Twice Blessed: A Story of Unconditional Love

About This Audiobook

Twice Blessed is the compelling story of how unconditional love provides resilience to the main characters (also the authors) as they navigate, against the odds, a new family for a young Puerto Rican girl, Stefanie, who lost her mother to AIDS. In the midst of this loss, Claire and Stan Altman, who evolve from being her court appointed guardian to her adoptive parents, seek to honor the wishes of Stefanie's mother that Stefanie grows up in a loving family. To do this, they must wrestle with the mother's partner who claimed maternal rights. Through it all, Stefanie demonstrates remarkable strength and resilience. Told in their three voices, the narrative begins when Rosa, Stefanie's mother, selects Stan and Claire to be Stefanie's guardians. Upon Rosa's death, Claire and Stan are appointed as guardians by the Family Court. Their role is complicated by having to share custody with the mother's challenging partner. This story is one of healing the traumas that Stefanie suffered as she witnessed her mother's failing health, then her mother's death when she was five, and then when she had to live part time with the mother's partner who claimed maternal rights. The mother's partner's sudden death eight months into the Family Court hearing, when Stefanie was eleven years old, settled the "case," and Stefanie was adopted by Stan and Claire. Twice Blessed illuminates, through the story of the lives of Stefanie and Claire and Stan Altman, how love is the power that helps one navigate the river of life overcoming the rocks in the river which symbolizes the hurdles life deals us. The past 35 years, since Stefanie was born, have been a healing journey for all three as they learned how to be a family in which unconditional love has been the foundation of our growing together individually and as a family. The title of this book Twice Blessed: A Story of Unconditional Love was selected by Stefanie who says she was "twice blessed" by being born to her birth mother and then raised by her adoptive parents.

About the Author

STEFANIE MERCADO ALTMAN is a public health professional, writer and advocate for adoption, identity and public health services. She has published in the Anthology of Poetry by Young Americans and in the New York Times and lives in Long Island City, NY where she continues her public health work. CLAIRE ALTMAN is a writer, housing developer, and consultant specializing in supportive housing, social services and public policy. She has developed innovative programs supporting families, seniors, disabled persons, and formerly incarcerated individuals and has dedicated her career to social impact initiatives. STAN ALTMAN is a professor of public affairs and higher education leaders with over fifty years of experience. He has served as the Interim President and Dean of the Austin W. Marxe School of Public and International Affairs at Baruch College. Currently, he is a professor at The City College of New York directing the Gaming Pathways Program at CCNY focusing on workforce development and technology driven learning initiatives. Stan is the co-founder and President of Science and Arts Engagement, NY/DBA Harlem Gallery of Science- a not-for-profit aimed at engaging more low-income students in the STEAM Fields (Science Technology Engineering Art and Math).

Reviews

In an era when the definition of family continues to evolve, Twice Blessed offers a profoundly moving testament to how love transcends traditional boundaries.

This is the story of an incredible journey, made all the more riveting by the fact that it is told in the clear, open and insightful voices of Claire, Stan and their (adopted) daughter Stefanie. I have performed numerous psychiatric evaluations for Family Court, Juvenile Court and adult Criminal Court proceedings, and I have seen how our failure to protect and support a child can result in a troubled adult. In contrast, this story clearly demonstrates how a child with a difficult beginning can become a well-functioning, compassionate adult when she, or he, receives the nurture, guidance, support and yes, love that she requires. If only we truly invested in systems that would identify such children and appropriately intervene in their lives, instead of simply focusing on punishing those adults we had failed to protect.

Adoption always begins in tragedy. And the Altmans' story is no exception. But the story of Stefanie, Claire and Stan is much more. It is the story of a dying mother who gets to choose how her daughter will be raised. It is the story of a couple past their childbearing years who learn to be the parents a little girl's needs. It is the story of a girl's resilience through devastation and instability. It is the story of a maddening journey through family court. Most of all, though, Twice Blessed is the story of a family forged through love.

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