DON'T MISS THIS CD RELEASE PARTY!

OK, Friends and Family; This is my daughter Tracy's event. Her voice is AMAZING, her music MESMERIZING and her show ENCHANTING. Please come and show your support. Her music is going places! I know this. You will want to be part of it!!!!

Going

Carmella at Hotel Cafe

Saturday, May 24 at 8:00pm

The Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles, California

Great Review from Someone Who Knows

5.0 out of 5 stars Very touching and heartfelt, April 5, 2014

By 

Karen B. Wright - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fifth Child: The Turbulent Path That Led to Parenting Our Child's Child (Kindle Edition)

I read Lynne's book cover to cover. Her writing style is engaging and capturing. Even though I raised grandchildren for reasons other than drug addictions, I found Fifth Child to be inspirational yet down to earth. By the end of the book, I felt that I knew Lynne personally. Perhaps, I will someday. If you are a grandparent raising a grandchild or a parent dealing with your child's addictions, this is definitely a must read book. This is one of the best books I have read by a grandparent raising a grandchild.
Karen Wright

Karen B. Wright has a wonderfully informative Blog "Grandparents Raising Grandchildren" www.grandparentingblog.com and an interactive website "Relatives Raising Children" www.raisinggrandchildren@earthlink.net

ANOTHER ONE! THANK YOU!

5.0 out of 5 stars I enjoyed from beginning to end., March 5, 2014

By 

amazonfan - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Fifth Child: The Turbulent Path That Led to Parenting Our Child's Child (Paperback)

From the minute I started reading this book I was pulled into the story. It was written with both honesty and heart. I cried, I laughed and I cared about these people.

Love These 5-Star Reviews!

5.0 out of 5 stars Love this book! Honestly written and compelling to read!, March 6, 2014

By 

Darcy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fifth Child: The Turbulent Path That Led to Parenting Our Child's Child (Paperback)

I loved this book! So well written and compelling to read. I read the whole thing in 2 days. Couldn't put the book down!! Life does not always turn out as one would hope. This book helped me see that there is good in every situation and that growth comes from the moments where we are challenged the most.

Remember to Ride A Rocket Ship

The following story caught my attention. It made me smile, it made me teary and it made me remember to make it fun. Enjoy!

I wanted to share a post my husband made this morning. We have custody of our granddaughter who is 4 and a half. Tom came into our lives when Marley was 2 and while it was sometimes a tumultuous ride during her terrible 2's and 3's, the two of them have formed a very special bond. This story just highlights how special:

I'm off work today and Renee asked me if I would take Marley to day care. I really didn't want to at first, but then decided it would help Renee get to work on time and it would give me some one-on-one time with Knarley Marley.

As I'm putting the car seat in the car, Marley asks, "Is that a rocket chair?"

I started to give the usual, “No, it’s your car seat.” I caught myself and smiled, “It sure is! Are you ready to blast off?”

The delighted smile that followed would have melted the polar ice caps.
I get her buckled in and I run through a system start up of our ship. I look at Marley in the rear view mirror and ask, “Are we ready to ignite the main engines, captain?”
She giggles and squeals, “Yeah!”

I put my hand on the ignition key and start a countdown from 5. Marley joins in at 3 and it’s, “…3...2…1…IGNITION!” I start the car and she’s all grins.

I back out of the drive way into the alley and stop. I look back at Marley, “We are clear for launch. Launch in 5…4…3…2…1…” I punch the accelerator which throws Marley back into her seat. Oh my word, the squeal of delight was nearly deafening. Of course I had to punch it to create the launch effect…it was for Marley’s enjoyment. Ok… I admit it… I haven’t “punched it” in years and some of the deafening squeal MIGHT have been me. (In all seriousness, it was a small punch, just in case someone else was pulling out of their driveway too.)

As we “rocket” down the alley Marley starts saying, “Look at that planet. Oooo… look at that planet. That one is a tiny planet…”

As we are pulling out on to the main road Marley breathlessly asks, “Are we in outer space?”

“We sure are!” I point to the other cars, “Look at all the spaceships up here with us, Marley…er…Captain.”

The drive to the day care consisted of Captain Marley noticing that all the “ships” on the other side of space(the road) were going the wrong way and that only we were going in the right direction. At one point I hit a bump in the road and Marley asked, “What was that, Opa?” I grinned at her in the rearview mirror and replied, “Space turbulence.” She nodded as though it made perfect sense to her.

We docked with her daycare and I got her safely transferred to her next duty station.
On the drive back to the house it hit me. I really didn't want to take her to daycare, but I am so glad I did. Marley turned a mundane event into a tiny little adventure.

I used to be that way. I used to find delight in almost any situation. Growing up, sadly, makes us lose that ability to make anything fun. I miss that part of me that disappeared as I grew up. It’s something I am definitely going to work on resurrecting. Maybe not to the level Marley is, that’s an exclusive ability rewarded to the children who haven’t been saddled with the burdens of a grown up. However, I can certainly bring a little bit of the wonder of a child back into my thought processes. It won’t be easy in face of everything an adult faces on a day to day basis, but if I can accomplish just a little bit of that wonderment, it might just lighten the load a little bit.

Thank you Marley. Thank you for the exciting voyage to your daycare space station and for reminding this old man what it means to have a little fun every now and then.

HOW TO PREPARE THE CHILDREN?

If any of you reading this are grandparents raising grandchildren due to your child's addiction; do any of you worry that addiction might be in their future? If so, are you doing anything to prepare them to avoid this "first" choice?                                                                                                             

With 10 year-old Brady being the child of two addicts, I talk to him honestly about his propensity. Yes, addiction sometimes skips a generation, but what if it doesn't? Then it's like Russian roulette and it's better if he chooses not to play. I talk to him about his future peers. I let him know when they become hormonal (I have to explain what hormonal means), they go crazy and want to experiment with anything they can get their hands on, and what they might say to him to coerce him. They'll try to convince him how much fun it is -alcohol and drugs make you feel good. Then I explain that his birth mom felt that way but it immediately took hold of her brain and changed it. He often exclaims; "Why would anyone want to do drugs and do that to their brain?" I say it's because kids think nothing will ever happen to them -they're omnipotent. But no one is, especially if the addictive gene is in your body and you wake it up. It's better to say no in the first place and not take the chance. 

I don't want to harp on this and put that kind of energy out there but want him to have the knowledge and be prepared. What about any of you?

A Great Review-Thank You!

5.0 out of 5 stars An important and valuable book for any parent of teenagers, March 5, 2014

By 

jennie Morris - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Fifth Child: The Turbulent Path That Led to Parenting Our Child's Child (Paperback)

This is a harrowing story, sometimes hard to read because the outcome is so tragic. Lynne Gassel writes with a rare honesty about the ways she feels she may have failed her daughter and herself. She never tries to rationalize or equivocate. What she learned about addiction and her insights into codependency and raising a grandchild after tragedy strikes make this book a valuable read not only for parents of known substance abusers, but for all parents of children entering their teen years.