The Children Who Raised Me

Every little girl dreams of growing up and living the perfect life. But what's that little girl to do when she wakes up and realizes that her reality is a painful, more broken place? Desperate to become a mother, Shivonne Costa shares her own extraordinary journey through infertility, foster care, adoption, the loss of a child, and raising children with attachment disorders in her book, The Children Who Raised Me.

Striving to shed light on the current child welfare system and mental health issues, The Children Who Raised Me offers both hilarious and heart-breaking truths on parenting. This personal memoir provides readers an in-depth and riveting look in to the lives that have shaped and molded one woman into the mother that she is today. Shivonne Costa's journal-like writing leaves her raw emotions on the page, which will have you crying one moment and laughing the next. The Children Who Raised Me is filled with stories that any parent can relate to and will leave you knowing that no matter what, there is always hope... And sometimes hope means finding our dreams have come true in the most unlikely ways.

“My children, through their odd behaviors and unconventional mindsets, have put me through the fire. They’ve held up a mirror to my innermost self, a woman that I didn’t much care for. And through their struggles, they have caused me to be a parent that I never once imagined I could be – a mother that still fails, but one that continues to get back up and learn to love them new each day.”

A counselor with an MSW from the University of Pittsburgh and the worship leader at First Baptist Church of Ellwood City, Shivonne Costa also runs a community support group for adoptive and foster parents. Additionally, she is the founder of MommyhoodSFS.com. She lives in Western Pennsylvania with her husband, children, and three dogs.