A story stays with you for a long time. After a three-part lecture is forgotten and the list of principles and practical applications have faded, an interesting story is still planted in your mind. Not every story needs to be told, but stories help to inform who we become and what we do.

The stories that form the content of this book are partly the offspring of my own personal story. Some stories go back further to my own school days, years teaching school and raising a family, living and working in a community group home setting, and counseling in private practice. Although most of them are more than two decades old, I am telling them now because they still have relatable value and may provide hope and inspiration to those who help others and those who are reaching out for hope. Like fine wine, the value of history is only appreciated after a season of fermentation.