“Mark Daley points out the ways in which structural and systemic forces cause profound inequities, traumas, and heartbreak in the foster care system, but most importantly he shows how we can move toward a better future by examining what it means to be a family, and what it means to love. A truly revealing work.”
—Hillary Clinton
“Beautifully told. Mark Daley’s wit and compassion shine in this deeply personal story of love and courage.”
—Huma Abedin, New York Times bestselling author of Both/And
“Part humorous and part heartbreaking … Mark Daley’s memoir is not just an important read for would-be parents but for policymakers, business leaders, and anyone else concerned about the well-being of our communities.”
—LZ Granderson, Los Angeles Times columnist
“A page-turner. Mark shows that courage comes from being willing to show up and be vulnerable when the outcome is out of your control.”
—Justin Baldoni, New York Times bestselling author of Boys Will Be Humans and Man Enough
“Esmé Schwall, you are a lyrical genius, whose invaluable contributions made this book possible. Your words are a superpower.”
—Mark Daley
A strong indictment of a failed child welfare system, but with an unexpectedly happy ending that speaks to the power of love.
“A truly revealing” (Hillary Clinton) memoir of an unlikely journey to parenthood through America’s broken foster care system.
What does it take to keep a child safe?
As a long-time strategist and activist fighting for better outcomes for foster children, Mark Daley thought he knew the answer. But when Ethan and Logan, an adorable infant and a precocious toddler, entered their lives, Mark and his husband Jason quickly realized they were not remotely prepared for the uncertainty and complication of foster parenting.
Every day seven hundred children enter the foster care system in the United States, and thousands more live on the brink. Safe offers a deeply personal and “riveting” (Booklist) window into what happens when the universal longing for family crashes up against the unique madness and bureaucracy of a child protection system that often fails to consider the needs of the most vulnerable parties of all—the children themselves.
Daley takes us on a roller-coaster ride as he and Jason grapple with Ethan and Logan’s potential reunification with their biological family, learn brutal lessons about sacrifice, acceptance, and healing, and face the honest, heartbreaking, and sometimes hilarious challenges of becoming a parent at the intersection of intergenerational trauma, inadequate social support, and systemic issues of prejudice.
For fans of Nicole Chung’s All You Can Ever Know, Stephanie Land’s Maid, and Roxanna Asgarian’s We Were Once a Family, Safe is “a strong indictment of a failed child welfare system, but with an unexpectedly happy ending that speaks to the power of love” (Kirkus Reviews).