Author Description

Her story didn't go as planned. That's why it needs to be told. Blown Away is the deeply personal story of a mother who opened her heart and her home to a ten-year-old girl with a history of neglect and abuse. Claire McKinney’s candid narrative offers an essential perspective for those seeking to be as well-informed as possible about the challenges of adopting an older child. Determined to provide a “forever family” for a grieving, rebellious child, Claire attempts to create a stable and loving home life that eventually collides with her daughter’s uncompromising determination to survive by her own rules. As she navigates her way through challenges she never expected to face, Claire develops strategies for her own survival and finds ways to cope with her daughter’s dangerously escalating behavior. Over 100,000 children await adoption from the U.S. foster care system every year. Many of those most in need of homes are over age six, but because of their age and the trauma they’ve experienced within their birth families, their odds of adoption are close to zero. Our society is in desperate need of courageous parents willing to adopt older children from foster care. Yet to have a fighting chance at success, these adoptive parents need access to the same resources and levels of support found within the existing foster care system. Blown Away shines a light on just what is required to help adoptive parents disrupt a growing, yet largely silent crisis in our country: the needs of older children whose families are unable or unwilling to care for them. Claire A. McKinney adopted her daughter from foster care in 2007. She lives in Washington State.