African American Police Officer and foster care survivor takes a stand against abuse in the foster care system with his new book
"Is There any Love Down Back? The Four Boys"

Author recalls childhood with abusive foster parents and eventual rise to success in the police force.

(AANEWSWIRE)During this National Foster Care Month(May), Alexander O'Neil has chosen to release his story and new book as well as launch his national tour as a speaker to give hope to the millions of children in foster care who suffer at the hands of abusive parents. Even though he suffered the sting of abusive foster parents, O'Neil rose above the adversity, he found many ways to help others, and in turned he helped himself heal from the wounds.

African American police officer and foster care survivor Alexander O'Neil and his brothers were some of the unfortunate children without parents who were subjected to a life of violence and abuse, which they suffered in silence. In his new book, "Is There Any Love Down Back? The Four Boys" that silence is broken as he takes readers on a tour through the Hell he knew as home.

This book is riveting - with reflections of a foster system that for some has great promise, but for others, there are deep pitfalls of abuse in a system that has over 500,000 children in foster care. Abuse in foster care is more widespread than people imagine and children of color are overrepresented in the system: Here are some facts:

African-American children make up approximately two thirds of the foster care population and remain in care longer.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services documents that the abuse, neglect, and fatalities of children in foster care is significantly higher than in parental homes.

Also, once in care, children of color receive fewer familial visits, fewer contacts with caseworkers, fewer written case plans, and fewer developmental or psychological assessments.

"I wrote this book to encourage people to protect kids in foster care and to try to identify, prevent or stop the abuse of children, no matter what their race or background, in foster homes." says Alexander, who celebrates his 32 years on the police force and being committed to protecting the lives of others. "While there are thousands of good foster homes, there are still too many bad foster homes that abuse and sometimes kill our children."

Is There Any Love Down Back? takes readers on a whirlwind tour through the childhood of four boys who grew up under horrible foster care in Massachusetts. O'Neil and his brothers -Tony, the oldest; Arnold, O'Neil's twin; and Michael, the youngest -endured the harsh treatment of four foster families. The book begins in 1948 at the home of the first family he remembers. His foster parents replaced love with violence, and the boys were constantly beaten and humiliated. O'Neil suffered a head injury at the hands of his cruel foster mother that still bothers him today.

The boys spent four years in these conditions before being moved to another foster care family. Ruled by a stern, vicious matriarch, the house was more a den for punishment than a home. O'Neil and his brothers were beaten and scolded for every little infraction, starved, neglected and humiliated. Nearly every day, even in the winter, they were forced to stay "down back" in the woods until they were called for supper. The only kindness seemed to come from their foster father, who seemed to take a particular interest in Arnold. However, O'Neil learned later that this man repeatedly molested and violated Arnold, which only compounded the horrific experiences that littered their childhood. Throughout, the boys stuck together remembering forgotten birthdays, sneaking food to starving siblings and defending each other as they grew older.

After spending his first 16 years in foster care, O'Neil was placed with biological relatives in Springfield, Mass. In 1963, he enlisted in the Marines and served for four years, which included a tour in Vietnam. After his discharge, he moved back to Springfield and worked odd jobs before joining the police force. He is currently a Police Officer, assigned to the Detective Bureau Burglary Squad in Springfield, MA, and due to retire in August 2005 after 32 years of service and numerous commendations for outstanding service to the community and police force. He has three children.

Alexander O'Neil's book may be purchased at local bookstores as well as popular book chains such as Border's and Barnes and Nobles. It can also be purchased via the web at Amazon.com. O'Neil may also be booked as a speaker for special events and conferences, by going to the UnityFirst.com speaker's bureau (www.unityFirst.com, 413-734-6444) and interviews with the author may be arranged by calling (413) 204-2882 or by sending email to oneilalexo@aol.com.