Richard Oden

My Full Life Circle, Squared Richard Oden

This is a very unique story. I grew up in the foster care system in the state of Alabama until being adopted at age twelve. Eighteen years later my life came full circle as my wife and I officially became foster parents to three beautiful children. While they were in our care, I got deployed to Afghanistan with the air force, and my wife had our firstborn biological child while I was overseas! On January 29, 2016, twenty-two years after I got adopted out of foster care, my life came full circle again as my wife and I adopted those three children out of foster care! While deployed, I wrote most of my book, My Full Life Circle Squared, which came out on Veterans Day, November 11, which was also National Adoption Month. It is a foster care/adoption story, but it is also a military story as well. Some of the real and significant sacrifices of our military members do, indeed, endure. This is a very inspirational story blessed by God! I have many life experiences that so many people can relate to. I talk about sleeping in the back of cars, not having my father in my life, getting married to my middle-school sweetheart, us having three miscarriages, being in foster care, getting adopted, being a foster parent, being an adoptive parent, money, and much more! I hope my story paints the picture of the providence of God and his will in my life and how he put me in foster care so that one day I could, indeed, inspire, encourage, motivate, and minister to others! I encourage others to help fatherless children by considering fostering/adoption and encourage our military as well!