In this personal essay, Victoria Webb Rutherford shares her experience of fostering and adopting two boys who had suffered from complex trauma. She reflects on the challenges and joys of parenting children with unique challenges, and how her faith and family history helped her along the way. She also explores the meaning of grafting wild branches into a tame olive tree, as described in the Book of Mormon.

This essay by Victoria Webb Rutherford received first place in the 2023 BYU Studies personal essay contest.

You can read this personal essay for free at https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/wild-fruit/