Missing Pieces

Rating:
Summary: Together Again
Review: In MISSING PIECES, Sherry Cochran shares the deeply personal and often painful experiences of her life. Her young world was torn apart after she and her siblings were removed from her family and placed in foster care. One by one, they were either shifted to other foster care placements or adopted, leaving her alone and out of the reach of her protective older siblings. By the time Sherry was adopted she was mistrustful of all adults, yet hopeful that for once she would have a family that was really hers. Unfortunately, her adoption dream turned into a nightmare, and she had to endure verbal, psychological and physical abuse at the hands of her adoptive mother. Eventually, Sherry found herself back in the foster care system even more emotionally battered and bruised. Throughout her life she held on to the snapshots that represented her memories of her mother and siblings. Once she was old enough, she began her search for her birth family but encountered numerous brick walls. Sherry's search for her family was long, frustrating and emotionally trying but eventually she found success and was reunited with family members who for years were only faded memories.

MISSING PIECES is a stirring account of both childhood abuse and a search for a birth family. While I believe that both storylines are important and should be shared with readers, I felt like there were times when they worked against each other. The author switched back and forth between first and third person point of views and explained in the introduction that it was to help readers empathize more with her childhood experiences. I found the use of third person disassociated the author from the child in the book and I think those chapters would have had more impact from the first person perspective. In spite of these things, MISSING PIECES is an excellent achievement for Cochran and an important illustration of some of the ills of the foster care and adoption systems. (RAW Rating: 3.5)

Reviewed by Stacey Seay
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers


Rating:
Summary: missing pieces
Review: Interesting reading about child abuse. Would of rated it 5-star but I felt it should of added more information about the main characters in the story.

Rating:
Summary: FEAR FACTOR in the Real World!
Review: Mommy Dearest has nothing on the woman who adopted little Cheryl. No wonder the poor child wished the woman dead!
I wished it myself and had to put the book down several times to get my own emotions under control again. Such a horrifying way to be raised! If you are a parent, this book will tear your heart out. If you are searching for your own birth-family, it will give you valuable advise and resources as well as some sound reality checking. Read it with a box of tissue and a pillow to pound!

Rating:
Summary: FEAR FACTOR in the Real World!
Review: Mommy Dearest has nothing on the woman who adopted little Cheryl. No wonder the poor child wished the woman dead!
I wished it myself and had to put the book down several times to get my own emotions under control again. Such a horrifying way to be raised! If you are a parent, this book will tear your heart out. If you are searching for your own birth-family, it will give you valuable advise and resources as well as some sound reality checking. Read it with a box of tissue and a pillow to pound!

Rating:
Summary: Step into the world of Foster care
Review: October 21, 2004

11 year old Cheryl is in a world virtually alone. Taken away from her loving family after they fell on hard times was shuffled through the foster care system to abusive adults who were suppose to protect and nurture her. This caused Cheryl to grow up feeling broken, misunderstood, and distrustful of adults.

In later years of Cheryl life she is driven to chemical dependency and depression and attempted suicide.

It is with the help of FINALLY being with positive foster parents Sarah and Don; she begins to see her own self worth and what she can do to turn her life around.

Going through counseling and meeting others like herself, she understands she must relive those painful memories and put the pieces of the bad dream (her-life) together.

She begins to search for her birth family and to search for her self as well. She finds strength and courage she didn't know she possessed.

This story makes you want to collect all the broken children in the world and provide a save heaven.

The author Sherry Cochran grew up through the foster system with abusive and neglectful parents and faced these same feelings of loveless ness and loneliness with a hidden and unknown hearing disability.

Sherry allows you to step into the shoes of a young and trustful child and experience the heartache, disappointments, and abuse. It is only when you return to your safe everyday existence you become horrified and shocked of what some people are capable of doing to a child, some may even be your next door neighbor, teacher, or even a family member.

Sherry Has provided a list of agencies in this book to help children report abuse and neglect, runaways, and search organizations to help with finding their birth parents.

I hope all the foster care parents read this book so they can understand and pickup the messages these lost and lonely souls are sending out. They must intercede and help them get on the right track.

Reviewed by Demetria Harris