The Power Of Being Seen

We all have a need to be seen. There are significant diferences in developmental outcomes

between children who are seen and those who are unseen.

Statistics paint an ugly picture for the fate of foster children: about 40-50 percent of "aged-out"

children become homeless within 18 months; almost 50 percent of prison inmates have been in

foster homes; and foster children suffer six times the rate of PTSD found in the general

population.

Author Roger Saillant was a product of the foster care system in the 1950s. In this poignant

memoir, he describes his journey with no shortage of emotional baggage, constantly doubting

himself and wondering why he is being moved from place to place. Why doesn't anybody want

him? Did he do something wrong? What's the matter with him? He lives life on a farm where

the only thing that matters to his foster father is whether his work gets done - with no regard

for the typical nurturing and experiences of a growing child.

In The Power of Being Seen, Roger Saillant describes acutely his feelings of abandonment,

helplessness, anger, resentment, and hopelessness to the point of contemplating suicide, but

the values instilled by many caring adults make this a story of optimism, vision, creativity,

courage, sensitivity, and, most of all, inspiration.