Claiming Jeremiah (Salick)

Claiming Jeremiah
Missy B. Salick, 2013
Self-published
204 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780989150804


Summary
On the same night that twenty four-year-old Jordyn Sims has a miscarriage, her sister-in-law Tori Sims conceives a child. Nine months later, Tori, a long term heroin addict, abandons her two-hour-old drug addicted newborn Jeremiah, in a hospital stairwell.

Jordyn receives the news and pursues foster adoption. However, Oscar, Tori's possessive drug-addicted boyfriend, is not about to give Jeremiah up so easily.

While in confrontation with Tori and Oscar, Jordyn seeks help from the Administration of Children Services (ACS), only to discover she is faced with a maze of departments regulations, legalities and overworked social workers. Jordyn, however, remains strong and continues to push through the uphill battle, even after she discovers she's pregnant.

With all odds against her adoption of Jeremiah, and her pregnancy at high risk from increasing stress, will Jordyn win this tough battle, or will her world crumble before her? (From the author.)

Author Bio
Missy B. Salick is a new author who has written her first novel, Claiming Jeremiah. Her fictional memoir on foster adoption has been drawing a hefty buzz, with both online and paperback released in 2013 (May 4 for paperback). The novel is small in size, but contains a powerful message. "Children in foster care need a place to call home." Salick, a foster care advocate, wrote this book based on her personal journey of foster adopting her four-year-old son.

Before self-publishing, Claiming Jeremiah, Salick spent several years as a freelance business writer for Fortune 500 companies including, Shearman & Sterling, KPMG, Deloitte and many more. She also had a stint with song ghost writing. Salick's experience in the entertainment industry stems from working with entertainment companies and media including Violator, MBK, Village Voice and more. As the founder of J.J. Autumn Publishing, her publishing company is geared towards highlighting urban fiction dedicated to special causes and community awareness projects.

When Missy is not promoting foster adoption, she can be found volunteering at Junior Achievement, being a Big Sister and counseling young girls through Journal Writing or helping to save the Polar  Bears with WWF. (From the author.)

Book Reviews
Missy is a talented writer with a keen social conscience. She’s an advocate for foster adoption, and in this capacity, has written a gripping, entertaining, and informative bookabout the foster and adoption processes. She writes in a manner where the distinctive voices of each character are not only colorful but interesting. I recommend Missy as an author, a speaker, and an informed and experienced advocate.
Dr. Margaret Brito - Louverture Arts Facilitator


We’ve all heard stories or seen made-for-television movies about dealing with children going through the adoption an exceptional piece, written by a prolific author. She was able to write in a manner that the distinctive voices of each character were not only colorful but interesting. Claiming Jeremiah is astounding, both entertaining and informative. Missy Salick writes in a style that allows the reader to connect with the characters and share the emotional roller coaster ride through the adoption process. I would recommend this book to novice and seasoned readers alike. It is a story worth reading.
J. Tremble, Author, Foster Advocate - Life-Changing Books

Discussion Questions
1. For much of the novel, Jordyn tends to be very strong-minded about what she wants even after Julian disagrees. Do you think she is being fair to him or their relationship?

2. In what ways do you think Tori’s path would have been altered if her brother, Julian, would have stayed in New York?

3. Do you think Julian should have had a stronger voice in expressing his beliefs?

4. Jordyn’s family was not thrilled about her bringing Jeremiah into her life—did they go too far with their comments? What would have been your reaction if your family had said those things to you?

5. Do you feel Tori has any type of resentment toward her brother because of how their mother puts him on a pedestal? Do you think their mother loves Tori as much as she loves Julian or less? Does her love for Tori seem non-existent because of Tori’s constant mishaps?

6. Should Jordyn have stopped fighting for Jeremiah after she learned of her pregnancy? Should she have stopped after her first health scare?

7. What do you think about Oscar’s character and his actions toward Tori’s? At any point and time do you think he cared for her?

8. After Jordyn spilled her secret to the women in her family, were they able to understand her more? Or do you think they still looked at her the same?

9. From the early stages of the story, what do you think was at the root of the reason Jordyn chose to foster and then adopt Jeremiah? Was it just to prevent Jeremiah from heading to foster care or was there an ulterior motive?

10. Mr. Henderson seems to have a certain view of the foster care system that led him to make his final decision. Do you think he made the right choice? Or is he just another caseworker who has given up hope?

11. Do you think Oscar’s actions toward the end of the story are justifiable? Was he right in the sense that Jeremiah won’t understand his ethnic background and its culture being raised in a middle-class lifestyle?

12. Jordyn evidently has a lot of emotional issues related to how her mother was not a strong maternal figure when Jordyn was growing up. Do you think the birth of her child and having Jeremiah will heal those scars?

13. After reading Claiming Jeremiah, what are your views on the foster care system? Do you believe the system works (as-is) or is designed to run as a business, without taking into account the welfare of the children at stake? If you could fix the system, what would you change?
(Questions kindly provided by author.)

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