Adoption Books

This book is a concise, yet detailed book into the world of international adoption. The author does a magnificent job of outlining what prospective adoptive parents (PAPs) can expect...and what NOT to expect. She also provides tips/hints to avoid the traps set by unethical agencies (such as baiting parents with photolistings of adorable babies.)

I wish I read this book BEFORE we started our adoption journey in April 2006. We ended up loving and losing three sons by using a fraud in the adoption industry. The co-owner of the agency, Orson Mozes, has feld the country and is charged with 62 felonies. His wife and co-owner of the agency, Christen Brown, although not charged criminally is facing civil litigation(RICO).

You can read about our adoption nightmare [...]. I also have a blog devoted to fighting adoption fraud and there are many well-known advocates who are contributing writers on the blog: [...]

Well done! A MUST read for EVERY PAP!

"Inside the Adoption Agency" provides an informative description of the unique processes, challenges, and systems which influence international adoption. Her use of real life stories from around the globe illustrate important points and yield an engaging treatment of her subject matter.

Cristi Hillis, The CoMission for Children at Risk

This book is an excellent resource for anyone interested in international adoption-prospective adoptive parents and professionals alike. Written by Jean Nelson Erichsen, the cofounder of the first international adoption agency in Texas, it gives the reader a clear understanding of the history of international adoption, how international adoption agencies work, and the challenges they face on a day-to-day basis. One point that comes through loud and clear is the difficulty these agencies have dealing with the whims of foreign governments. The anecdotal stories that are added throughout the book to illustrate key issues help keep the reader's interest. The last chapter, Predicting the Future of International Adoption, is extremeley informative for anyone considering international adoption today. Its explanation of the Hague Convention, how it came about, and what its impact will be on future adoptions will give prospective adoptive parents a better understanding of where international adoption is going and what they may face on their journey to adopt their child.

I found this book very informative and easy to read. It provides a good insight into the adoption practice from all angles start to finish as well as historical information into organized adoption. We are adding this book to our new employee orientation as well as use their other book "How to Adopt Internationally". Inside the Adoption Agency provides information on the new Hague regulations. I highly recommend both books to families considering international adoption as well as agencies seeking training materials for staff.

Jean Nelson Erichsen has written a terrific book that is a must read for prospective adoptive parents and adoption professions alike. This short and clear writing is both a tool of education on the history of adoption and the long road that adoption supporters have traveled to provide for the world's children through adoption. It is also an accurate glimpse into the world of the adoption agency and the role that government's and media play in the process. This book provides excellent foundational information for prospective adoption parents as well. It is a reminder to all of us of the standard of practice that we must continue to raise the bar on so that children can continue to find loving homes and families of their own. Adoptive parents need education prior to beginning an adoption- this book is a great place to start. Grab a cup of coffee and sit down for a read that combines personal stories, humor, and factual information on what goes on behind the scenes of adoption.

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

Anyone who is touched by adoption should be reading this book. Adoptees, hand it to your parents and let them see that some of those annoying things you do are related to the fact you are adopted, then apologize!
For adoptive parents: this should be handed out as a guidebook when you adopt, there is so much you can do to educate yourselves and prepare, this is a great start!
As an adult adoptee I found myself splattered throughout these pages, and grinning or wincing as appropriate. There were a few times I wished I could hand it to my Mom and say- "see, it wasn't your fault, you did all you could". I am sending her a copy!
For birthparents: it might help to read this before your reunions, giving yourself some real insight into the patterns of behavior you may encounter, and know they have real base for existence.
For adoptees: I am one of those people who is tired of hearing others blame their parents for their adult behaviors, I think if anything, this can help us recognize some of our own negative patterns and maybe strive to overcome them.
There is joy and pain in this book,laughter, and maybe some tears, but that is life, and we all benefit from living it. Enjoy!

Finally!

A real-world mom offering real-world answers for anyone involved in adoption - birth parents, adoptees and adoptive parents alike.

This book is very straightforward - not techie - like you're talking with someone over the dinner table. The author raised both biological and adoptive children so can relate to both sides of the story.

I wish this book had been available when my adoptive siblings were younger. I think it would have greatly helped us to understand why my adoptive brothers felt and acted the way they did.

Refreshing, insightful and a worthwhile read!

This book is a must-read for all potential adoptive parents. You can't possibly know the questions to ask your adoptees as they go from babyhood through adolescence because you have no idea what they are thinking and feeling. This book will prepare you for anything and everything.

I am a birthmom of 39 years ago. I have met my son's adoptive parents. They are fine people who have raised him with all the right spiritual and moral values. I have sent this book to them and hope they will read and perhaps be able to understand and learn from it.

Barbara raised both adoptive and biological children so has seen life from their very different perspectives. She is truly able to advise and counsel on the experiences all families deal with in adoptive families.

This book does a great job of telling the reader about what really happens in the adoptive process.

In my own family (2 adopted siblings), I know that if adopted kids' issues are not addressed in a healthy manner, the issues can become time bombs just waiting to explode. I wish my parents had had access to this book when my siblings were younger. I think it would have helped both my parents and my siblings realize what was going on and how to address issues unique to the adoption process.

This book is not techie - it is very straightforward - like you're talking with someone over the dinner table.

Very helpful book...

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.

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!

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.

As important for me as the authors' conclusions, were the explainations of why those conclusions might not be correct. The authors readily note where the research is inconclusive, a sample is too small, where there are conflicting theories, or where a study might not be applicable to the adoption of Chinese children today. I also appreciate the authors citing their sources (typically right in the text). Thus, if you want to know more about an issue, you know exactly which study the authors relied upon. All of the cited publications, as well as a number of resources for adopting parents, are cited in the appendix.

Too much information on this subject is either missing, or is given in a chatty style that is not comprehensive. As a parent just starting the adoption process, I wish I had read this book a year ago.

I've read many books on this topic, but this one is the most thorough and fact based ones I have found to date. Very informative and a definite must have for any one thinking of adopting from China. I can't wait for their next publication!

This is a well-researched, easy-to-read academic work on the issues surrounding adopting children from China. The authors write both from first-hand knowledge as well as from results of a survey that they conducted via the Web over the past few years. It fills a gap in the literature on this topic.

The book covers topics such as how and whether to impart knowledge of Chinese culture to adoptees, the legal issues involved in intercountry adoption and statistics about how well adoptees do after they've been in the U.S. with their new families for several years.

It is a useful guidebook for those wishing to adopt a child from oversees, especially from China, and it is also useful for those studying adoption in general.

I just can't recommend this book highly enough for both parents and professionals working in the field of foster care and adoption. Michael Trout's intelligent, thoughtful and sensitive responses to this foster/adoptive mother's experiences are such an inspiration to read. I have repeatedly had both parents and professionals tell me that they could not put this book down! It is destined to become a classic among those who are making the courageous commitment to parent a deeply wounded child.

I have this book on tape. This family reminds me so much of our own. We are out the other end of the tunnel now as well with a very positive outcome.

Our son is 14 years old and came home at 4 from Romania. Diagnosed with Reactive Attachment Disorder when he was 6, effective therapy started at 7, I sure wish I had had Lori's story then to read as we struggled to help our son.

A must read for all parents of children diagnosed with this serious childhood mental illness.

Nancy G.

With over 17 years of experience working with severely traumatized children in a residential treatment setting, this is one of the most helpful and enlightening books I have come across. It challenged me to look at the children and adolescents I work with in a different light and gave me new and innovative ideas to be able to work much more effectively with our children. The suggestions that Michael gave Lorie were strategies that I have used repeatedly and found effective.

I work with families who are struggling to find hope and healing for their children who have attachment issues. The Jonathon Letters provides a rich and meaningful story of the hopes, fears, struggles and triumphs of one family in their journey. I have already begun strongly recommending this book to the families with whom I work and have added it to my list of required reading for both the staff members and parents with whom I work. This book provides a wonderfully honest and realistic insight into the hopes and fears so many families face.

As someone who has read a lot about RAD (reactive attachment disorder), I found inspiration and hope in this account of one family's struggles and their connection to the therapist who encouraged them through the darkest days, helped them see hope in the midst of absolute chaos and put them in touch with the loving spirit hidden deep within one very scared, angry little boy.

I loved this book but I want to be clear about its limitations as well as its strengths. Each chapter is very straightforward and written for "regular" people, not professionals or therapists (one chapter is titled "How We Got into This Situation"). It is an honest account from both the perspective of the parents and the therapist. One chapter is devoted only to the therapist's viewpoint. It is not full of tips, ideas or all-purpose guidelines for dealing with RAD but is the very individualized experience of one family.

For those who find reading somewhat of a chore, they may find this book MUCH easier and more accessable than others, since it is written in a series of short letters. It does not necessarily have to be read straight through, although I tend to think it is most beneficial if read from start to finish because that shows most clearly the transition from meeting Jonathon to dealing with him, being baffled by him, etc.

A key chapter is the one in which the family decides to adopt Jonathon, noting that "there is a side of him that has a lot of love and sweetness and that side of him needs a chance to survive." It was far from an easy decision to make as Jonathon was a typical RAD child, with no definite signs of EVER being able to engage fully with this family- or any other. He had a history of past abuse and rejection and serious problems trusting anyone (understandably). My heart went out to him even as I wondered if he'd be able to find the resiliance to bond with his new family.

Those in the midst of their own struggles with an RAD child may find some solace and hope here. I want to reiterate that it is NOT a guidebook or "how to" manual for dealing with RAD. Rather, it is one family's story but within that story are the seeds of inspiration, allowing readers to feel that they are not alone in their own struggles. Along the way, there are some suggestions that might be useful to other parents, especially when it comes to handing out consequences but these are interspersed with anecdotes and daily accounts. The tips are NOT the heart of this book.

It was extremely fascinating to see how the therapeutic process helped smooth the transition from foster parenting to full adoption of Jonathon. Without the skilled intervention of this particular therapist, I'm not sure if the adoption would have worked.

This is a really cute book about people coming together and not just about adoption (altho, that is why I bought it..). Great to find a book about a father and a child! We are enjoying it very much! Thanks!

We checked this book out at the library and decided we needed to own it. It is a wonderful book about a goose wanting to be a father and the "green goose" searching for his "real" mother after discovering he looked different. He realizes he has a wonderful father and goes back home. It's great for adopted children.

Wonderful book covering so many subjects in a short entertaining time. Father goose longs for a child, and adopts a very strange egg. After the little green goose is born, the baby chicks tease saying thats not really your mommy, you dont look anything alike. The little green goose goes around trying to find out who he looks like and then becomes lonely and returns home, realizing home is where you are loved. Great book for adoptive fathers. Also for those involved in transracial adoption. The story illustrates a fathers love and caring, the idea that families do not need to look alike, and all this is done with a tale that is good for its own sake. The illustrations are superb, my favorite is the final one, this great big green dinosaur-like creature (the little green goose) with the father goose laying on top of his head, one wing stretched out protectively over his child and both fast asleep.

This book is great for all parents of adopted children. This book grabbed the attention of my child, and he was entirely enthused through the whole reading and just absorbed it all. Two thumbs up for this great write!

You could hardly do better than to get "The Little Green Goose" for any father, whether adoptive or biological. Adele Sansone's text is a miracle of economy, covering parenthood, adoption, geneaology, and more with a minimum of fuss and text.

The barnyard goose decides that he wants to be a father, but as he has no wife or other partner, he decides to adopt a spooky looking green egg found by the dog at the edge of a field. The goose settles himself on top of the eggs and waits and waits. When the egg finally cracks open, what emerges is some sort of lizard or dinosaur or who knows what--but it definitely is not a goose. Still, Sansone's goose dad utterly ignores the differences between himself and his new son and makes a natural (and skillful) parent. When the "green goose" decides to try to figure out what his real background is, he has little luck and ends up coming home to the goose--who, after all, is the only parent he's ever known.

The illustrations, by Alan Mark, are utterly charming. The "green goose" is splotched and splashed with color, while the goose is drawn sparingly and convincingly. This is, overall, a fun tale with subtle and valuable life lessons.

The Mom's Choice Awards® honors excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. An esteemed panel of judges includes education, media and other experts as well as parents, children, librarians, performing artists, producers, medical and business professionals, authors, scientists and others. A sampling of the panel members includes: Dr. Twila C. Liggett, Ten-time Emmy-winner, professor and founder of Reading Rainbow; Julie Aigner-Clark, Creator of Baby Einstein and The Safe Side Project; Jodee Blanco, New York Times Best-Selling Author; LeAnn Thieman, Motivational speaker and coauthor of seven Chicken Soup For The Soul books; Tara Paterson, Certified Parent Coach, and founder of The Just For Mom Foundation(tm) and the Mom's Choice Awards®. Parents and educators look for the Mom's Choice Awards® seal in selecting quality materials and products for children and families. This book has been honored by this distinguished award.

If you have an adopted child, this is the book for you to share. The illustrations are lovely and meaningful. After reading this book, all children will want to be adopted!

Before even opening Logan's Journey, the beautiful cover illustration sets the tone for this heart felt book about love and families. It is the story of how Logan came to be with his mommy and daddy, a journey that was a slightly different from that of most little boys but no less magical. Logan's Journey tenderly explains that Logan's mommy and daddy couldn't have a baby by themselves and met his birthmother as a part of God's special plan. It acknowledges his birthmother's love for him and the special role she played in helping complete God's vision for a family of Logan, mommy and daddy. Finally, most importantly, Logan's Journey reminds us that no matter how a family came together, they are all made special by the love that binds them.
Heath & Martin do a masterful job of approaching this often difficult subject with the wisdom and compassion that only mothers can have. Ornoff's serene illustrations pair beautifully with the book's comforting message. Logan's Journey is one that every family that has or is considering adoption should take.

This book makes a great gift for all children. It is a celebration of family and in this day and age when families are formed in a myriad of ways, its message is one of hope and comfort to all children. Especially touching is the focus on the partnership of the parents and birthparent to create an adoption plan. The authors provide the perfect starting point to open the discussion with children when they ask "what does it mean to be adopted?" Beautiful illustrations will capture any child's attention. This is a wonderful story to share with your children.

Beautifully and simply written, this is the perfect book to share with a child who is beginning to ask questions about where they came from or what a family is. The art work is stunning!

Its such a joy to read these stories. So many books are how to adopt or the nightmare stories of problems the children have. This is filled with wonderful short stories written by adoptees, birth mothers, adoptive mothers, even the grandmothers. It is so positive and touching! Adopting is such an emotional rollercoaster and its great to delight in positive thoughts through these stories! The reassurance during the hard times.

If you are thinking about adoption, whether to adopt or to relinguish, Loved by Choice is for you. Perhaps you have a friend with personal adoption experience, then Loved by Choice is for them as well. This book is written from all perspectives; birth moms, dads, adoptive parents, siblings, grandparents. There are chapters on special needs and bi-racial adoptions and stories of international adoptions. All true, some heartwrenching, but all prove that adoption is the best choice for those in the stories. A great resource, encourager, examples, and even terms. Written in a way that you can read one or multiple stories at a sitting. Well worth your time.

AS THE MOTHER OF AN ADOPTED DAUGHTER, I FOUND THIS BOOK OF TRUE STORIES TO BE COMFORTING AND ENLIGHTENING. IT OPENED MY EYES TO MANY OF THE STRUGGLES MY DAUGHTER AND I HAVE EXPERIENCED OVER THE PAST 21YEARS. I FEEL THE MATERIAL IN THIS BOOK WAS TOTALLY A BLESSING AND I FEEL ANYONE WHO READS IT WOULD BE BLESSED.

What a wonderful book. I rarely purchase books. This one had a title and cover that intrigued me. I couldn't put these heartwarming stories down. Truely "Loved by Choice" will be a blessing to all who read it.

We're in the process of applying to adopt a child, and I've read about 23 books on the subject (all aspects). This one is by far the most encouraging!

I heard the authors on a national radio show, and couldn't wait to get their book. I was not disappointed. Wish I'd read this one FIRST.

There are stories from every---and I do mean e-v-e-r-y---point of view in the adoptive process, including family members on both sides, all written in first-person format. Particularly helpful were the chapters by birthmoms; they helped me come to understand and respect b-moms more than all the meetings at our agency put together.

Another thing I appreciated very much is that I got the distinct impression that the authors weren't skittish about pointing out the difficult aspects of becoming adoptive parents, including the excruciating waiting periods. Both domestic and international adoption were handled with honesty and accuracy, according to my own research. I'm pretty sure my copy will be dog-eared and well-worn before long. Now I want to get a copy for all the church and public libraries I know!

Excellent choice. OLIVER appeals to all ages. What made it more special was that Oliver was a DINOSAUR and every child I've met likes dinosaurs and stories about them. Great way to explain the trials and tribulations of being adopted. Our son enjoyed Oliver going into space because he wants to go to the moon. I highly recommend this book and the black & white illustrations invite a child that enjoys art to even color the pages to make it more personal.

This book is great for helping to explain adoption to young children! Not your typical children's book. Simple, yet there is much meaning behind the story, allowing for discussion with your kid(s). I recommend it.

A charming idea to think of adoption as being related by love and law. The author shows in moving and funny words how Oliver gets angry at his parents and fantasizes about his birthparents. The parents in turn let Oliver know that they, as children, when they got angry at their parents, fantasized they were adopted and that their natural parents were fun people to be with. Oliver is pleased that his parents understand him and he's happy to live with them again. This book would be good for non-adopted kids too.
Gisela Gasper Fitzgerald, author of ADOPTION: An Open, Semi-Open or Closed Practice?

This is a wonderful book for children who were adopted. It explains in simple language how easy it is for a child to be angry with his or her parents, and shows that such feelings are normal. But after all, kids love their parents, no matter how they came to be in the family. Buy it. Alyssa A. Lappen

I like seeing Oliver climb a tree because I like to climb trees. He reminds me of myself. I liked Oliver going into space because I want to go to the moon. It's natural to think about your birthparents because I sometimes do. Buy it! You'll like it too!

This is a wonderful story of a child's resilience and determination. Written by a woman of my era and from my own community, it reflected the experiences of my own mother who also spent time in a children's home in the 1920's. The richness of her story and the details of her experiences were humbling and thought provoking. I was deeply moved by her sharing of the culture of the period...one that surely shocks parents of today who have democratized their family structure and have given their children voices not heard during Patty's journey.
Thank you for giving a voice to all those children whose voices were never heard.
Bravo Patty!

I adored this book about a little girl's determination to have as normal as life as she could (whatever normal means!). It is always interesting to me how much she, and children like her, love and adore their parents, and yet when the going gets tough for the parents they dump their kids, in this instance in an orphanage. I can hardly believe adults are this cruel, but some of them are. I realize the conditions of the Depression were terrible, but I have also read about many, many families who stayed together and somehow made do. Not here. (Read: Little Heathens by Mildren Armstrong Kalish.)

Patty, soon to become Donna, is resilient and hopeful and sad and ambitious all at once. She is a survivor. She apparently harbors no hostility about any members of her birth family or her adoptive family. Indeed, noting the glaring differences in her adoptive family, she is so kind to them, both while they were living and now that they are gone. I loved reading about her and especially about her love story, which has endured for many years. I believe her husband and the love they have shared since their teen years had a huge part in helping this brave girl learn how to live and to love and therefore become an interesting, sweet, kind, and relatively content woman.

I was adopted in the 70's when the process was very different from the one described in this book- but as I read Patty's Journey- I felt such a connection that I was often moved to tears. This book is about what it is like to know-and to not know. She reminds us of how adoption was and reminds us of how it is.

I cried and marvelled at the resiliance of a child's spirit. I was touched by the deep loyalty siblings showed for each other. I wanted to tell Patty's adoptive parents to be careful, to nurture the empty places, to fill up the gaps with affection, not to ignore the sadness. I vowed to let my children be who they are, not an image I created of who they should be. I was sensitized to the stigma of not living with a biological family in the '40s. I was touched by the faith and personal strength that sustained Patty. How can we learn from her experiences in a political era that considers rebuilding orphanages? We should read Patty's journey for wisdom.

I've now read several nonfiction works by adults who were adopted as children and later reunited with their birth parents. Patty's Journey is very good.

The book is well-written, though not Donna Scott Nordling's prose is not nearly as compelling or literary in quality as that of Betty Jean Lifton's Twice Born. Nor does this book offer the same insight into an adopted child's sense of being different, and lost.

Nevertheless, Nordling's is a very important story for the pain it exposes of children who were torn from their families by unfeeling courts making little or no attempt to keep the biological families together. She and her siblings were taken from their mother after her father stole some radios during the Depression to try and support them; for reasons unclear, her mother never fought to regain custody.

Unlike some adoptees, Nordling's adotpive family offered her a genuine love, despite making some typical mistakes. And in her case, sadly, that family closeness and the years of separation made it impossible for her to renew the warmth she had once had with her biological family.

For all adoptive families, birth families and adopted people, this is a very enlightening and important book.

I was engrossed by this very human, powerfully honest memoir. Her relentless search to put together the pieces of the puzzle that would give meaning to her life is a testament to the writer's courage and spirit, and a vivid example of what it means to lead a truly examined life. It is also an exploration of that most complex of human relationships: that between a mother and a daughter. And in her case, having three mothers and having to navigate, however perilously, between two dissimilar cultures makes for especially compelling reading. Anyone in search of meaning in their lives and the truth about themselves will not only relate to, but learn from this inspiring personal account.

I absolutely enjoyed this book. It is heartfelt and deeply personal. It takes you on a bittersweet journey where the author really gets down into your emotions. It really makes you feel and the captioned pictures engage the reader. I did not want to put it down!

Susannah McCallum's book is a personal journey that starts in WWII London where she barely escapes the Nazi blitz and ends, sixty years later, back in a very different England where she finds her natural mother and a new family. In between there is a childhood in Cuba, leaving for the United States after the Castro revolution and starting life, once again, in a different country and culture. But it is mostly is a story of survival and constant quest for a mother that had to give her away at birth. It is riveting and loving.

This easy-to-read book poignantly illustrates the innate need we have to discover the source of our origin. Through sheer persistence and patient detective work the author finds her biological family living on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. In a heart-warming way we see how the author's lifelong yearning for her mother and siblings finally allows her to experience the peace that has eluded her all her life.

A great book that touches your heart. I found it beautifully written from the heart.