Mending Families is hosted by Melissa Pemberton and she brings you weekly content that is a mix of trauma aware interviews, parenting tips for those caring for kids from adversity, and stories from people just like you as they share their beautiful messy moments. Melissa hopes that when you listen each week, you will feel encouraged, inspired and take a little something away to help you and your family move from broken to mended.

Lisa Qualls is the author of The Connected Parent (with Dr. Karyn Purvis), a TBRI Practitioner, and a Christian spiritual director. As a birth mom and adoptive mom, she writes and speaks with wisdom about the challenges and beauty of adoption. Lisa lives in Idaho with her husband Russ. They have twelve children by birth and adoption and two beautiful grandchildren.

On today’s episode, Lisa shares with us how she got started in writing and what led to each book that she authored. She also shares some exciting news about an upcoming project so you won’t want to miss out! Lisa is so raw and real as she talks about her own struggles as a parent which ultimately led to the community that she co-leads with Melissa Corkum, The Adoption Connection.

If you are interested in listening to Lisa and Melissa’s podcast, The Adoption Connection podcast, you can listen HERE You can also find more information on the Adoption Connection resources at www.theadoptionconnection.com. Lisa can also be found at her website, Instagram and Facebook. To subscribe to her newsletter, go to www.onethankfulmom.com and click on the subscribe button.

.Topics Lisa mentions:

*Her first book, The Connected Parent, that she co-authored with Dr. Karyn Purvis is a must-read for all parents and she gives us insight into what led to the book and what we can expect when we read the book.

*Dan Hughes and Jon Baylin first coined the term Blocked Care and you can read more in their book Brain-Based Parenting

*Lisa mentions learning about the concept of “points of joy” from Deborah Gray’s book, Attaching in Adoption

*To take the caregiver assessment that Lisa’s mentions, you can find it at www.theadoptionconnection.com/mending

*Purchase your own copy of Reclaim Compassion and start your own journey of overcoming blocked care.

*To find more information about the Reclaim Compassion groups that Lisa talks about, go to reclaimcompassion.com

*If you are thinking about fostering and/or adopting, Lisa recommends that you consider finding a good therapist for yourself, and your kids.If you are a person of faith, she also recommends a spiritual director. Lisa also recommends finding community, whether through a Reclaim Compassion group, or an in person support group.

*Lisa kindly gave my Instagram a shout out and recommends that you all follow me on Instagram for fun (and educational) parenting content!

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