Subjects:  1. Adoption    2. Children: Babies & Toddlers    3. Family / Parenting / Childbirth    4. Family life    5. Juvenile literature    6. Baby books   

Reviews (53)

A comprehensive & vital foundation
Adam Pertman, CEO of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, gives readers a comprehensive view of how far we have come in adoption reform. Understanding from where we have come is the vital foundation for motivating us to persevere in the areas of adoption in which we all work and strive. Thank you, Adam, for providing the foundation and the impetus to move forward. You have encouraged me in my sphere of influence.

Highly inspirational
Those of you who enjoyed ADOPTION NATION might like to know that public television wants to produce a documentary special inspired by this book.Like Adam's book, "Adoption: An American Revolution" will show the ways in which adoption today is increasingly inclusive, expansive, and affirming; the project will also include Web resources and outreach campaigns to schools and communities.Please visit www.adoptionfilm.org to find out how you can help: we must complete our funding by the end of 2005 or risk losing the project entirely!And keep watching the site - we expect to post new interview materials with Adam Pertman soon.

all families are different
"All families are different," goes the wisdom being taught our children in progressive schools, and Adam Pertman's _Adoption Nation_ explores and celebrates this difference in the particular context of adoptive families in the United States today. His is the most comprehensive general account I have seen of the contemporary redefinition of American family life being effected by adoption (among other forces). Pertman, himself an adoptive parent, opens the way to a brave new world in which affiliation is as valid a means of family formation as filiation. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adoption    2. Family & Relationships    3. Family / Parenting / Childbirth    4. Family/Marriage    5. Sociology - Marriage & Family    6. United States    7. Birth    8. Child welfare    9. Family law    10. USA    11. Family   

Reviews (45)

Mixed...
I definitely have mixed feelings about this book.On one hand, it is an amazing story.I was adopted from Korea, have two other siblings that were adopted, have been involved in adoption groups my entire life and for a time, even worked in an adoption agency, so the book hit close to home in many aspects.I think there were very few pages where I didn't find myself sobbing.And I will also say that throughout reading the book, I would vary from reading the book to trying to persuade my husband to adopt/start the application process! ;)So, those are the reasons why one should read this book.
True Love

A wonderful story.
I'm so glad the author wrote this book. It's the story about the love an orphan has for her best friend, her little baby. It's not something that the average person would choose to pick up, but I love reading adoption stories and this one was fabulous. Anyone who is about to adopt or even thinking about it should read this. It's heartwarming to read about different ways to create a family.
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Subjects:  1. Adoption    2. Family & Relationships    3. Family / Parenting / Childbirth    4. Family/Marriage    5. Inspirational - General    6. Personal Memoirs   

Reviews (7)

Totally awesome
This book is perfect for anyone in the triad.It speaks honestly about how the birth mother and adopted child are effected by adoption.It blames no one - instead it speaks honsestly about how everyone is effected.The adoptive parents are not left out of the equation either.I learned alot about myself and how adoption continues to effect my life today.It gave practical solutions to some of the challenges I still face today.I would recommend this book highly to anyone.
Families Today Not Coerced?
This book is good in many ways, but it has some serious flaws.
A must-read for all adoptee's
I have found Coming Home to Self to be the perfect follow-up to Primal Wound. Whilst Primal Wound acknowledges and unfolds the affect of adoption on the triad members: Coming Home to Self provides members of the triad with the necessary skills to move forward. It provides extensive and perceptive coverage of the issues surrounding adoption and has become my close companion. It can easily be dipped into according to the need of the moment and provides sound advice to the reader. I find Nancy's voice throughout to be at once professional and warm and often find myself smiling at the encouraging, sometimes challenging comments interspersed which second guess what the reader may be thinking, they so often catch me out! This book is the kind of book which takes brokeness, acknowledges it with great empathy and then goes the next step: it provides the guidelines for putting that brokeness back together. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adopted children    2. Adoption    3. Birthmothers    4. Family & Relationships    5. Family / Parenting / Childbirth    6. Family/Marriage    7. Parenting - General    8. Psychological aspects    9. Psychology    10. Psychotherapy - Child & Adolescent   

Reviews (3)

Ugh...
I must say that I was really excited to read this book, which appeared to closely parallel my struggles.What I got, instead, was a sociologists' opinion about why adoption is a bandaid for a massive wound.
Scholarly, Personal, and Lyrical: Great Read

Essential Reading for Transracial Adoptions
As a recent adoptive (white) parent of an African-American infant girl, I found Barbara Katz Rothman's book, Weaving a Family, to be a godsend. In down-to-earth prose, but with the incisive thinking of the sociologist that she is, Katz Rothman takes a bold look at the complexities underlying her own transracial adoption (of her now-15-year-old daughter, Victoria, whom she adopted as an infant) and the phenomenon of transracial adoption in America today. While feeling no less her daughter's mother, she fearlessly explores and exposes the cultural ironies of transracial adoption, and the privilege and responsibility that imposes on those who enter such relationships.
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Subjects:  1. Adoption    2. Case studies    3. Ethnic Studies - General    4. Family    5. Family / Parenting / Childbirth    6. Interracial adoption    7. Minority Studies - Race Relations    8. Race And Ethnic Relations    9. Social Science    10. Sociology    11. Sociology - Marriage & Family    12. United States    13. Family & relationships    14. Social Science / General   

Subjects:  1. Adoptees    2. Adoption    3. Birthparents    4. Family & Relationships    5. Family / Parenting / Childbirth    6. Family/Marriage    7. Great Britain    8. Handbooks, manuals, etc    9. Identification    10. Public records    11. English law: adoption    12. Family & Relationships / Adoption   

Reviews (5)

Practical advice
Finally! Must Read
Wonderfully informative & warmly inspirational;professionally written, and with a great deal of love;a must read for anyone personally touched by or professionally involved in adoption

Real-life solutions
This book does a great job of telling the reader about what really happens in the adoptive process.Read more

Subjects:  1. Adopted children    2. Adoption    3. Adoptive parents    4. Family / Parenting / Childbirth    5. Psychological aspects    6. Psychology    7. Sociology   

Reviews (9)

A good example of the experience
I enjoyed the book much more than I expected to.As part of our adoption process I have read way more adoption stories than I ever really wanted to.After a while the stories seem to run together and it is hard to remember which family did what.But the only way to keep up to date on how things are happening is to stay current on the experiences of those who have made it over and back.
starting the process
As a single professional woman, just starting the international adoption process, I found Margarets words, wisdom and story inspirational and comforting.She and I are a lot alike, and she gives me strength to continue down the path I am choosing.A great read for anyone contemplating and in the process.I'd love to see updated pix of the family...

Very highly recommended
The author vividly recounts her journey to adopt two young boys from Ukraine.The book is very informative for others hoping to adopt from that country; however, even more valuable is the way in which Ms. Schwartz speaks to the joys and fears of anyone considering parenthood for the first time.You'll enjoy reading it the first time through, and then keep it nearby for inspiration as you progress on your own journey. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adoption    2. Family & Relationships    3. Family/Marriage    4. Parenting - Motherhood   

Reviews (7)

Some inaccurate info
This book seems to be more about how to gain a birthmother's trust and confidence in order to get her baby, and how to work the adoption system. In so doing, the book loses sight of the fact that adoption exists in order to provide children with loving homes, not to provide infertile couples with children.
One of the best adoption books I've read
Fast Track Adoption is a wonderful book full of practical advice on everything from how to write a good letter to a prospective birthmother to how to handle the birthmother's hospital stay.I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to anyone considering adopting.

Informative and Relevant Guide to the Adoption Process
If you have to choose just one book to read dealing with adoption issues, this is the best book you could ask for.Read more

Subjects:  1. Adoption    2. Adoption And Adoption Services    3. Family & Relationships    4. Family / Parenting / Childbirth    5. Family/Marriage    6. Parenting - Child Rearing    7. Parenting - General    8. Family & Relationships / Adoption   

Reviews (5)

Very helpful, informative and insightful.
I found this book incredibly helpful as we are beginning our journey of adoptiong a child from China. It clearly walks you through the entire process, but also discusses those issues adopted children will face after the adoption, issues like attachment, grieving, developing a healthy identity.Perhaps what I appreciated most was the more researched based approach to this whole process.They conducted their own study and then drew conclusions based on the few other studies which exist on this topic. I appreciated hearing that the majority of children adopted from China appear to settle well statistically, as opposed to just testimonials (although they also included testimonials which were interesting and helpful).I have read many books which are wonderful emotional tesitmonials, but it was so helpful to have those balanced by a more objective, factual book like this. This was an excellent resource for me.

great book
This book is very enlightening and discusses many issues involved in international adoption as well as outcomes for children adopted internationally.Would be helpful to mental health workers, pediatricians and prospective adoptive parents as well as those who already have adoptive children!

A well-researched review of adoption issues.
The Amazon book description gives a good overview of the topics covered, but it fails to convey the careful manner in which information is delivered in the book.The authors rely not only on their own research (the methodology and limits of which they describe), but also rely on other published studies.The authors note that the studies on adoption of Chinese children were done recently, and are few in number.The authors, however, refer to studies involving other adopted children (particularly Korean children) in an effort to predict some answers regarding older children.While the book relies heavily on research publications, it also uses adoptive parent comments to help illustrate points.Read more

Subjects:  1. Adoption    2. Adoptive parents    3. Attitudes    4. China    5. Family & Relationships    6. Family / Parenting / Childbirth    7. Family/Marriage    8. General    9. Intercountry adoption    10. Sociology    11. United States    12. Child welfare    13. Family & Relationships / General    14. Multicultural studies   

Reviews (21)

finally
I read this book twice I liked it so much. I found many books minimized the struggle of raising adopted children and focussed too much on only the positive. Although I have not raised any adopted children myself I do plan on it after I finish university. After reading many books I knew it couldn't be as flowery as they put it. Although I am sure no book could truly prepare anyone for the realities of raising childeren it can help you understand where things are comming from. If nothing else I have a greater respect for the adoptive family because of this book!!!

Dead-on
My wife and I adopted a 5 and 7 yr old from Russia in Sept 2004.They have been diagnosed as mildly RAD, but RAD nonetheless.RAD is Reactive Attachment Disorder for those of you just beginning a path to adoption of older children.I can say from first-hand experience of the past six months that what Keck has written is true, verified and helpful in many ways.I would highly recommend this as a read while you are CONSIDERING adopting older children, domestic or otherwise.It is best to be prepared and accepting of the conditions that you will likely face before you suddenly realize what's going on with your child(ren).Between Keck and Nancy Thomas (When Love is Not Enough), your preparation for dealing with the behaviors that will sooner or later emerge will be rewarded in your ability to maintain some sanity in your home.You are also welcome to view our online story at http://www.hakpenguin.com/adoption_news.cfm

A Landmark Book on Attachment & Adoption
Two years ago, we assumed guardianship of my husband's troubled 12-year old niece. She was my husband's sister's child and came from a "House of Horrors." Every conceivable problem existed. Drug abuse, domestic violence, sick pornography, sibling incest, severe parental neglect, sarcasm, ridicule, brutality and denial. She came from the inner city, to our sheltered, happy home in the suburbs. It was akin to someone moving to a foreign country. Fortunately, I read "Adopting the Hurt Child." The book was a lifesaver. I do not exaggerate. Social workers and incompetent therapists seemed to blame us for her problems, (and we hadn't had her for even a year). The authors said this is common. Adoptive parents take the heat for the original family's neglect. The authors nailed every single issue, or problem, with razor sharp accuracy. Our niece is an actress with attachment issues. She wears masks. She plots, she cannot "be." She was never taught real love or how to be with people. Her presence in our household really shook us to the core. She acted coquettish and manipulative with my husband; snide to me (the mom). I do not see the book as negative, but as candid. Love isn't always enough. Movies may have happy endings, but real life is altogether different. Sometimes, these children do not get better. At least, empowered with the advice of this book, you can seek better therapy treatments, know what kind of therapist to hire, and sniff out the bad ones immediately. Now, two years later, we found an attachment therapist. This terrific therapist cannot be manipulated. She is both tough and compassionate. We made more progress with her -- in three sessions, than our niece did with a sex abuse counselor in a year. Our niece still has many problems, and time will tell. We are hanging in there. And I still reference this book. It's just superb. God bless both the authors. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adoption    2. Adoption And Adoption Services    3. Children with Special Needs    4. Family & Relationships    5. Family / Parenting / Childbirth    6. Family/Marriage    7. Older child adoption    8. Sociology    9. Special needs adoption    10. United States    11. Christian ministry & pastoral activity   

Reviews (2)

Great information
Discusses all sorts of issues on a high level.Great introduction to issues that may come up in adoption!And it isn't "scary.";)

Down-to-earth advice (at a great price!)
The bargain pricetag notwithstanding, this is one of the best parenting books I've ever read.It's concise but comprehensive, covering domesticand international adoption issues, special needs topics, open adoption, anda host of other important matters related to building happy, healthyadoptive families.I found the material on interracial and internationaladoption issues to be among the book's strongest features; the authoroffers great advice for sensitively answering kids' questions,straightforwardly dealing with nosy strangers, and maximizing the joy ofbeing a multicultural family. An excellent resource. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adopted children    2. Adoption    3. Adoption And Adoption Services    4. Child Care/Parenting    5. Family / Parenting / Childbirth    6. Family And Child Development    7. Parenting    8. Family & Relationships / Adoption   

Editorial Review

When 23-year-old Sarah Saffian picked up the phone in January 1993 and heard a woman's voice on the other end say, "I think I'm your birth mother," she embarked on a journey both longed for and feared by almost all adopted children, the parents who raised them, and the ones who gave them up. Saffian's case was unusual: her birth parents eventually married and had three more children, her full-blood siblings. She honestly depicts her feelings of wariness and sometimes annoyance as they gently pressed her for a reunion. It was three years before Saffian felt ready to visit Hannah Morgan and Adam Leyder. Read more

Reviews (70)

Adopted daughter knows not what she is doing - forgive her
The story of Sarah Saffian (born Sarah Morgan but given up for adoption) is a story of promise but one that quickly drizzles down into one long whine.Imagine the luck of finding that the parents who had to give you up stuck together against all odds (parents' wishes, lack of money), eventually married, and produced three siblings for you!How often does such a thing evenhappen????Is our didactic, deliberating, depressed daughter delighted by her parents' phone call at age 23?No, indeed, and the reader must, it seems, be dragged through all her misery, too.Her parents are alive, healthy,in their mid-40's, married, employed, financially stabled, and educated.They adore their children and are totally welcoming to the daughter that they had to give up in 1969, dark pre-legal-abortion days.Does she accept, jump on the bus and go?Oh, no!
The "other" Mother's Review
Recently, I was reunited with my daughter whom I gave up to adoption 34 years ago.I was unprepared for what this reunion would do to my life and the roller-coaster emotions that came to the forefront of our "relationship".After our "honeymoon" phase ended after much emotional and verbal conflict (and all contact between us ceased), I began to reach out for help.Many of the "other" Mom's suggested this book.
Why not use the truth?
What I don't understand about this book is how it and the Amazon reviewers of it can be so brainwashed by the adoption industry that they do not respect Sarah Saffian's natural parents as being such.The demeaning word "birth mother" is used not only throughout Sarah's book but also in reviews of it.In addition, Sarah seems to refuse to acknowledge her parents as what they really are: her parents.Sarah's lack of thinking for herself and her inability to understand and respect natural family relationships is sad indeed.May she one day take a few steps away from denial and from the adoption industry, which she obviously supports, and realize how terrible mother and child separation is.I'd like to read the book that she writes after she wakes up from her adoption fantasy. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adoptees    2. Adoption    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Birthparents    8. Identification    9. Personal Memoirs    10. United States    11. Women    12. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (2)

Transnational Adoption: Beyond a Singular Lens?
This edited collection by Toby Volkman has a fair few adoptive parents (who are academically working as anthropologists) playing the roles of interrogators, interpreters and story tellers of this global phenomenon. Sometimes the object of their analysis is their own community (adoptive parents) and sometimes it is Others (birth parents, the overseas children they adopt).
Mapping Transnational Adoption
Toby Volkman, editor of this volume and an anthropologist, describes the uncharted territory and cultures that transnational adoption is fast creating as the "new geographies of kinship."Indeed, the contributors to this thoughtful volume examine with courage and carefully grounded research, difficult subjects, such as the motivations of birth mothers in relinquishing their children to international adoption, or the struggles of adoptive parents and their children as they seek to constitute new identities despite minimal cultural knowledge of their children's country, gaps in memory, and the absence of connections with birth parents.The themes range widely to include the power of the internet in shaping popular representations of international adoption; the ways in which mythologies and fantasies confront realities as adoptive children make return journeys to their country of origin; and changing national policies of sending countries as they reconsider the stigma they once associated with mixed children adopted internationally who were the product of love and war.The contributors pay close attention to the larger political and economic forces that frame the contradictions and struggles entailed by transnational adoption.At the same time that they do not fall into the trap of romantic narratives of rescuing children, they are sympathetic to the good faith efforts of families to make sense of a world for which few road maps are available.Most, but not all, of the authors are adoptive parents themselves and therefore do not lose sight of the positioning and perspectives underlying the ethics and practices of all the actors and institutions involved in these journeys.This is first-rate ethnography.The book is beautifully edited and well-written; the language is accessible; and many first-hand accounts are offered.I recommend this book highly to anyone interested in gaining a solid introduction to the complexity of the issues involved in transnational adoption, as well as to readers more generally interested inkinship, marriage, and the family. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adoption    2. Children's Studies    3. Cognition and culture    4. Emigration & Immigration    5. Family & Relationships    6. Family / Parenting / Childbirth    7. Family/Marriage    8. Intercountry adoption    9. Kinship    10. Transnationalism    11. Anthropology    12. Anthropology/Ethnography    13. Cultural Studies    14. Gender Studies/Feminist Theory   

Reviews (1)

Adopt your baby using this book
If you want to adopt a baby, this is the book you need, covering where are the infants who need parents, how much it costs to adopt, how to use the Internet (and what to watch out for), what you need to know about foreign and domestic adoption, what's the home study like, and much more. Very practical and very hands-on advice! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adoption    2. Family & Relationships    3. Family / Parenting / Childbirth    4. Family/Marriage    5. Advice on parenting    6. USA   

Subjects:  1. Adoption    2. Conduct of life    3. Family & Relationships    4. Family/Marriage    5. Inspirational    6. Motivational & Inspirational    7. Quotations, maxims, etc    8. Family & Relationships / Adoption   

Reviews (4)

There are much better sources of information than this book!
As a professional writer and editor, I know how much work it is to write a book -- so I hate to say "This is a lousy book" when the author has obviously made an honest effort to share her knowledge in writing.That said, I'll go ahead and say "This is a lousy book."Maybe it was once the best book on adoptive breastfeeding because it was the only book on adoptive breastfeeding, but now there are better -- much better -- sources of information for women who want to breastfeed their adopted babies. The only really helpful book of its kind out there.
This is an excellent book that covers many different areas of breastfeeding the adopted baby.Although I have decided not to do so, this book would really help someone who chooses to breastfeed.It would even be a good book for anyone that is having trouble breastfeeding their biological child.It does seem a little repetitive and disorganized, but that is minor compared with the fact that it is a much-needed resource!

Excellent book!Best I was able to find!
As an adoptive parent who nursed her newborn, I have looked everywhere for any information on it.I was sorely disappointed in the lack of information and support that I was able to find on adoptivebreastfeeding...until I got this book.As a childbirth educator and doula,I do volenteer work for a shelter in which I deal with adoption quite alot...I recommend this book whenever I work with an adoptive parent wantingto nurse her baby.This is the best book on adoptive breastfeeding that Iam aware of.--Stephanie SoderblomCD(DONA) ICD ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adoption    2. Breastfeeding    3. Child Care/Parenting    4. Family / Parenting / Childbirth    5. Trees   

Reviews (25)

Satisfied customer
The book arrived in a timely manner and in excellent condition as promised.Thank you.

great book
I liked this book written in the voice of a 9 year old girl, a very mature girl, I hope my daughter will enjoy reading this in the future, I enjoyed reading it.

An informative and touching resource for our children
This book gives us an inside look at an orphanage in Hunan Province and a young girl's homeland trip. It is full of big, color photographs from inside an orphanage, which is such a rare treat. Our 2 1/2 yr-old loves this book and loves all the pictures of the babies and the nannies. When it comes time to talk with our daughter about other issues surrounding her adoption, this book will be a valuable resource. In Ying Ying's own voice we hear about the one-child policy, infant abandonment and adoption.
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Subjects:  1. Adoption    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    3. Family - Adoption    4. Family - General    5. Family/Marriage    6. Chinese Americans    7. Biography & Autobiography    8. Orphans    9. China    10. Orphanages    11. Ethnic - Asian American    12. Intercountry adoption    13. General   

Reviews (12)

Thinking About Adoption
I have not read the entire book, but it is a book that has made me think at most is adoption really for me and at least I would have to really think about things.

Priceless
This book has been absolutely priceless in my journey toward adoption.The exercises are beneficial and the information is straightforward and unbiased.Best of all, it's written by someone who, like me, is single and career-oriented but made it work.This has not only helped me, but I shared it with my family and it helped them to understand just what I'm going through.

Be PREPARED!
I bought this book in order to research a report I was writing and presenting to a sociology class on the the topic of Single Parent Adoption. It was a fantastic source of information on many levels. When I was pregnant, I scoured the pages of every pregnancy and newborn book I could get my hands on. If one is looking to adopt a child, this bookis much like those informative "what to expect" baby books.
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Subjects:  1. Adoption    2. Family & Relationships    3. Family / Parenting / Childbirth    4. Family/Marriage    5. Handbooks, manuals, etc    6. Parenting - General    7. Single parents    8. United States   

Reviews (1)

A bestseller in Spain
This is lovely book about a woman now in her late 30's, adopted at the age of 6 by a Catalan couple, searching for her birth family in India. Very sensitively written, with great respect both for her adoptive parents (entries from her adoptive mother's journal form a part of the book) and her birth parents, about whom she discovers a great deal. A must for all adoptive families and recommended for anyone interested in Indian culture. This book was a huge bestseller in Spain and documentaries and a followup book have also been written by Ms. Miro. I have not read the English version; I hope it does the book justice. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adoptees    2. Adoption    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography And Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Catalonia    9. India    10. Personal Memoirs    11. Spain    12. Women    13. Biography & Autobiography / General