Saty Cornelius grew up in a fostering family—her parents have fostered more than 50 children. She is one of seven children, including three sisters through adoption. Knowing, hearing and living the stories of some of her foster siblings gave her incredible insight into the trauma, struggles and sometimes unexpected emotions kids in care often experience. The combination of her dream to write a book and her personal connection and passion for foster care has resulted in More to Me, a fictional, but very realistic, story of a teen girl and her younger siblings who find themselves navigating the confusion of foster care.

Anna Kathryn Ellzey knew that as a foster parent she could not share pictures, names or details of the child in her care. But that didn’t stop her from sharing a photo of him and her biological daughter as they sat together—a cute picture of only their legs. She simply wanted to share her joy at having him be part of their family. But she realized that on the other side of their happiness was his birth family’s pain and heartbreak. That’s when she realized that confidentiality was about more than keeping a child’s face hidden: It was about protecting and nurturing his and his birth family’s heart and story.