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FSM Webinar & Podcast: Alternate Ending L. Jean Féinics

ALTERNATE ENDING: AN INSPIRATIONAL TRUE STORY ABOUT BEATING THE ODDS

L. Jean Féinics tells a riveting true story about what it was like growing up with a mother suffering from a sickness she did not understand; as a foster kid lost in a world where love and warmth were hard to find; and no one to believe she had the ability to beat the incredible odds stacked against her.

The story opens in the 1970s when Jean is made a Dependent of the Court in California after her mother is hospitalized. Jean then bumps from foster home to foster home and, sometimes, back home again. Through it all, Jean remains deeply devoted to her mother and does all she can to protect her. Just before her 16th birthday, Jean decides she can’t change her own fate while she’s stuck in the foster care system.  She runs away in hope of finding something better”—but better is hard to find when you don’t know what it looks like.

At age 17, Jean has a daughter whose birth transforms her life. Vowing not the make the same mistakes as her mother, Jean embarks on a difficult journey to give herself and her daughter a better life by achieving the unexpected.

L. JEAN FÉINICS graduated with a PhD in Neurobiology and Behavior from the University of Washington in 1998. For a number of years, Dr. Féinics worked as a scientist and educator in the USA and abroad. She now coaches former foster youth towards college success while giving inspirational talks about her life. Her spare time is spent riding her motorcycle, playing with the two street dogs she adopted while living overseas, and visiting her daughter. Other spare moments are spent working on her first novel.

 


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Fostering Success Michigan is a program of Educate Tomorrow that aims to increase access and success in higher education and post-college careers for youth with experience in foster care. Learn how you can contribute to building a holistic network that insulates (i.e., strengthens protective factors and reduces risks) the education to career "pipeline." 

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