Castaway Kid: One Man's Search for Hope and Home (Focus on the Family Books)

This is a compelling true story of abandonment, anger, forgiveness and hope. Although it is hard to read what really happened you know that it did and the author overcame all odds through his relationship with God.

This is a real page turner. I finished it in a weekend and my wife stayed up half the night finishing it. She said "I couldn't put it down".

I saw myself in so many of Rob's struggles as a youth and a young man. My situation was far more normal than his and yet the challenges for self acceptance and the stuggle to do the right thing were the same.

I highly recomend this to both young and not so young who want to be encouraged. God is clearly in control in Rob's life (and mine) in spite of circumstances.

Having been in the service of serving abandoned, behaviorally disturbed children and adolescents for 32 years, I was able to reminisce and find memories explicity tied to this book. The messages are accurate, profound, and direct. The chapters relive one man's story but the themes are multiplied by the number of kids in care from yesterday to the present and the stories are wide and varied. There are many stories in the lives of children from both yesteryear to this present day and age.The names change and the faces are different but the broken body and mind are still evident today. When one reads this book you become acutely aware of why behavior, emotion,identity, can go awry. All of the clinical terminology which labels children in placement existed then and still does today. What is remarkable and I have seen it over and over is that there are those who "will" to live, who "will" to grow, who never give up. Out of all the chaos emerges a Rob Mitchell and there are numbers upon numbers who, in spite of the many abuses and neglect, rise to become vibrant creative human beings like he has. This is a story of one of them. And, of so many of the children I have seen rise out of their pathology and into health, I have also seen a remarkable closeness to an abiding faith. Rob Mitchell is a man of that faith. Castaway Kid is just one of many castaway kids. What a wonderful read.
David Carlson MSW, LCSW

I really enjoyed this book. Being from Chicago as well, I felt an ever closer connection to the author and his story. I had a real hard time putting it down and I had to keep tissue close by whenever I was reading it. As a Mother, it was especially heart wrenching to read some of the thoughts and emotions the author experienced as a child. Such wonderful writing and expression - always feeling the emotion the author was sharing. I would highly recommend it! I passed it onto a friend after I was done with it - so the enjoyment could be passed on!

Inspired by a young man, who struggles to survive his youth and overcome his circumstances - will leave you with a renewed sense of God's amazing plan for us all. I have found this boy coming to mind long after the book was finished. I have given it twice as gifts, and both people called to thank me once they had read it.

I cannot imagine the heart-breaking anguish three-year-old Robbie experienced as he realized that his mother had left him in care in an American orphanage. With no determined or date of return, his mother drifted in and out of his life as he struggled to grasp hold of any sense of normality, security, or love.

Though some form of stability was provided by regular visits from his maternal grandmother and a caring housemother, the deep emotional wounds left by parental abandonment led to feelings of deep rebellion, anger, and dejection. Once his mentally ill mother gave up her parental rights Robbie held out hope that his wealthy paternal relatives would adopt him. Their rejection cut him to the quick and plunged him into a state of desperation during his teen years.

Castaway Kid chronicles the autobiographical reflections of author R.B. Mitchell, who spent nearly his entire childhood in care within an orphanage. Writing in simple, strikingly transparent prose, Mitchell lays bare the wounds created by repeated abandonment and rejection by his family. His would be a truly heart-rending story were it not for an adoption that came once his childhood years were passed.

Mitchell was adopted into the family of God, accepting the Father's promise to be home for him; to provide him with a never-faltering source of love, stability, and identity. Guided by His spirit through the process of deep forgiveness for those who forsook him, Mitchell was able to move forward into a new life including a wife and children as he learned to trust and love. Coming from an orphanage with dismal outcomes for its long term residents, Mitchell's life stands out as wildly successful. A college graduate and participant in international missions, Mitchell is now a well established financial consultant and motivational speaker.

The icing on the cake in any autobiography are photographs of the author. Castaway Kidprovides pictures of the author's family, from his childhood, of the orphanage he called home, his college years, and his own family. I rejoice for the work that God has done in the author's life. Thankfully everyone can experience the personal love of the creator of the universe, whether orphaned, empty or confused, His free grace available to all comers.

Life in an orphanage is no longer a cultural reality here in North America, but remains a fact of life for millions of children worldwide. Though Mitchell never draws parallels between his life as a castaway kid and that of today's domestic and international orphans, one can't help but make the connection. God's heart is one of adoption, of love and of reconciliation. The story of Mitchell's life brings the emotional desolation these beloved children experience into sharp focus and embodies the spirit of adoption that God longs to engender in his followers. While Mitchell may be one of the last "lifers" from the American adoption system, we should remember the children waiting for families in foster homes and orphanages worldwide.

This book was easy to read and understand. It should be read by every young person in children's home, in the foster system, in juvenile detention, and those with an incarcerated parent. Even those of us who never suffered any of those hardships, can learn an important lesson in forgiving those who have hurt us.

Wonderful book. Would recommend this book to any age group. Very touching and inspiring story.

Castaway Kid is a wonderful autobiography for anyone similarly struggling in life with circumstances beyond their control. If you think adult struggles are overwhelming, think how you'd be able to handle them as a child, when age works against you as you try to improve your situation with intelligent questions for the only adults supposed to take care of you. This is an inspirational Horatio Alger story: the kind of story that reminds you how well you have it in a free society, but where people still make mistakes and others suffer as a consequence, notwithstanding the best of intentions of some who want to help.
Full disclosure here: I also went to school with Mr. Mitchell at Guilford. But I had only a limited knowledge of his childhood and the circumstances of his parents and the two grandmothers. The details in this book were things he certainly kept private in the dorm and on campus. And I never would have guessed how irreligious he was until his epiphany. I like to think that some of the friendships he made at Guilford helped stabilize his renewed faith in mankind, even if only secondary to his faith in God. All his struggles as an adult obviously pale compared to what he had to go through as a child. But as an inspirational and motivational story, it is a very pleasant read, indeed.

Too often we read about children lost in the system and of others who have been so beaten down that they never recover. Thus I found this book to be a refreshing change. Filled with hope, Rob eloquently shares his story of surviving and thriving, against all odds. I know people who lived in Princeton and have confirmed the details of Rob's story. Thank God for the Gigis and Nolas in the world who care for kids like Rob. Thanks, Rob, for baring your soul.