A Child’s Need for Belonging

An hour-long speech about how the failures of the child welfare system cause irreparable harm to children by severing their ties to family and community, as told through the process of reporting We Were Once A Family.

Ethically Reporting on Trauma

This is currently formatted as a workshop but could be tweaked into a speech and Q&A format, aimed at journalists, and delving into the ethics of reporting on traumatized people, using a framing of power instead of objectivity, and how to take care of secondary trauma from the job.

The Law’s Role in Separating Families

This is a speech focused on lawyers and people in law school, explaining how problems in family and juvenile courts lead to unnecessarily separating children from their families and criminalizing traumatized children.

“‘We Were Once a Family’ examines how the foster care system failed the Hart siblings”

We Were Once a Family wins the 2024 Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction

We Were Once a Family wins the 2023 National Book Critics Circle for Nonfiction

“Los Angeles Times Announces Winners of 44th Annual Book Prizes”

New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice “10 New Books We Recommend This Week”

We Were Once a Family is featured in book lists from major media outlets including: The Washington Post’s “50 notable works of nonfiction from 2023” and Publishers Weekly‘s “Best Nonfiction Books of 2023″.

“In discussing her book, We Were Once a Family, with students, faculty, and staff of the University of Houston in April 2023, Roxanna demonstrated that she is an exceptional speaker who is able to address very challenging and complex topics in ways that deeply engage with audiences. She is deeply empathetic, and the care and commitment she has to the lives of those she’s written about is both moving and riveting to listen to. This was an exceptional event and I highly recommend Roxanna for further speaking engagements.”

“The St. Edward’s University Department of Social Work in collaboration with the Kozmetsky Center of Public Engagement hosted Roxanna Asgarian for a discussion on her book, We Were Once a Family. Roxanna’s talk generated more student interest and engagement than any event on campus this academic year. Over 100 students voluntarily attended the event. Much like her writing, Roxanna’s approach to speaking is engaging and dynamic. Students noted Roxanna’s ability to tell a complex story in a way that is rooted in empathy, curiosity, and accountability. As much as the students appreciated the book, I believe they had an even greater sense of appreciation for this story and for Roxanna’s work after connecting with her on a personal level. Our faculty were equally as impressed with Roxanna’s engaging and personal presentation style. We absolutely hope to have her back to speak to our campus community.”

“Roxanna participated as a guest speaker at Casey Family Programs’ Judicial Learning Collaborative in 2023. Roxanna gave powerful opening remarks about her book and about how important it is for judges to uncover the hidden stories of families that appear before them in family court. She also engaged in deep dialogue with the judges concerning facets of their own cases, and by drawing upon her own extensive research in the field, illustrated the real-world impact of judicial decision making on children and families. Roxanna’s enthusiasm for this work is infectious, and all of the judges in attendance conveyed their deep appreciation of her contributions to our event and ongoing work.”