Stay shares my experience stepping into Kinship Foster Care when a child in my extended family needed a safe home. It explores trauma-informed caregiving, childhood trauma, and the steady work of remaining when walking away might seem easier.
I’m Mary Wills, the author of Stay, and I created this website to offer reflections on caregiving, healing, and everyday hope. Whether you are a parent, caregiver, educator, therapist, or someone seeking support for caregivers navigating childhood trauma, I hope these pages offer clarity, reassurance, and a deeper understanding of how connection fosters healing.
Stay explores what it means to remain steady in the midst of uncertainty. It reflects the realities of kinship caregiving, including the moments when exhaustion sets in and thoughts of kinship care quitting quietly surface. It also honors the slow, faithful work of healing. Over time, I will share reflections inspired by this journey and everyday life, especially for those walking the path of Kinship Foster Care or supporting children affected by trauma.
About Me
I am Mary Wills, a storyteller at heart and the author of Stay. This book grew out of my own journey through trauma, caregiving, and the lessons that healing brings. I wrote my story in the hope that it might offer understanding, companionship, or simply a moment of connection along the way.
While Stay is a memoir, it is also more than a story. Throughout the book, I share practical tips and reflections, not as instructions, but as gentle offerings shaped by lived experience. I wanted to share what I learned along the way, in the hope that it may offer clarity or support to someone else.
Stay is not a manual. It is a companion, a reminder that even in the hardest seasons, choosing to stay can change everything.
