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Castaway Kid: One Man's Search for Hope and Home (Focus on the Family Books) Review
User Submitted Castaway Kid: One Man's Search for Hope and Home (Focus on the Family Books) ReviewsSeptember 26, 2008 Tonya and Tom Loved Castaway Kid Castaway Kid: One Man's Search for Hope and Home (Focus on the Family Books) This book is amazing. I work in a school with much racial, religious, financial and ethnic diversity. This book was the center of our summer reading program. Rob's life was such a great example for our children who face discrimination that they too can be successful regardless of what others say to them. In addition, my husband and I found things in the book we could relate to as well. My favorite part was Rob's argument with God. It doesn't matter who you are or how you were raised, you will relate to some part of Rob's life. This is a book you will love and one you will want to share with everyone you know!! September 25, 2008 Something we ALL can relate to We were fortunate to have Mr. Mitchell visit our school after all of our students had read Castaway Kid as their summer reading assignment. His connection with our community was immediate and deep. All of us can relate to feeling abandoned at some point in our life. And in walks this gentle man who has every reason in the world to be hard and bitter. If God can give Rob Mitchell the courage to forgive, that same courage is certainly available to me! September 19, 2008 Great all school book We chose Castaway Kid as a book for our whole school (private 6-12 independent school) summer reading book. Our librarian and her committee chose it from a long list of possibiities. We were not disappointed in the choice. The students and adults found it a powerful and positive read. The Castaway Kid is not an easy story but students identifed with it in powerful and significant ways. Even if they were not orphaned, all could relate to the feelings of abandonment and isolation that seems part of growing up. We were doubly blessed because we convinced Mr. Mitchell to come to campus and speak at our academic convocation and parents' night. He is a wonderful speaker and it greatly enriched our community's experience. The whole community gave Mr. Mitchell and his story two thumbs up--way up! July 17, 2008 Sue's Review of Castaway Kids Many adults have suffered great hardships in their childhood, even being sent away. This now successful man had a horrible beginning. One can feel the isolation he felt when he was "dumped" off at the age of 3. A good book to restore your belief that you can make your life different. June 4, 2008 Excellent Book! I really enjoyed this book. Being from Chicago as well, I felt an ever closer connection to the author and his story. I had a real hard time putting it down and I had to keep tissue close by whenever I was reading it. As a Mother, it was especially heart wrenching to read some of the thoughts and emotions the author experienced as a child. Such wonderful writing and expression - always feeling the emotion the author was sharing. I would highly recommend it! I passed it onto a friend after I was done with it - so the enjoyment could be passed on! March 7, 2008 Can help lead others to forgiveness This book was easy to read and understand. It should be read by every young person in children's home, in the foster system, in juvenile detention, and those with an incarcerated parent. Even those of us who never suffered any of those hardships, can learn an important lesson in forgiving those who have hurt us. September 30, 2007 Castaway kid Wonderful book. Would recommend this book to any age group. Very touching and inspiring story. August 20, 2007 A walk in the past Having been in the service of serving abandoned, behaviorally disturbed children and adolescents for 32 years, I was able to reminisce and find memories explicity tied to this book. The messages are accurate, profound, and direct. The chapters relive one man's story but the themes are multiplied by the number of kids in care from yesterday to the present and the stories are wide and varied. There are many stories in the lives of children from both yesteryear to this present day and age.The names change and the faces are different but the broken body and mind are still evident today. When one reads this book you become acutely aware of why behavior, emotion,identity, can go awry. All of the clinical terminology which labels children in placement existed then and still does today. What is remarkable and I have seen it over and over is that there are those who "will" to live, who "will" to grow, who never give up. Out of all the chaos emerges a Rob Mitchell and there are numbers upon numbers who, in spite of the many abuses and neglect, rise to become vibrant creative human beings like he has. This is a story of one of them. And, of so many of the children I have seen rise out of their pathology and into health, I have also seen a remarkable closeness to an abiding faith. Rob Mitchell is a man of that faith. Castaway Kid is just one of many castaway kids. What a wonderful read. David Carlson MSW, LCSW August 11, 2007 Poignant story of survival and faith Castaway Kid is a wonderful autobiography for anyone similarly struggling in life with circumstances beyond their control. If you think adult struggles are overwhelming, think how you'd be able to handle them as a child, when age works against you as you try to improve your situation with intelligent questions for the only adults supposed to take care of you. This is an inspirational Horatio Alger story: the kind of story that reminds you how well you have it in a free society, but where people still make mistakes and others suffer as a consequence, notwithstanding the best of intentions of some who want to help. Full disclosure here: I also went to school with Mr. Mitchell at Guilford. But I had only a limited knowledge of his childhood and the circumstances of his parents and the two grandmothers. The details in this book were things he certainly kept private in the dorm and on campus. And I never would have guessed how irreligious he was until his epiphany. I like to think that some of the friendships he made at Guilford helped stabilize his renewed faith in mankind, even if only secondary to his faith in God. All his struggles as an adult obviously pale compared to what he had to go through as a child. But as an inspirational and motivational story, it is a very pleasant read, indeed. August 8, 2007 Survival, God's Grace, and Hope Too often we read about children lost in the system and of others who have been so beaten down that they never recover. Thus I found this book to be a refreshing change. Filled with hope, Rob eloquently shares his story of surviving and thriving, against all odds. I know people who lived in Princeton and have confirmed the details of Rob's story. Thank God for the Gigis and Nolas in the world who care for kids like Rob. Thanks, Rob, for baring your soul. For more Castaway Kid: One Man's Search for Hope and Home (Focus on the Family Books) reviews click here.
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