Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Upside Down
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://copperlightwood.com/
CITY:
STATE: AK
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Married; husband’s name Vince; children: seven.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and blogger.
WRITINGS
Author of the Copperlight Wood blog.
SIDELIGHTS
Shannon Guerra is the mother of seven children, including two who are adopted. Her book titled Upside Down: Understanding and Supporting Attachment in Adoptive Families, which started as a series of blog posts, provides the stories and perspectives concerning adoptive families, attachment issues, and how families can form strong bonds with their adopted children. Writing in the book’s introduction, Guerra discusses her family’s two adopted children, the hard time they have forming a trusting bond with their adoptive parents and family, and how control issues keep them from always participating in the family’s routines.
Guerra points out that she is not writing the book as an expert on handling adoption within a family but rather as an adoptive mother who is learning about and handling issues with her own adopted children. According to Guerra, many adopted children are dealing with past traumas, leading them to be unsure of who to trust. As a result, they can find it difficult to trust their new parents as well. Such children often demonstrate various manipulative behaviors, which Guerra views as their efforts to be in control.
Drawing from her own experiences and those of other adoptive families, Guerra presents a sober, realistic view of life in an adoptive family, a view that differs greatly from from how these families are depicted idealistically in fiction. She also uses both hers and others’ experiences to present what Guerra believes is an important approach adoptive parents should take with their adopted children. Guerra believes that parents should strictly monitor and limit adopted children’s interactions with adults outside of the family. In Guerra’s view, such interactions can lead to problem behaviors even when the adults they are interacting with only mean the best.
Guerra details the need to place limits on adopted children and also examines the best ways to handle outside negative judgements concerning adoption and raising adopted children. The book examines various difficult behaviors that adopted children can present with and how to handle these behaviors with methods that often seem counterintuitive to outsiders. In addition to addressing families who adopt, Guerra presents information on how the extended family and the entire community can help. For example, Guerra provides various strategies that teachers, doctors, churches, and others should know in order to help families without causing harm, no matter how unintentional. Guerra also makes numerous references to her Christian faith.
“If you are well-versed in attachment and adoption, this book will probably not give you any new facts,” wrote Adoption.com contributor Shannon Hicks, adding: “What it will give you is a sense that you are not alone.” A Kirkus Reviews contributor called Upside Down “a thoughtful, faith-based read that provides engaging insights on attachment issues.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2017, review of Upside Down: Understanding and Supporting Attachment in Adoptive Families.
ONLINE
Adoption.com, https://adoption.com/ (July 23, 2015), Shannon Hicks, review of Upside Down.
Broadway World, https://www.broadwayworld.com/ (May 1, 2017), “New Book Dispels Romantic Assumptions About Adoption,” review of Upside Down.
Copperlight Wood blog, https://copperlightwood.com/ (June 11, 2018), brief author profile.
Masterpiece Mom, http://www.themasterpiecemom.com/ (May 23, 2017), “The Help Adoptive Families Need, but Can’t Quite Explain.”
PR Web, http://www.prweb.com/ (May 1, 2017), “New Book Dispels Romantic Assumptions About Adoption,” review of Upside Down
Hey, friend. I’m so glad you stopped by. Pull up a chair and get cozy, but don’t get too comfortable.
That’s a terrible introduction, I know. Who wants to hear that?
Well, I think you might. Because while we all like to have a refuge and a sanctuary, a brief bivouac from the battle, we are made for the fight. You’ve probably noticed that the internet is no sanctuary, anyway. So take a breather, and then get back out there in the thick of it because that’s where the magic happens. God has great plans for you in the days ahead.
We are an Alaskan family of nine, expanded by two kids through the challenging miracle of adoption in 2012 and a new baby in 2015 (yep, we were surprised, too). We also have three four cats here and a baby in heaven. We love Jesus, books, simplicity, and coffee so strong that the spoon is afraid to stir it.
We minister through prayer and watch His hand move. We laugh often, usually at ourselves and each other.
about copperlight wood 2
I wrote a little book called Upside Down that originally released in early 2015 and was relaunched in early 2017. My husband saved me from a life of being That Crazy Cat Lady and several other things. I have a love-hate relationship with sugar and I am currently on off ON off (sigh) the sweets and chocolate wagon. I stay up late and sleep past ten when I can. Sometimes I get in a funk and have to grab the day around its neck and shake it silly.
I don’t do it all, I’m not supermom, and I don’t even know how to set our alarm clock. For reals.
We are committed to loving our kids wildly and inspiring them to be world changers. We strive for maturity, humility, wisdom, and hope, convinced that we are a battleship, not a cruise ship.
His love unhinges us. We’re learning to like it that way, but it hasn’t been easy. As we step out of our comfort zone, He moves us to walk on water — and we can do it when we keep our eyes on Him.
The view is amazing.
In the spirit of not doing it all, posts here are less frequent than they used to be. My lame excuses involve seven kids, book projects, being terrible at keeping up with the dishes, needing more than 5 hours of sleep every night, yada, yada. I go into a little more detail in one of my favorite posts here.
This season is precious. I don’t ever want to post anything of a “filler” variety just to get something out there that wastes time for either of us.
You’ll find only one or two posts a month here, and a no-fail, never-miss, subscriber-only newsletter that comes out at the end of every month. You can subscribe by email (it’s free and spamless) to get any or all of these sent right to your inbox as they post.
You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads.
Any other questions? Do you need prayer for something? Contact me here.
In joy,
Shannon
Guerra, Shannon: UPSIDE DOWN
Kirkus Reviews.
(Aug. 1, 2017): From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Guerra, Shannon UPSIDE DOWN Westbow Press (Indie Nonfiction) $9.93 1, 17 ISBN: 978-1-5127-5962-4
A candid self-help book about forming bonds with adopted children. Guerra (Upside Down, 2014) uses a pragmatic, straightforward voice to address the challenges that stem from attachment issues with adopted kids. She's an adoptive mother herself, and a key aspect of her approach--limiting kids' interactions with outside adults--seems counterintuitive, she says, and it's often not understood by those outside adoptive families. Due to past traumas, adopted kids often experience confusion about whom they can trust, the author says, and they often have difficulty attaching to their new parents. As a result, they can develop manipulative behaviors in an attempt to feel in control. Interactions with well-meaning adults can then lead to setbacks--troublesome behaviors that can last for weeks. The book illustrates its central concept with many examples from Guerra's and other adoptive family members' own lives. It also talks through the sometimes- trying realities of life in an adoptive family, contrasting them with "rose-tinted" fictional portrayals of the experience. The author establishes why limits are necessary, how to recognize and respond to difficult behaviors, how to deal with judgmental members of the larger community, and how others can help. The author's many references to Christianity underscore how her faith has been an integral part of her parenting experience. The book might have benefited from early, precise definitions of what the author describes as "the entire spectrum ranging from general attachment issues to Reactive Attachment Disorder," to assist the uninitiated. That said, she does helpfully include information on further resources and is adept at illustrating ideas with metaphors. For example, in the second chapter, Guerra uses the metaphor of a plaster cast, noting that "the broken child is set into their family for healing and protection," and "their sharp edges must be treated with care." Perhaps most importantly, this book reminds adoptive parents that it is acceptable, and even expected, to be imperfect and sometimes overwhelmed. A thoughtful, faith-based read that provides engaging insights on attachment issues.
1 of 2 5/19/18, 2:36 PM
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Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Guerra, Shannon: UPSIDE DOWN." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Aug. 2017. Book Review Index Plus,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A499572407/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS& xid=9c8f3bc6. Accessed 19 May 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A499572407
2 of 2 5/19/18, 2:36 PM
New Book Dispels Romantic Assumptions About Adoption
Books News Desk May. 1, 2017
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New Book Dispels Romantic Assumptions About Adoption Adoption marks the growth of a family, but the process of integrating a child into their new family often defies stereotyped ideals.
Often stemming from attachment issues and a history of trauma, adopted children may have difficulty forming relationships within their family, especially with their adoptive parents. Author Shannon Guerra combines her personal experience and the perspectives of other families to give a transparent and compassionate look at post-adoption challenges in "Upside Down: Understanding and Supporting Attachment in Adoptive Families."
In her insightful handbook, Guerra contrasts our culture's idealistic assumptions about adoption with the harsh truths that accompany adoption. With gritty, spiritual, and humorous writing, she highlights reasons behind difficult behaviors in adoptive children and the counter-intuitive ways families learn to respond to these behaviors.
In addition to being an empowering resource for families, the book is a quick, straightforward read for community members and extended family members who need to know how to effectively support these families. Guerra offers strategies that equip teachers, medical professionals, churches, and other support systems with the knowledge they need to help these families without causing unintentional harm.
"Adoptive parents often feel alone," Guerra said. "Upside Down sends the message that they aren't alone, and that the communities around them can be equipped to make sure they never feel that way again."
"Upside Down: Understanding and Supporting Attachment in Adoptive Families" is an insightful tool that is bringing hope to adoptive and foster families. For more information on the author and book, please visit http://www.copperlightwood.com.< "Upside Down: Understanding and Supporting Attachment in Adoptive Families" By Shannon Guerra ISBN: 9781512759624 (softcover) 9781512759631 (ebook) Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Westbow Press About the author Shannon Guerra is a lifelong Alaskan who stays warm by running around after her seven kids - five by birth and two by adoption. She and her husband, Vince, have been married since 1997. They passionately believe in God's extravagant love for humanity and His desire to speak and move through His people. Shannon blogs about family, faith, and wholeness at copperlightwood.com. Review Copies & Interview Requests: LAVIDGE - Phoenix Jacquelyn Brazzale 480 998 2600 x 569 jbrazzale(at)lavidge(dot)com General Inquiries: LAVIDGE - Phoenix SaTara Williams 480-998-2600 x 586 swilliams(at)lavidge(dot)com
The Help Adoptive Families Need, But Can’t Quite Explain
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Seventeen years ago we were pregnant with our first child as Jeremy and I walked into a stuffy church classroom to attend our first of many childbirth classes with several other couples. We enjoyed the company of the other attendees as we sat through the viewing of posters explaining where your stomach actually goes when your uterus also grows (hello, heartburn), but there would be one couple we’d stay connected to for life. Enter Vince and Shannon Guerra. We were friendly in class but didn’t yet hang out or anything outside of class. Several months later, unbeknownst to us, we gave birth to our firstborn sons just hours apart in hospitals across town on a brisk November day.
We reconnected when our babies were over half a year old at a childbirth class reunion, and since then we’ve walked through the welcoming of several more children by birth, the arrival of children through adoption, and then one more each by birth. We were living parallel lives side-by-side, walking and praying each other through. They are good people, those Guerras. And I count Shannon as one of my absolute dearest in all the world. Here’s a picture of us together right before we moved.
Shannon is not only a dear friend, she is also a gifted writer and thinker. She devours classic books like a civilized person while I prefer my classics to be in board book or movie form. She’s brilliant and passionate and is also a staunch supporter of seeing her kids thrive. Especially the ones from hard places. You see, we both parent children from hard places, so we get each other in a really special way. Shannon has created a beautiful resource for parents, friends, family, and fellow community members of these kiddos who struggle with attachment to their new families as a result of the trauma from their earlier years. Upside Down: Understanding and Supporting Attachment in Adoptive Families is a resource we all need. Most of us have interaction with adoptive and foster families who need our help. Shannon helps us learn how to do just that.
So today, help us welcome Shannon Guerra to The Masterpiece Mom and make sure to read all the way down to the end to enter the giveaway!
A child is screaming in my front yard, temper tantrum in full display. And I think, This is why we need to move. This is why we need more acreage. This is why we can’t have a homeowner’s association…or neighborhood meetings. Or neighbors.
But honestly, our neighbors are great. Which is a good thing because a few of our kids have special needs that go beyond temper tantrums, and sometimes their behavior is loud, disruptive, and eyebrow-raising, for sure.
I don’t just mean the frustrations that all parents deal with. I mean, refusing to eat meals, sabotaging holidays, and secondary trauma that affects everyone in the family.
Adoptive and foster moms, are you with me?
Yes. Thank you. I see those eyebrows.
Two of our kiddos were adopted almost five years ago. And it was hard – not just because their behaviors were so difficult, but also because (beyond a handful of friends who stood by us in the mayhem) we needed support from our community that didn’t transpire for quite a while.
We expected support because we had friends, family, doctors, and a church that vocally supported adoption – but that only gets you so far, if anywhere. We needed more than an occasional thumbs-up and pat on the back.
We needed boots on the ground, dinners at the ready, and backup available for parents and siblings. We needed a team who understood what was happening behind closed doors.
We needed people to understand that our lives turned upside down and our home was falling apart. We needed them to not contribute to the problem by being affectionate and friendly with our adopted children, who misinterpreted those interactions and violently regressed every time they occurred.
We needed people to understand how to support families working through attachment issues so they could intentionally be part of the solution, instead of unintentionally being part of the problem.
I started writing shockingly transparent blog posts about what we were dealing with. I wrote about what was happening at home, what was happening at the doctor’s office, and what was happening in my heart as a mama. I wrote about how we needed our loved ones to support us – how to step in, where to step back, and what we needed more than anything else.
And then people started writing back to me.
Every day I got emails, Facebook messages, and comments from adoptive families who thought they were alone and crazy. For years, they had felt misunderstood and judged. Some of them had left church. Some had been left by their spouse. Some had to cut ties with relationships that were toxic to their family.
These families are in our neighborhoods and churches, on the front lines of the mission to reduce the orphan crisis. They need their communities to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Without that support, they live in isolation.
The overwhelming theme from the people who wrote to me was, “This is what I’ve wanted to tell people for so long. I wish everyone who knows our family could read this.”
We turned those posts into a little book called Upside Down: Understanding and Supporting Attachment in Adoptive Families. It is a fast, relatable – dare I say, funny? – read that is perfect for extended family members and community members who need to know as soon as possible (like yesterday) how to help adoptive and foster families. Churches are also starting to use Upside Down as a training manual so ministers and childcare workers can care for families without unintentionally causing harm.
We can intentionally be part of the solution. Upside Down is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and WestBow Press. In less than a hundred pages it provides tools, information, and insight that transforms an outsider’s assumptions into an insider’s powerful perspective.
We want adoptive and foster families to progress steadily toward healing and wholeness. They should be able to go about their days without the constant fear of well-meaning interactions that send their child (and family) spiraling for days or weeks afterward. They should feel free to go to church, medical appointments, and neighborhood meetings with as little screaming afterward as possible – even if they (gasp!) have a homeowner’s association.
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Would you like to win a copy of Upside Down for yourself or someone you know?
Leave us a comment and you’ll be entered into a drawing held Thursday, 5/25, at 12PM EST. Get yourself entered to win!
** CONGRATULATIONS to Sunny!! You’ve won a copy of Upside Down. Check your inbox, you have an email waiting! Thanks to all who entered!**
Adoption Books | Review of “Upside Down: Understanding and Supporting Attachment in Adoptive Families”
This book should be required reading for the support teams of all adoptive parents.
Shannon Hicks July 23, 2015
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It came in a surprise package from a sweet friend. I read it one day at naptime, then shared it with my sister and my mom.
When I retrieved the book, my mom jokingly asked if I had ghost-written it.
I could have.
Upside Down started as a series of blog posts for author Shannon Guerra. She says the series (and eventually the book) were written “out of a desperate need for people to understand what we were going through as a family of adopted children with attachment issues.”
And her story struck a chord.
“Some of our kids are pussy willows,” Guerra writes in Upside Down, “easily cared for, kept upright, not requiring anyone to bend over backwards to help them. But some of our kids are more like roses. The world is flipped upside down in order to preserve them, or they collapse from the weight they carry.”
Her story is so, so familiar to many of us in adoptive parenting circles. And so, so unfamiliar to some of our friends and family who want to support us but aren’t sure how.
I read this book with pen in hand, underlining and starring parts that gave words to my own feelings and experiences. Upside Down is written in a conversational style that makes it easy to read. It is engaging, honest and hopeful.
Two of the most powerful words in the English language are “me too.” Reading this book was like sitting down beside a friend who truly understands the challenges of attachment, someone who has walked in my shoes, someone who can honestly say, “me too.”
Guerra says that this is the most important message that she hopes to communicate—that “adoptive and foster families are not alone.” She also hopes that her book encourages others to “support (these families) in ways that are genuinely helpful to the attachment and healing of the children.”
As I mentioned, I loaned this book to my sister and my mom, who both found it helpful. My mom told me that it should be required reading for the support teams of all adoptive parents.
If you are well-versed in attachment and adoption, this book will probably not give you any new facts. What it will give you is a sense that you are not alone. That your story, your child’s story, your family’s story matter. And that hope and progress are real.
If you love an adoptive family but find their parenting choices to be counterintuitive or seemingly harsh and rigid, this book is for you, too. It will give you a good basic overview attachment for children from hard places, and it will help you understand some of the reasons behind our rules and boundaries.
Adoptive parents, buy this book. Breathe deeply and be encouraged that you are not alone.
Friends and families of adoptive parents, buy this book. Learn practical ways to help support children with attachment issues and the families that love them.
Buy it. Share it. You will not regret it! Get it here.
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author image
Shannon Hicks
Shannon is mom to two amazing kids who joined her family through foster care adoption. She is passionate about advocating for children through her writing and her job as a kindergarten teacher. You can read more from her at Adoption, Grace and Life.
New Book Dispels Romantic Assumptions About Adoption
Adoptive families provide inside look at post-adoption struggles and how the community can help
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (PRWEB) May 01, 2017
Adoption marks the growth of a family, but the process of integrating a child into their new family often defies stereotyped ideals.
Often stemming from attachment issues and a history of trauma, adopted children may have difficulty forming relationships within their family, especially with their adoptive parents. Author Shannon Guerra combines her personal experience and the perspectives of other families to give a transparent and compassionate look at post-adoption challenges in “Upside Down: Understanding and Supporting Attachment in Adoptive Families.”
In her insightful handbook, Guerra contrasts our culture’s idealistic assumptions about adoption with the harsh truths that accompany adoption. With gritty, spiritual, and humorous writing, she highlights reasons behind difficult behaviors in adoptive children and the counter-intuitive ways families learn to respond to these behaviors.
In addition to being an empowering resource for families, the book is a quick, straightforward read for community members and extended family members who need to know how to effectively support these families. Guerra offers strategies that equip teachers, medical professionals, churches, and other support systems with the knowledge they need to help these families without causing unintentional harm.
“Adoptive parents often feel alone,” Guerra said. “Upside Down sends the message that they aren’t alone, and that the communities around them can be equipped to make sure they never feel that way again.”
“Upside Down: Understanding and Supporting Attachment in Adoptive Families” is an insightful tool that is bringing hope to adoptive and foster families. For more information on the author and book, please visit http://www.copperlightwood.com.
“Upside Down: Understanding and Supporting Attachment in Adoptive Families”
By Shannon Guerra
ISBN: 9781512759624 (softcover) 9781512759631 (ebook)
Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Westbow Press
About the author
Shannon Guerra is a lifelong Alaskan who stays warm by running around after her seven kids – five by birth and two by adoption. She and her husband, Vince, have been married since 1997. They passionately believe in God’s extravagant love for humanity and His desire to speak and move through His people. Shannon blogs about family, faith, and wholeness at copperlightwood.com.
Review Copies & Interview Requests:
LAVIDGE – Phoenix
Jacquelyn Brazzale
480 998 2600 x 569
jbrazzale(at)lavidge(dot)com
General Inquiries:
LAVIDGE – Phoenix
Satara Williams
480-998-2600 x 586
swilliams(at)lavidge(dot)com
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/04/prweb14291601.htm