A House is not a Home By Alden G. Huffman

Full disclosure my aunt uncles and dad were home kids here for a period of time and the authors descriptions of life in the children home are than accurate With a letter help in the editing department this book would be rated higher My heart hurts and I pray for the families in these situations AND for the caregivers These stories influenced me as a very young child to be a social worker Kindle Edition In this 271 page book Alden Huffman tells the sad and often tragic story of his growing up years and that of his siblings in a family in Delaware whose parents were never meant to be parents they had no idea how to show love or have a normal home Their lives were chaotic filled with neglect alcoholism turmoil suicide attempts abuse and In the 1950s he and four of his siblings were sent to the Klingberg Home in CT where they finally experienced love and some sense of normalcy but ultimately due to a failure of the social system they were sent back to their home in Delaware It is a story of some children surviving despite the odds some losing the battle to alcoholism mental health and other issues It is a testament to the strength of the human spirit to survive despite all odds Today Alden is a resident of Lancaster Pennsylvania and is active in trying to help children in similar circumstances survive as he did A House is not a Home.