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Have you read Flying Solo by Julia Wise? I believe her child was primary age, not without his share of emotional baggage, but essentially life affirming and positive.You do need to bear in mind that older children are often able to articulate their losses, or else act out their grief and anger in other less easy to manage ways. I quite see the need to get a balance in your reading, otherwise you'd be too scared to act, but it needs to acknowledge that our children have gone through more in their short lives than most of us have, and that these losses and traumas leave an indelible mark. For my DS (funny, handsome, charming, clever), I think of it as him being 'hardwired' from infancy to see the world as a scary dangerous place - it makes him anxious, bolshy, controlling, and at times hard to parent. If I had not understood this from the outset, and had expected all to be smooth sailing, I'd maybe not have coped as well as I have.

YepThe negative sounding 'boy who was raised as a dog'By Bruce perryIs a superbly uplifting, realistic and does t pull punches but very focused on learning stuff and moving forward. Honestly, unlike the other other books that can be a bit dryI couldn't put it down

Pear Tree is right . The Boy who was raised a dog is brilliant. Its a hope giving book. The title is a bit too sensational so I nea rly didn't buy it because of it,, but its written by a genius in his field. Its by Bruce Perry.

Like Bovary, i have got to recommend Flying Solo - easy to read, funny, and a very common sense approach.

Merci

Was recommended 'Creating Loving Attachments' (Dan Hughes) both at prep course and by my SW and am about to finish reading it. It is a little hard at times, a little seemingly obvious at others, but where I am now (mid-intros with a 7+y old) I can see how much it's helping me think 'in parallel' and react to challenges in new ways.Also look up Ross Greene on Youtube, as well as videos related to 'attachment disorder', 'challenging behaviour' or any keyword which sounds about right. Makes a nice change from reading books.If you just want a light fun warming story, go for 'Flying Solo' as others have suggested. Everything else is pretty much purely about the challenges you're likely to face. Personally I find that they are life-affirming in the sense that they help see solutions rather than problems – and could be life-saving when you are facing these challenges!Bonne chance !