Our guest this week is Debbie Ausburn, a prosecuting attorney who has helped raise many children via the fostering system. Debbie’s book, “Raising Other People’s Children” details the lessons learned by her foster children charges. “Parenting other people’s children has been the greatest challenge and the greatest joy of my life. I have made many mistakes, but I cannot imagine my life without them. Most important, I know that if I can do it, anyone can,” Debbie said.
Guest bio:
“I make my living as a lawyer, but what I do is take care of other people’s children. For more than 40 years, I have been working with traumatized children, starting when I was a preteen helping my parents with their summer camp and church ministries. In the years since, I have served as a juvenile court probation officer/social worker, group home parent, criminal prosecutor, non-profit volunteer and Board member, and attorney defending youth-serving organizations.
My most important roles have been foster parent and stepparent. I never had biological children, but I have managed to collect 7 children and 10 grandchildren. Along the way, my foster children, stepchildren, and grandchildren have taught me the life lessons that are the core of my speaking and writing — the lessons that I wish I could have learned from a parenting manual rather than trial and error.”
Guest links:
https://www.debbieausburn.com/