Amazon Better Endings New Beginnings Category:  Young Adult/Teen Publisher: Better Endings New Beginnings ISBN-10:  0984200711 Pages: 312 Copyright: April 24, 2010 ISBN-13: 9780984200719 "The process of producing Braided Cord, Tough Times In and Out has been a work in progress for Liz for over eight years. Reliving this through her words written in journals, poetry, rhymes and raps in addition to reviewing old medical files and correspondences has been very painful, but birth does not happen without pain. Her journey and the editing of this manuscript has touched me to the depths of my core self and brought me piercing heartache. No mother in the world who loves her child would ever want her or him to walk Liz's journey. And yet Liz's nightmare story is repeated family-to-family quietly hidden behind closed doors. Our family has chosen to reveal this pain to allow for new growth of programming and strategies to enhance the lives of our citizens with FASDs. We hope through our work as a family our actions speak, however messy, louder than our words. Her truth and experiences, whether we agree with how the reality played out, are hers without our filters. " Jodee Kulp "Liz Kulp, once again opens the closed doors many families face daily loving human beings with complex neurological, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral damage. Beaten. Made fun of and shunned. Kicked and contained, Liz puts a face on fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) for the tens of thousands of US babies born each year. Liz adds reality to the adult lives of hundreds of thousands of adults who spend their lives in prisons, institutions or life on the street. She exposes what can happen once childhood is over. " – Anna (Liz's heart sister)   Excerpt I was born an addict and ever since I was tiny I have overdone, overlooked or overwhelmed myself. I was born with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, otherwise known as FASD. That means my mom drank while I was trying to grow in her stomach and because of her drinking some of my parts got mixed up and didn’t grow too well. My differences are hidden and that’s a real pain, because it is easy to judge a person by what you see. The most difficult parts of my life are caused from my brain, which was probably the most affected. I have trouble learning new things and I live in a world that is louder, softer, harder, scratchier, noisier, shakier, slippery and more chaotic than most of the people reading this. I want you to imagine what it is like to feel the seams of your socks, the label on your clothes, the flicker of fluorescent lights, the mumblings and rumblings of every noise around you, and then try to learn new things. Overwhelming. Yes, that is what it is often for me.

Astonishing Book
The Braided Cord describes the struggles that a young woman with FASD has in transition to adulthood. The writing is powerful, and the style enabled me to feel that I was inside her head and experiencing the world from her perspective. I expected to read about neurological challenges, but was overwhelmed by the description of her challenges with substance abuse and the intergenerational cycle of FASD. Many people try to help this talented, artistic woman; but her challenges are enormous. This is a powerful book and should be required reading in middle and high school, and for ALL pregnant women. - Eve Bogan

A Must Read!
This book, detailing Liz's transition from adolescence to adulthood while living with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs), is both eye-opening and brutally honest. It is a must-read in order to understand the lifelong challenges that accompany FASDs from someone who knows best - someone who lives with these challenges every day. Liz's decision to tell her story is not only brave and moving, but essential to advance the understanding of FASDs. In order to move forward in the prevention, identification, and treatment of FASDs, we need to better understand the full picture of living with FASDs and this one story is one more step in that direction. Congratulations to Liz for her bravery, openness, and honesty in telling her story. - Elizabeth Dang

Required FASD Reading
Liz Kulp's newest book, the Braided Cord, is a must-read for anyone whose life is touched by adoption or foster parenting, including prospective parents, teachers, health care professionals, and social workers. Through her narrative, Liz offers her readers a direct lens into both her life and her disability. To read this young woman's courageously honest words is to know not only Liz Kulp, but the life and world of young persons struggling with this devastating, often invisible, disability. Her mother's entries, as well as those within her circle of support, provide a bird's eye view of Liz's choices, dilemmas, triumphs and missteps.
As the adoptive mother of a FASD child, I know too well that our children grow quickly, that they want to fly and experience freedom and independence as surely as any other young person, despite the disability that at times hinders their judgment and clouds their reasoning. I only hope I have the strength and courage to fortify the bond with my child so that when the time comes, he'll be prepared to take that journey, knowing like Liz, that he'll never be alone. - Mary Greene