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Keeping Kyrie: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Foster Care
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Memoir & Autobiography (2016)How much can a life change in just five years? For Emily Christensen, that span began with conversion to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and ended with the adoption of six children with special needs. In Keeping Kyrie, she shares the equally astonishing events in between: cochlear implant surgeries, marrying the man of her dreams, the loss of both of her parents, ovarian cancer, and fostering more than seventy children. At the heart of the story is her heroic efforts to save the life of her youngest daughter, Kyrie, who was born with Pierre Robin Sequence, a disorder where her lower face and airway were not properly formed. As a foster mom and then adoptive mother, Christensen has fought red tape and made tremendous sacrifices to help her daughter breathe. A real-life page-turner, this memoir abounds with tears and laughter, surprising insights into our relationship with God, and hope for surviving those seasons of trial that come to everyone.
312 pages, Hardcover
First published September 19, 2016
4 people are currently reading
2014 people want to read
About the author
Emily Christensen
22 books18 followersEmily Christensen, Ph.D., has a Bachelor's Degree in Human Development, a Master's Degree in Professional Counseling, and her doctorate is in Marriage and Family Therapy. A clinician for more than 20 years, Dr. Christensen has primarily served foster, adopted, and blended families struggling with patterns of acting out behaviors and negative interactions in effort to bring clarity and mutual understanding to increase bonding, improve attachment, and create a more peaceful environment in the home. She runs the www.ParentingClass.Solutions website.
Dr. Christensen decided to serve with her husband as a foster parent when she witnessed the desperate situation of so many little ones who were ready to be discharged from inpatient services but had no placement available. Their dramatic and award-winning story, Keeping Kyrie, tells their story of fostering more than eighty children in four years. Ultimately, they adopted six special needs children that continue to keep them on their toes. These experiences transformed Dr. Christensen's clinical skills with personal experiences that have shaped her gift for supporting, educating, and healing families.
She has collaborated with her children on other books as well. Baby Kyrie's PRS ABC is an ABC picture book for medically fragile children, written with her two year old daughter. CP and Me is a children's picture book about Cerebral Palsy, written with her eight year old son. Marvelous Mary is a children's picture book about being Deaf with Cochlear Implants. Gee-Whiz, G-Tube! is a children's book about the experience of feeding tubes, and transitioning from ng tube to g-tube. The Other Brother is a children's picture book for children with siblings who have special needs.
Goodbye, Hello is a children's picture book about the termination of parental rights in foster care, told in tender quatrains.
Upcoming releases include children's books on autism, foster care, and adoption.
All the books are available online, or you can buy them autographed with a discount if you buy them directly from the author at www.ParentingClass.Solutions/the-books .
Dr. Christensen decided to serve with her husband as a foster parent when she witnessed the desperate situation of so many little ones who were ready to be discharged from inpatient services but had no placement available. Their dramatic and award-winning story, Keeping Kyrie, tells their story of fostering more than eighty children in four years. Ultimately, they adopted six special needs children that continue to keep them on their toes. These experiences transformed Dr. Christensen's clinical skills with personal experiences that have shaped her gift for supporting, educating, and healing families.
She has collaborated with her children on other books as well. Baby Kyrie's PRS ABC is an ABC picture book for medically fragile children, written with her two year old daughter. CP and Me is a children's picture book about Cerebral Palsy, written with her eight year old son. Marvelous Mary is a children's picture book about being Deaf with Cochlear Implants. Gee-Whiz, G-Tube! is a children's book about the experience of feeding tubes, and transitioning from ng tube to g-tube. The Other Brother is a children's picture book for children with siblings who have special needs.
Goodbye, Hello is a children's picture book about the termination of parental rights in foster care, told in tender quatrains.
Upcoming releases include children's books on autism, foster care, and adoption.
All the books are available online, or you can buy them autographed with a discount if you buy them directly from the author at www.ParentingClass.Solutions/the-books .
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 11, 2016
KEEPING KYRIE
Emily Christensen, Ph.D.
HWC Press, LLC (2016)
ISBN 9780997758801
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (08/16)
Article first published as Book Review: ‘Keeping Kyrie’ by Emily Christensen, Ph.D. on Blogcritics.
“Keeping Kyrie” by Emily Christensen, Ph.D., tells the story of the Christensen family. Shortly after Emily and Nathan married, they experienced some life changing events. Unfortunately, many of them were painful, such as the loss of both of Emily’s parents, her bout with cancer, miscarriages, and infertility. Emily also had a hearing impairment and underwent cochlear implant surgery.
During this time, the couple also fostered more than seventy children. Of these children, six with special needs became a permanent part of their family. Each child had their own painful experiences from which they needed to heal. Many were affected physiologically and psychologically resulting from having parents that were on drugs. The children suffered physically from the effects of being in the womb with someone who was using, and psychologically from the pain and disappointment of having parents that couldn’t get it together to keep their family whole. Some of these children were also horribly abused. Emily frequently used her knowledge and experience as a Marriage and Family therapist to help the children; she also did what she could to try to preserve contact with the birth parents, if they were willing.
“Keeping Kyrie” tells the stories about how all six of their adoptive children came to be part of the Christensen family, but the main focus is on Kyrie’s story. She was the youngest one to enter the Christensen home where her half-sister was already a part of the family. Kyrie came into this world with the lower part of her face improperly developed and a tiny airway with which she struggled to breathe through. She was not expected to make it and had to undergo many painful surgeries, of which had no guarantee of the outcome. Relying on their Mormon faith and the prayers of their congregation, the Christensen’s held on to the hope that Kyrie would not only live, but she would be as normal as possible. Whenever Emily was away at a hospital with Kyrie, Nathan would be at home with the rest of the children taking care of their needs. The couple’s dedication to these children was so heartwarming because it was obvious that they shared the same mission to help these children have as fulfilling and normal lives as possible. In doing so, they were also blessed with being able to love these special souls.
While reading this incredible story, I experienced so many emotions. There were times when I wanted to shed tears for the painful experiences that the parents and each child had to go through, especially if they were caused by neglect of the birth parents. Emily’s refusal to give in and give up in spite of all the personal issues she was dealing with was inspiring. Any of these things would be enough for a normal person to step back and focus on herself instead of seventy foster children! When she converted to Mormonism, little did she know what a huge role the church would play in her life. In addition to meeting her husband and having a whirlwind courtship, she also benefited from the prayers and blessings offered to the family whenever needed. The sense of community within this religion is exactly what this family needed as they endured their hardships. Their family life also brought a lot of laughter and joy. It is obvious that each child is a special being, meant to be a part of this amazing family. Being able to see their photographs in the book was wonderful. It helped make me feel like I had really met them.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading “Keeping Kyrie” by Emily Christensen, Ph.D., and I highly recommend it for social workers, counselors, persons considering fostering or adopting, and medical professionals who deal with the health needs of children.
Emily Christensen, Ph.D.
HWC Press, LLC (2016)
ISBN 9780997758801
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (08/16)
Article first published as Book Review: ‘Keeping Kyrie’ by Emily Christensen, Ph.D. on Blogcritics.
“Keeping Kyrie” by Emily Christensen, Ph.D., tells the story of the Christensen family. Shortly after Emily and Nathan married, they experienced some life changing events. Unfortunately, many of them were painful, such as the loss of both of Emily’s parents, her bout with cancer, miscarriages, and infertility. Emily also had a hearing impairment and underwent cochlear implant surgery.
During this time, the couple also fostered more than seventy children. Of these children, six with special needs became a permanent part of their family. Each child had their own painful experiences from which they needed to heal. Many were affected physiologically and psychologically resulting from having parents that were on drugs. The children suffered physically from the effects of being in the womb with someone who was using, and psychologically from the pain and disappointment of having parents that couldn’t get it together to keep their family whole. Some of these children were also horribly abused. Emily frequently used her knowledge and experience as a Marriage and Family therapist to help the children; she also did what she could to try to preserve contact with the birth parents, if they were willing.
“Keeping Kyrie” tells the stories about how all six of their adoptive children came to be part of the Christensen family, but the main focus is on Kyrie’s story. She was the youngest one to enter the Christensen home where her half-sister was already a part of the family. Kyrie came into this world with the lower part of her face improperly developed and a tiny airway with which she struggled to breathe through. She was not expected to make it and had to undergo many painful surgeries, of which had no guarantee of the outcome. Relying on their Mormon faith and the prayers of their congregation, the Christensen’s held on to the hope that Kyrie would not only live, but she would be as normal as possible. Whenever Emily was away at a hospital with Kyrie, Nathan would be at home with the rest of the children taking care of their needs. The couple’s dedication to these children was so heartwarming because it was obvious that they shared the same mission to help these children have as fulfilling and normal lives as possible. In doing so, they were also blessed with being able to love these special souls.
While reading this incredible story, I experienced so many emotions. There were times when I wanted to shed tears for the painful experiences that the parents and each child had to go through, especially if they were caused by neglect of the birth parents. Emily’s refusal to give in and give up in spite of all the personal issues she was dealing with was inspiring. Any of these things would be enough for a normal person to step back and focus on herself instead of seventy foster children! When she converted to Mormonism, little did she know what a huge role the church would play in her life. In addition to meeting her husband and having a whirlwind courtship, she also benefited from the prayers and blessings offered to the family whenever needed. The sense of community within this religion is exactly what this family needed as they endured their hardships. Their family life also brought a lot of laughter and joy. It is obvious that each child is a special being, meant to be a part of this amazing family. Being able to see their photographs in the book was wonderful. It helped make me feel like I had really met them.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading “Keeping Kyrie” by Emily Christensen, Ph.D., and I highly recommend it for social workers, counselors, persons considering fostering or adopting, and medical professionals who deal with the health needs of children.
November 13, 2016
Could not put this book down! It's so good!
November 13, 2016
This book made me weep! I laughed and cried and couldn't breathe the whole way through. What an incredible story, and what an amazing family. MUST READ OF 2016!
April 3, 2018
Dr. Christensen tells her family's story with an engaging wit and honesty. I enjoy her style, and was so amazed by the structure of the novel itself. The non-linear chronology complemented and elevated the way certain events strike at us in life and well up past memories and emotions. Each chapter was jarring in an incredibly eye-opening and beautiful way. The influence of biblical Hebrew is clear.
Keeping Kyrie provides an onslaught of insights on grief, infertility, forgiveness, parenting, Deaf and Hearing cultural relations, misconceptions with adoption and foster care, and a wide range of medical challenges.
On a more personal note, I was so impressed with how intentionally the Christensens incorporate their faith tradition into their lives. As a fellow member of the LDS church, I am grateful for the witness they are, and my chance to have known them in person, however briefly. I was particularly struck by the reverence in such details as striving to wear her "Sunday best" even when staying in the hospital for an unknown length of time with no preparations. It was a marvelous detail and loving sign of trust and devotion to our Heavenly Father in excruciating circumstances. A testament of the power that comes from living your faith as fully as you can.
Overall, I think the events in Keeping Kyrie are sufficiently well-explained for any audience to appreciate them without much previous knowledge of the LDS faith and Mormon culture. Although not perhaps as thoroughly as the majority of Dr. Christensen's housewfieclass blog posts.
Keeping Kyrie provides an onslaught of insights on grief, infertility, forgiveness, parenting, Deaf and Hearing cultural relations, misconceptions with adoption and foster care, and a wide range of medical challenges.
On a more personal note, I was so impressed with how intentionally the Christensens incorporate their faith tradition into their lives. As a fellow member of the LDS church, I am grateful for the witness they are, and my chance to have known them in person, however briefly. I was particularly struck by the reverence in such details as striving to wear her "Sunday best" even when staying in the hospital for an unknown length of time with no preparations. It was a marvelous detail and loving sign of trust and devotion to our Heavenly Father in excruciating circumstances. A testament of the power that comes from living your faith as fully as you can.
Overall, I think the events in Keeping Kyrie are sufficiently well-explained for any audience to appreciate them without much previous knowledge of the LDS faith and Mormon culture. Although not perhaps as thoroughly as the majority of Dr. Christensen's housewfieclass blog posts.
January 15, 2019
This book made me cry....a lot.
January 22, 2020
TL; DR: Poor writing and the author's egocentrism obscure what is actually interesting about this story. Be prepared to skim a lot or just don't bother picking it up.
The title of this book is misleading. Only halfway thru does the author finally begin to actually tell Kyrie's story. The first half is all about herself and her archaic religious beliefs, which contribute to rather judgmental statements throughout the book. This "holier than thou" perspective mixed with her apparent self-obsession is just gross. She should've written an autobiography instead.
The writing style is very simple and gets boring fast. (Someone get this writer a thesaurus!) The author jumps around in time and place without transition, which gets confusing. There is a fair amount of medical jargon, which isn't always clarified for the layperson. This can make it hard to follow exactly what it is going on.
When she actually writes about the children, her words are thoughtful and compassionate. Unfortunately, there is little of that in this book. It's primarily about the author and her religion. Her husband barely even makes an appearance and he's credited on the cover.
The title of this book is misleading. Only halfway thru does the author finally begin to actually tell Kyrie's story. The first half is all about herself and her archaic religious beliefs, which contribute to rather judgmental statements throughout the book. This "holier than thou" perspective mixed with her apparent self-obsession is just gross. She should've written an autobiography instead.
The writing style is very simple and gets boring fast. (Someone get this writer a thesaurus!) The author jumps around in time and place without transition, which gets confusing. There is a fair amount of medical jargon, which isn't always clarified for the layperson. This can make it hard to follow exactly what it is going on.
When she actually writes about the children, her words are thoughtful and compassionate. Unfortunately, there is little of that in this book. It's primarily about the author and her religion. Her husband barely even makes an appearance and he's credited on the cover.
May 27, 2024
This was a beautifully written account of the formation of a family. I loved reading about how each of their children came to be a part of it. Kyrie’s story is inspiring.
October 25, 2017
I'm always amazed at the resilience of the human spirit, mind and body!
What an incredible amazing woman to accomplish so much in her life academically but yet
her greatest accomplishment was that of loving so completely her family! She is a woman
to be mentored by. I wish I could accomplish just a 16th of what she accomplished in a day
and I surely wished I had her patience. I finally read of someone who truly has the patience of the prophet Job. It was a great read and I wish for the very best for this family and especially adorable Kyrie.
What an incredible amazing woman to accomplish so much in her life academically but yet
her greatest accomplishment was that of loving so completely her family! She is a woman
to be mentored by. I wish I could accomplish just a 16th of what she accomplished in a day
and I surely wished I had her patience. I finally read of someone who truly has the patience of the prophet Job. It was a great read and I wish for the very best for this family and especially adorable Kyrie.
February 5, 2017
A fascinating story of fostering, adoption and illness centered around one very sick baby. While the story was beautiful, the writing was very disconnected and jumped between ideas and time periods without clear transitions.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews