{"product_id":"tumbleweeds-how-to-be-an-advocate-for-your-children-and-yourself-in-a-failing-system-9798992286212","title":"Tumbleweeds: How to be an Advocate for Your Children and Yourself in a Failing System","description":"Systems are designed to solve problems. This book examines what happens when they don't.\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eTumbleweeds\u003c\/em\u003e is a clear-eyed, unapologetic examination of what happens when families are expected to navigate broken systems quietly and instead choose to speak up.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThrough the births of her three sons and the years that followed, Paula Yost documents her experience navigating pregnancy, healthcare, education, and child welfare systems that routinely dismiss women's voices and penalize necessary advocacy. Medical decisions are second-guessed. Parental expertise is minimized. Speaking up is reframed as being difficult rather than responsible.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSpanning medical gaslighting, high-pressure birth narratives, special education battles, foster care and adoption, and the cultural contradictions imposed on working mothers, \u003cem\u003eTumbleweeds\u003c\/em\u003e exposes how institutions protect themselves at the expense of families. Yost writes without apology, documenting what many mothers are expected to endure in silence.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is not a parenting manual. It is a case study in informed resistance, accountability, and the power of becoming an advocate for your children and for yourself when no one else will.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor readers who have been told to trust systems that break down in real time, \u003cem\u003eTumbleweeds\u003c\/em\u003e offers clarity, direction, and hope. It shows how frustration becomes strategy and experience becomes confident, effective advocacy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Yost Media\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/27\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798992286212\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 186\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.89lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.56d","brand":"Paula J. Yost","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52403632963765,"sku":"9798992286212","price":23.79,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_4cb043b6-9373-4e6b-93e9-d9bc292a657c.jpg?v=1774970046","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/tumbleweeds-how-to-be-an-advocate-for-your-children-and-yourself-in-a-failing-system-9798992286212","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}