Not Exactly As Planned is a captivating, deeply moving account of adoption and the unexpected challenges of raising a child with fetal alcohol syndrome. Linda Rosenbaum’s life takes a major turn when her son, adopted at birth, is diagnosed with irreversible brain damage. With love, hope and all the medical knowledge she can accumulate, she sets out to change his prognosis and live with as much joy as she can while struggling to accept her new reality. Not Exactly As Planned is more than a story of motherlove. It’s about birdwatching, bar mitzvahs, the collision of ’60’s ideals with the real world, family secrets and woodcarving.

"Linda Rosenbaum describes the difficulties of raising her son, adopted at birth and later diagnosed with irreversible damage from fetal alcohol syndrome." --

People affected by a loved one's addiction suffer silently in church pews. I was one of them. I'm Juliet. Sometimes I wish I could be someone else, with another name altogether, someone whose life is more comedy than tragedy. During the twelve years I was married to a cocaine-addicted Christian, I was overwhelmed with isolation and shame as I sat next to my ex-husband in church week after week. No one fathomed our family skeletons. How could I tell anyone? God stirred my spirit to seek personal healing and give voice to my reality. Through Him, I found freedom from silence and redemption for the life dreams I thought were forever lost. Same Dress, Different Day: A Spiritual Memoir of Addiction and Redemption chronicles my journey from victim to victor as I struggled to break free from codependency's suffocating cycle. I learned to see my Savior as the soul mate and provider my chemically dependent spouse could never be. God's healing grace is not only for the addicted, but also for the broken ones who love them.