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Maria Rodgers O'Rourke

@mro_muse

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Maria is an author, editor, speaker, and steward of @littlefreelibrary no. 77929

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I’m starting to wonder if I dream big enough.

When I wrote the graphic novel Ready or Not?, I hoped it would help teens understand foster care adoption and give teachers a way to start conversations about a topic many students experience but rarely see represented in school.

What I didn’t imagine was opening @fosteringfamiliestoday and realizing they’d given this conversation SIX pages. 🥹

I’m incredibly grateful to @fosteringfamiliestoday for helping bring this important conversation into more homes, schools, and communities.

As I continue listening to people with lived experience and advocating for children waiting to be adopted, I’m realizing this work is about more than helping adults understand foster care adoption. It’s also about giving the next generation the language and space to talk about it and understand it, too.

November is National Adoption Month, and the beginning of the school year is the perfect time to ask: Could your classroom make space for this conversation?

I now have books and educational resources for K–5 and middle/high school classrooms, giving teachers age-appropriate ways to talk about foster care adoption, family, and the children and sibling groups who are still waiting.

If you’re an educator or know one, will you help bring this conversation into a classroom this fall?

The goal has always been to shed light on children and sibling groups waiting to be adopted.

But I’m discovering the bigger dream:

Raising a generation that sees themselves and their families represented, isn’t afraid to talk about foster care adoption, better understands the experiences of the people around them, and knows they don’t have to wait until adulthood to be an advocate or ally. ❤️

#NationalAdoptionMonth #FosterCareAdoption #Education #Teachers #AdoptionEducation by @mro_muse

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2 months ago

Dear Gina responds to a reader about the ache of divided family amidst political tension — the aunt she once ran to for big hugs now wears slogans that feel like a wall between them. Gina responds with Lincoln, John Lewis, and an unconditional love practice big enough to hold it all. The link to the post and video is in my bio. by @mro_muse

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2 months ago

C'mon, admit it! You want to ask Dear Gina for her heartfelt advice... "for a friend" ... I get it! Send a question and see what Gina has to say 🖊️❤️☕️📬

Link in bio by @mro_muse

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2 months ago

Dear Gina has some loving advice for a tightrope-walking Mother of the Bride. Check the link in my bio for Advice for Writers and Wonderers 🖋❤️🎉 by @mro_muse

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4 months ago

"You don’t have to feel ready. You just have to feel the pull." Dear Gina has some encouraging words for an executive contemplating a creative career change. Follow the link in my bio to Dear Gina: Advice for Writers & Wonderers #advice #CareerChange #Creativity #secondcareer #elizabethgilbertquotes by @mro_muse

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4 months ago

“Fill the space you’re in, rather than letting the alone-ness shrink you. An empty home is permission to expand,” advises Gina to a new empty nester. Discover “Dear Gina,” my new advice column for writers and wonderers. Link in bio #advice #emptynest #creativity #lifeadvice #grownchildren by @mro_muse

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5 months ago

Still taking in today’s Women of Achievement luncheon. 💛

Watching the video created to showcase my foster care adoption advocacy work was emotional, humbling, and overwhelming
in the very best way.

A reminder that this work is real and truly making a difference for children waiting in foster care and the families stepping forward to care for them.

As the video played, I kept thinking about all the people who have become part of this impact over the years:
- Families saying yes to adoption
- Workplaces advocating for adoption benefits
- Churches creating support systems and small groups
- Educators helping students better understand foster care and belonging
- Friends and partners who kept showing up and believing in this mission

Having so many friends, partners, and supporters in the room today made the experience incredibly special. 💙

Reflecting on where this started, in my living room after we finalized the adoption of our children over a decade ago, and seeing how far the work has come since formally becoming a nonprofit six years ago feels surreal.

Today gave me gratitude and clarity for what comes next: continuing to expand these tools and resources into more schools, workplaces, churches, and communities while helping create a more consistent and understandable adoption pathway for families across the country. ✨

#FosterCareAdoption #NationalFosterCareMonth #AdoptionAdvocacy #ChildWelfare by @mro_muse

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5 months ago

Today was one of the most emotional and fulfilling days of this journey. 🩵

I visited a high school that helped shape Ready or Not? through honest classroom conversations during development.

Students shared that this story changed how they see the people around them.

One said it made them think differently about welcoming new students because you never know what someone is carrying silently beside them.

Another said it made them want to become a foster parent someday.

And afterward, students with lived experience quietly came to talk to me too.

I asked whether the story should have been softened.

The answer was no.

Because what mattered most was that classmates were beginning to understand experiences they had never thought about before.

That’s what story can do.

For those asking about the real experiences and voices that helped shape this story:
FosterCareAdoptionReadingProgram.org/real-stories

#NationalFosterCareMonth #FosterCareAwareness #GraphicNovel #AdoptionAwareness #FosterYouth by @mro_muse

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5 months ago

I can’t say I ever thought I’d write a graphic novel.

My background is prescriptive nonfiction, research, informational interviewing, and advocacy. I’m comfortable with asking others questions, analyzing data, finding themes, adoption education, building systems that support families, and using Canva for presentations, social content, and one-pagers for policy makers.

Graphic storytelling? Story Grid? Panels? Pacing? Throughline?

Definitely skills I had not learned.

But the teens I want to reach with foster care adoption advocacy don’t always connect to textbooks. They connect to stories.

So I stretched.
And grew.
And learned.

I partnered with the incredibly talented @mrodgersorourke and stepped into a creative process that required vulnerability in a whole new way. And let me tell you, I wept a lot along the way. Tears of passion for the teens who are stuck in the system and for those who have aged out.

Writing a graphic novel means:
- Saying more with fewer words
- Letting silence carry emotion
- Trusting an illustrator with your characters’ faces
- Rewriting… and rewriting again

It felt wild. It felt kind of crazy. Yet it felt necessary. And it became possible because out of the blue an anonymous donor gave to help fund a top-notch illustrator.

Because advocacy isn’t just about speaking louder.
It’s about communicating better.

Ready or Not is more than a book. It’s a bridge.
A way to help teens understand foster care, belonging, and what it means to feel unseen.

Growth rarely feels comfortable.
But sometimes the work that stretches us most becomes the work that matters most.

💙 Ready or Not launches soon.
And I’m proud of the journey it represents.

Maria recently featured our creative journey on her blog. Grateful for her partnership. A link is in the comments.

#fostercareadoption #adoptionadvocate #graphicnovels #author #reallifestories by @mro_muse

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8 months ago

In a workout room at the Y, a young woman roughly half my age sat across from me. She’d been assigned to be my trainer as part of a New Year’s membership promotion. She looked to be a lifelong athlete, far different from my experience as a theater kid and almost English major. After giving birth to two children and reaching middle age it was time to get in shape.

“What are your goals for your exercise program?” she asked.

I thought for a moment and replied, “I'd like to get to a place where I enjoy the experience of working out.”

She blinked, smirked, and restated her question in quantifiable terms. I chuckled and said, “Lose 10 pounds.”

I honestly don’t remember if I lost those pounds. If I did, they’ve returned with menopause. But I do remember how I hated the workouts. Looking back, my goal was to connect my Why with the Y, and I didn’t succeed.

Today, I know beyond a doubt that I can achieve my goals AND enjoy the process.

A lot of us think that attaining our goals means hard, unhappy work. I’d love you to discover an approach that goes beyond coaching to the heart of why we do what we do and to choosing a life of love and intentional creativity.

Please join me next week for the Vision 2 Reality Challenge, hosted by @dixiegillaspie. Her guidance has helped me connect with my joy and power to create a life more rich in joy, love, and service. The event is free; the link is in my bio. by @mro_muse

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9 months ago

Simply having a wonderful Christmastime #thefabulousfox #RAINBeatlesTribute #birthdayweekvibes by @mro_muse

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10 months ago

This perennial favorite is back! Order through Ebay and get signed editions for yourself and gifts for the busy women in your life who are making the holidays happen!

Link in bio 🙂 by @mro_muse

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a year ago