What is a Lifebook?
A Child's Life Story
Children in foster care frequently lose track of where they have lived. A Lifebook is a place to keep track of their placement histories, achievements, and important relationships.
A Tool to Process Difficulties
Lifebooks provide journaling pages with questions that allow children to express thoughts, feelings, and ask questions about their lives. These pages help children understand their pasts.
A Self-Esteem Builder
Lifebooks contain pages focused on the child’s strengths like “I am SPECIAL.” Filling out these pages help children discover their unique positive qualities and abilities.
A Connection to Birth Families
Children learn more about their birth families through pages like “My Mother.” Lifebooks also provide spots for children to attach photos of their birth families
Lifebooks are Therapeutic
No Unanswered Questions, No Gaps
Lifebooks Help Children Build a Sense of Identity
“Trauma has a way of dulling and changing memories. The Lifebook with its key life truths remains the same over time. As a child tries out assorted foster homes, they often lose life facts and an organized sense of history. The Lifebook chronicles where they have lived and at what age, at a bare minimum. This helps the child with building a sense of identity.” -Beth O’Malley, MEd