Mandy Lemond

Author Mandy Lemond is a former foster child turned Emmy Award- winning TV producer. At just seven years old, Lemond was raped by her father and left her for dead; that same night, he murdered little Mandy's mother.

Lemond's father's crime left the Kentucky native a true orphan. She aged out of foster care after spending more than 11 years in a group home. Lemond recalls, “I went to college with $5 to my name." With the same tenacity she used to overcome her childhood trauma, she graduated on time from Eastern Kentucky University and was immediately hired by the local NBC affiliate as a TV reporter. Lemond continued to beat the odds – statistically only 3% of foster youth have a college degree.

Lemond's life finally seemed perfect, until December 2020, when her foster-adopted son, high on drugs, shot into the wrong home. The unintended target nearly died, the gunfire blinding the then five year-old. Lemond’s near 20-year marriage crumbled. She found herself divorced, a son in jail and facing homelessness.

But, with the same determination she garnered as a child, Lemond found a new purpose. She developed the 5-method, which is featured in her memoir, "The Fostered One."

Lemond now serves globally, speaking to divorcees, parents, and children of those incarcerated, as well as those coping with post-traumatic stress disorder.