Illinois Foster Parent and Retired Early Intervention Therapist Gets Honest in New Memoir
Delkab, Illinois, January 2, 2023—Illinois foster parent and retired early intervention therapist, Patricia Ihm, is openly discussing the challenges and revelations in parenting the children that have come to her family through the child welfare system in her memoir, Isn’t That Enough? Musings of Motherhood and the Meaning of Life. Each journal entry reflects on the inner truth of what it’s like to care for children with early childhood trauma and provokes readers to open their minds about the impact of an imperfect system.
With three biological children, six adopted, and 18 more she and her husband have offered their home to over time, Patricia seeks to validate the complex experiences of motherhood, meeting the audience wherever they are in their journey. The memoir reinforces healing, preserves the importance of family, and confirms the beauty in all that is unknown.
Patricia steps away from beekeeping, soap-making, and caring for over 20 chickens that roam her gardens to amplify her children, and herself, who give life to the farmette to which they all reside. Early in her book, she says, “I speak with the voice of a mother—biological, foster, and adoptive—to share my experiences of parenting, knowing well that there is much more still to unfold.”
Isn’t That Enough? is a memoir for all families and all who have felt isolation and loneliness on their journey. It is for those still willing to try to find their identity despite adversity. Set to be released on January 17, 2023, with Our Galaxy Publishing, Patricia is hopeful the book will raise awareness, evoke conscious conversations, and provide support to those who need it most.
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About Isn’t That Enough? Musings of Motherhood and the Meaning of Life
Patty Ihm knows a thing or two about chaos. She’s laid with the disarray that ensues in the trenches of motherhood, pondered questions of worthiness when she thought no one was listening and ruminated in the dark as she examined the things that present themselves in the shadows. But she’s also learned to find the glory in ungracious things, the power of surrendering to that which is uncontrollable, and the truth in knowing what she loves will always come back to her.
Isn’t That Enough? Musings of Motherhood and the Meaning of Life is a memoir that openly discusses the challenges and revelations in parenting the children that have come to Patty’s family through the child welfare system. Her journal entries take readers through various snapshots in time and space where she stirs in the vulnerable complexities of life and the emotions that encourage her to embrace all that may always be unknown.
It stays with you like a guiding light on your shoulders; empathizing and validating, calling you to lean into your introspective thoughts, and supporting you to lead with the heart. Patty cuts her words free, vividly inviting you into her world as she expounds upon the revelations of her past to appreciate the beauty of all that is to come.
About Patty Ihm
Patty Ihm is an author, former early intervention therapist, and teacher living in Illinois on a farmette where she is a mother to many; three biological, six adopted, and 18 children she has offered her home to as a foster parent—some for a day and some to stay forever. Fueled on coffee and the soul-cleansing therapy of the written word, Patty also tends to thirty-something chickens, a mix of hens and roosters, four bee hives, and a thriving garden.
She is the self-published author of Ode to a Boy, a poetic tribute to her grown sons. Isn’t That Enough? Musings of Motherhood and the Meaning of Life is her debut memoir. Goldie Bird, a middle-grade, coming-of-age novel, is Patty’s first fiction work with Our Galaxy Publishing. Her narrative prose is also featured in the anthology, Venus Rising: Musings & Lore from Women Writers.
Read more about Patty on her blog at: PattyIhm.com
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