of motherhood? When The Risk of Us opens, we meet a forty-something woman who deeply wants to become a mother. The path that opens up to her and her husband takes them through the foster care system, with the goal of adoption. And when seven-year-old Maresa-with inch-deep dimples and a voice that can beam to the moon--comes into their lives, their hearts fill with love. But her rages and troubles threaten to crack open their marriage. Over the course of a year, as Maresa approaches the age at which children become nearly impossible to place, the couple must decide if they can be the parents this child needs, and finalize the adoption-or give her up. For fans of Jenny Offill and Rachel Cusk, The Risk of Us deftly explores the inevitable tests children bring to a marriage, the uncertainties of family life, and the ways true empathy obliterates our defenses.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateApr 9, 2019
    ISBN9781980029533
    Author

    Rachel Howard

    RACHEL HOWARD earned her MFA in fiction from Warren Wilson College and is the author of a memoir, The Lost Night. She is the recipient of a MacDowell Colony fellowship, and her fiction, essays, and dance criticism have appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Waxwing, and elsewhere. She lives in Nevada City, California.

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    Reviews for The Risk of Us

    3.5/5

    8 ratings1 review

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    • 4/5
      I was not expecting much going into this story. I am a social worker and I am pretty critical when it comes to stories around Foster Care and the Foster Care system. This is not an easy read, but I do think it is an important read. This is a real and raw look into adoption and fostering children who have been effected by trauma. The author compares trauma and PTSD between a child in foster care and a soldier. It is a really eye opening statement. I can see why others will not like this, as it is a very taboo subject that we want to ignore. The reality is that our children are facing issues like Maresa everyday. Unfortunately, other children are not as lucky as Maresa to have patient and understanding adoptive parents to push through these chaotic, manic, and at times dangerous situations.The story focuses more on Maresa and her family than the foster care system itself. I really appreciated that! It does still mention gaps and needs within the system including turnover and policy restrictions though. There were some positive and negative aspects when it came to the system itself. I was not a huge fan of the ending. This is such a short read with only being less than 200 pages. I would have liked to see more of Maresa after adoption. The one thing I wish the author would have left out was the political piece. It was a very small section of the story, but it was not needed. I wanted to recommend this book to our foster/adoptive parents, but won’t be able too since this small page of details was added. I am not saying the author does not have a right to her political opinion, I just wish it would not have been added to the story. Overall, I still loved this and am going to recommend it to my fellow social worker friends.