ATN Angel Encore: Julie Beem

Julie Beem

In celebration of ATN’s 2016 Angels in Adoption award, we’re profiling ATN members who have helped ATN win the award — and who have themselves been Angels to families and children. Editor’s note: Many contributors remember that first time an ATN member saved our life. Some ATN members have saved many lives, and so for them, […]

ATN Angel – Lynne Lyon

By:  Julie Beem In celebration of ATN’s 2016 Angels in Adoption award, we’re profiling ATN members who have helped ATN win the award — and who have themselves been Angels to families and children.   An ATN member who was one of my early heroes is Lynne Lyon. Back when I met her, in 1999, […]

Everyday, I Get Up and Go to Work . . .

Our Mission

Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy.  You vote in elections once a year, but when you volunteer, you vote everyday, about the kind of community you want to live in. – Unknown by:  Julie Beem Everyday, I get up and stumble into my home office…to volunteer.  Often I’m three cups of coffee in and still […]

What Now? My Child is Struggling at School

by:  Craig Peterson Looking back to my elementary school years, I was lucky. Learning came easy. Fast forward 30 years. My children were struggling at school. When a flyer came home about a school workshop, I jumped at the chance to gain additional knowledge. Several weeks later I encountered a roomful of overwhelmed mothers. Within […]

Upcoming Conferences and Trainings Coming Your Way

by:  Gari Lister As the mom to three kids from trauma backgrounds, I find that my therapeutic toolbox needs frequent updates!  My girls are very different, and the techniques that work with one do not always work with the others.  There are a number of events scheduled for the spring and summer of 2015 — […]

The Borderline in My Daughter’s Personality – Part 2

This post is the second entry in a three-part blog.  The third part will run tomorrow.  The first part ran yesterday; you can read it here. by:  Julie Beem “Borderline feels like I’m going to lose my mind You just keep on pushing my love over the borderline…” Madonna As I read further into this […]

The Borderline in My Daughter’s Personality – Part 1

Today’s post is the first in a series of three blogs about Julie’s daughter and borderline personality disorder.  Parts 2 and 3 will run Thursday and Friday. by:  Julie Beem “Borderline feels like I’m going to lose my mind You just keep on pushing my love over the borderline…”  Madonna We’ve been at this whole […]

Ghost Ship

by:  Deborah A. Novo I hear you speaking and sense no depth. I hear you repeatedly lying, while looking me dead in the eye, and see you so broken. Lying is your normal and truth is the enemy. It has become more comfortable to control your life by sustaining lies rather than tell the truth. […]

Hugging A Stranger on the Plane

by: Julie Beem

No, this isn’t a blog about indiscriminate affection. And no, this is not a mom you will read about in a sensationalized report on “underground adoptive/foster families”. But it happens much more often than most people know.

What a “Secure Base” Looks Like

by:  Kathleen Benckendorf ATN is delighted to welcome Kathleen Benckendorf as a guest voice on Touching Trauma at its Heart.  Kathleen, a parent and a former member of ATN’s Board of Directors, is a relentless researcher and seeker of answers. An engineer by education and experience, Kathleen has also trained as a bodyworker and in […]