Real Stories Behind Ready or Not?
These stories are real.
They come from conversations with people who have lived through foster care and adoption.
Every character and moment in Ready or Not? was shaped by real experiences shared on The Forgotten Adoption Option Podcast.
These voices helped bring honesty, complexity, and truth to the story.
Alana
Entered foster care at ages 4 and 6 in California and later lived in a group home until she was 14. When she left, the other girls asked if her adoptive parents would adopt them too. She was adopted at 17 and is now a mom and foster parent.
Melody
Entered foster care at age 10 and later aged out of a children’s home in Alabama. Today, she remains connected with her respite and houseparents and is now a mom in Florida.
Mr. Lea
Began volunteering at a children’s home in Arkansas after being asked to drive a group of college students. What started as one visit turned into years of involvement. Through an extended family program, a teen he fostered eventually asked him and his wife to adopt her.
Ms. Alice
A foster, adoptive, and kinship parent in Missouri who has fostered many children, adopted two, and is guardian to three. She also serves as a respite provider and mentor to the author.
Case Worker (Lynn)
Has worked in child welfare in Ohio for more than 40 years and is also the adoptive mom of five children with special needs.
Rene
The real-life inspiration for Mrs. Lea. She stepped in to care for her sister’s children when they entered foster care, raising them as a single parent in Washington.