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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

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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

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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

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Sending out a huge thank you to everyone that has showed us support, we have received so many books in the mail and donations, that allow us to get even more books and keep making little libraries!

#littlelibrary #booksbooksbooks #sacramento #kidsbooks #tyedye

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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

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Wow!! We just wrapped the kickoff call for It’s Okay to Talk About Adoption with Contributors, Editors, and Sensitivity Reviewers all in one (virtual) space.

The energy. The stories. The shared purpose.

Everyone shared their connection to adoption and why they said yes to this book. The most common answer? Because you don’t say no when Marcy asks. 😂

Over the past few days, I have read the first 150 pages aloud for the audiobook, but tonight hearing everyone’s connection to adoption was powerful.

Some couldn’t attend and others joined late, but every heart was in the room.

We brainstormed. We dreamed big. We felt the weight of what this book can do because this is not just a book. It is a movement. It is a message the world needs.

Let’s keep talking about adoption.
That is how change takes root.
We are in this together.

🫶 Sign up to be notified when preorders open:
www.itsokaytotalkaboutadoption.org

#itsokaytotalkaboutadoption #fostercareadoption #adoption #margintomainstream #adoptionvoices #adoptionawareness #belongingmatters #wearethemovement #talkaboutadoption #everychilddeservesafamily

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🔥 New Episode Alert! 🔥

What if middle school and high school English classrooms had a unit built around a graphic novel about youth in foster care, one that helped classmates see their experiences and become allies?

This month on The Forgotten Adoption Option Podcast, meet @mrodgersorourke—an accomplished publisher, author, and the developmental editor (and writing coach!) helping me write Ready or Not, a teen graphic novel about foster care adoption, designed for middle and high school students nationwide and set to launch in the 2026–27 school year.

✨ You’ll hear:
- Why I chose the graphic novel format to reach middle and high school students
- How Maria and I collaborated to craft an authentic, emotional story
- What it looks like to balance truth, hope, and heartache in a fictional story rooted in real experiences
- Why giving ourselves space for the creative process to breathe ultimately made the book stronger

Maria shows us that powerful stories don’t just appear, they are shaped with care, honesty, and a deep commitment to the people they represent.

Whether you’ve ever dreamed of writing a book or using storytelling to make a difference, this conversation gives you a behind-the-scenes look at the process I am going through to bring this story into the world.

🎧 Listen now and share to help more people see the power of storytelling to advocate for children waiting to be adopted.

Now streaming on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and Pocket Casts.

#graphicnovel #storytelling #education #highschool #middleschool #socialimpactbooks

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I have been waiting for this book to be written since 2013. I am so proud of my friend for staying persistent in getting the book exactly how she wanted it #bloodlines #anorexia #committed parents #love #parenthood #anxiety

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When my good friend @dixiegillaspie invited me for a Saturday afternoon get-together with The Super Creators mastermind group, the only answer I could think of was "I'M THERE!" ✨

Never dismiss a good chance for networking!

Even if you're not looking for business opportunities, it's refreshing to exchange thoughts and experiences with fellow entrepreneurs.

When was the last time you had an enlightening conversation with peers?

#tbt #throwback #networking #Sales #LessonstoSellBy #Success #SalesCoach #SalesExpert #KristieJones

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