This book is not the story of my foster care hardships. If you are or were in foster care, you have your own story to tell; I know you don't need to read mine. Rather, this is the story of Peter and Sage-a foster teen and his mentor-that teaches the wisdom every foster kid must have in order to overcome his or her hardships and prosper.

Virtually all teenagers living a difficult life harbor the same desperate hope: someone strong and powerful will intervene and straighten out the mess that is their lives. Sage, a foster teen in New Jersey, held that elusive dream too, until she tiredly realized no hero was going to rescue her. If she was to succeed, she had to become her own hero.

As an adult, Sage lives in Atlanta and is friends with Peter, a young teenager in foster care. Introduced to each other through a YMCA mentoring program, Sage and Peter initially fail to connect. Their relationship languishes until Sage introduces Peter to tandem-bicycle riding, an activity they can participate in together that restores his self-esteem and confidence. Sage soon gains Peter's trust, at least with regard to cycling, which she hopes to repeat in the more difficult challenge of helping him transition into a successful adulthood.

The story opens on June 5, 1988, during a tandem ride, and unfolds during the summer of 1988, after Sage issues Peter a challenge: "If you'll trust me to help you, I'm certain I can guide you through aging out as smoothly as I steer you on the tandem." Hesitantly Peter strikes the deal, and Sage immediately begins to carry out her part of the bargain. During the ride home that day, Sage explains to Peter her method for correctly determining a general direction for one's life. An overwhelmed Peter asks for a review, but Sage instead assures him she will write down the important aspects of all their discussions in her journal, a decision he does not appreciate until later that year.

A few days later, Sage is called to intervene in a fight between Peter and his foster mother. At that time, Sage explains to Peter that a successful life depends upon the ability to make good decisions, and that good decisions are impossible without knowledge and wisdom. During this discussion, Sage realizes her shortsighted mistake. Her task is not to rescue Peter but to equip him with the critical knowledge and wisdom he needs to rescue himself. Sage is now fully alert to the daunting situation in which she has placed herself, and scared of her own shortcomings. She turns to four old friends: Simon L'bleak, Ayo DeLuz, Gabriel Maxx, and Eliada Powers. Each of these people, because of their respective strengths, are Peter's (and the readers') introductory sources of that critical knowledge and wisdom.

The Original Foster Care Survival Guide is a work of creative nonfiction. Here, creative nonfiction means that a small amount of dialogue and narrative from Peter's point of view is used to present a great deal of important information. In addition, Sage's point of view is provided through her journal entries, which are inserted whenever needed to explain a concept, idea, or some relevant information about Sage herself. Each journal entry begins with the heading "Sage's Journal", so the reader knows when to be prepared for a peek into Sage's thoughts. Some journal entry dates are from years earlier, when Sage was a teen or young adult herself. Beginning with chapter 7, almost all of Sage's journal entries reflect the conversations Peter has with his other mentors.

Readers may need to adjust to the journal format. Nevertheless, I believe any other format with this type and amount of information would yield a book much too long for its intended purpose. Also, this format allows readers of all ages to quickly understand what is relevant to their present need. For example, the younger reader learns along with Peter, while the older reader learns along with Sage. During 1988, when the majority of the story takes place, Sage is twenty-nine years old and Peter is fourteen years old.

Foster teens, please do not misunderstand. Simply owning The Original Foster Care Survival Guide will not save you. You'll have to put forth some effort. Start by reading it and paying attention to what you've read. Then, think about and learn from what you've read. Finally, apply what you've learned to your life. Repeat this process with each of the books The Original Foster Care Survival Guide references, preferably in the order those books are handed to Peter, although the order is not crucial, as each book is equally important to you at this time. With some effort on your part, I'm confident you too will prosper and succeed.

Even with everything going well, I expect you will rely on The Original Foster Care Survival Guide for at least a few years. You may even want to contact me here and I invite you to do so. As you become more knowledgeable, wiser, and better at making decisions, I also expect you to become strong enough to put The Original Foster Care Survival Guide down. But I suggest you never throw or give your copy away. Instead, keep it as a souvenir to remind you how hard you fought to overcome your challenges to become such a successful person. More important, keep it because when you're ready to be a mentor-a sage-you'll be equipped to help a lonely and struggling foster teen make a successful transition to adulthood, just as you will have done.