Foster kids don't need a solution. They need someone who stays. The Ones Who Stayed is a deeply human, quietly redemptive collection of parables that traces the fragile, sacred intersections between foster children and the adults who orbit their lives. Told through the reflective voice of The Counselor, each story explores a single thread in the life of a boy named Johnny-a child shaped more by grief than rebellion, more by abandonment than defiance. Teachers, foster parents, therapists, and school staff each face their own reckoning: Will I stay? Will I see beyond the behavior? Will I try again? More than a book about foster care, this is a book about presence. About the strength it takes to keep showing up. About the power of attunement over answers. And about what happens-not when we fix a child-but when we refuse to flinch. Each narrative immerses the reader into emotionally honest moments, revealing the raw tension between weary adults and wounded children-and the small miracles that unfold when someone chooses to see past the labels and stay anyway. Whether you've parented, taught, mentored, or simply loved a child from hard places, The Ones Who Stayed speaks to your heart. It won't offer easy solutions. But it will offer something just as powerful: hope. The kind of hope that doesn't speak loudly or demand change, but instead shows up quietly, sits in the silence, and whispers: "I still see you. I'm not leaving." About The Counselor Series The Ones Who Stayed is part of The Counselor Parables series-a unique literary ecosystem designed to bring clarity, compassion, and healing to some of life's hardest topics. At its foundation are story-driven parables like this one, which gently introduce difficult and often misunderstood issues through human encounter, not clinical jargon. These parables invite the reader into the sacred space where brokenness meets presence and where real transformation begins. In companion self-help books Dr Chuck draws from the parables to offer clear, practical guidance-breaking the journey of healing and growth into thoughtful, accessible steps. These books are ideal for individuals, families, and professionals who want deeper insight into the emotional and relational dynamics beneath the stories. Each parable is crafted with care-infused with narrative heart, psychological depth, and a redemptive worldview. These stories don't shout. They lean in and listen. Like The Counselor himself, they do not preach or persuade. Instead, they hold space-space for brokenness, space for redemption, and space for readers to reflect, feel, and be changed. Written in rich, narrative prose and anchored in emotionally resonant dialogue, The Ones Who Stayed invites you into the lived experience of foster children, not through statistics or policy-but through presence. Through the power of seeing, staying, and being with. Who This Book Is For Foster parents and adoptive families Teachers, social workers, and school counselors Therapists, mentors, and ministry leaders Anyone who loves, lives with, or advocates for children from hard places And anyone who has ever wrestled with the question: Is it worth staying? If you've ever wondered how to keep loving when it's hard... If you've ever needed courage to stay when leaving feels easier... If you've ever longed to see through a child's behavior to their heart... Then The Ones Who Stayed was written for you. Let the stories unfold. Let them speak. And above all-let them remind you: You are not alone. And staying still matters.
