Adoption Books

This book is absolutely amazing. It sheds light on all perspectives of adoption and opens your eyes to the miracle of adoption. It is great for all those who have an association with adoption and for those who are looking into the possibility.

As an adoptive parent and adoption volunteer, I really appreciated the tenderness and honesty portrayed in this book. The stories give a good overview of the various types of adoption and offer a peek into the thoughts and emotions that accompany the adoption process.

I started this book late one evening and literally could not put it down until my eyes were crossing at about 2 a.m. The stories are far more interesting and compelling than fiction could be (which is saying a lot as I love fiction.) They are forthright, honest, and deeply emotional without sugar coating or sentimentality. The honesty includes mistakes made; the author clearly was trusted by those who shared stories with her. She is not judgmental, and the reader feels priviledged to hear (read) such personal and truthful stories. Every point of view is included - people who have adopted, been adopted, given a baby up for adoption, supported a teenage or adult child who gave a baby up for adoption, and more.

I have bought copies of this book to friends who have adopted children. I would think these stories would have great meaning for anyone who has personally been a part of the adoption process. However, I have not had any family experience with adoption and obviously enjoyed the book, so I'd hate to see it considered to be appropriate only for those personally involved in adoption.

For Love of a Child begins with the author's own stories of her multiple connections with adoption - as the older sister of an adoptee, as an adoptive parent, and as a birth grandparent in an open adoption. The rest of the book is a collection of short stories by people with a wide variety of perspectives on the adoption experience. In fact, what is most impressive about this book is the diversity of the stories from adoptees, birth parents (mother and father), adoptive parents and extended family members. International, older child, open, sibling group, and private adoptions are all discussed as well as adoptions by single parents, stepparents, relatives, a lesbian couple, and even what it is like to grow up in a dysfunctional adoptive family. The stories cover the entire spectrum of closed to open, both in terms of relationships and attitudes.

Fortunately, Garfield allows each of these touching stories to stand on their own. So often writers who put together a collection of stories feel the need to comment on each story as an introduction to the reader. Garfield begins each chapter with the name of the person and a phrase from the story. This is an effective introduction that allows you to experience the story from the writer's perspective and form your own impressions without interpretation from someone else.

I always recommend Adoption Nation (Adam Pertman) and The Family of Adoption (Joyce Maguire Pavao) as great "introduction to adoption" books for those interested in adopting or extended family members. I'd like to add For Love of a Child to this group with the added note that this new one is probably the easiest to read and most approachable for those with no adoption background. Add it to your collection!

In this profoundly moving journey, we are invited to join this author as she weaves a story of truth, of innocence, of blind trust in her parents, of soul-shattering pain and ultimately of healing. In "The Gift Wrapped in Sorrow," Jane Guttman cracks open her heart and unravels the events which led to the relinquishment of her baby in an unconscious world. After three decades, Dr. Guttman has emerged from these events much like Saki Santorelli depicts in his book, "Heal Thy Self," "shattered but still whole," and at the doorstep of transparent illumination...For those who wish to heal any life loss, this is a quick read that will remain forever etched upon our hearts.

A rare gift indeed; author Jane Guttman allows her readers to participate in her healing process, while deeply touching their inner most pain and hidden sorrow. The book a well written journal weaves the reader through years of the authors secrets, pain, and joy. The reader experiences the intricate web of the healer and healing process. The descriptions of the desert are soothing morsels that give the reader hope and inspiration.

A well-written account of a single mother's pregnancy, loss of her child to adoption and subsequent search for him. This poignant description of one woman's profound loss typifies the tragedy of millions of women in similar circumstances, who were coerced into giving up their children and the on-going trauma they suffered as a result. A must read for anyone whose life has been affected by adoption

Jane Guttman has provided a soaring account of the struggles and pain of relinquishing a child to adoption, and then embarking upon the healing process of search and reunion.

Undoubtedly this book will uplift birth parents engaged in similar searches for their biological offspring, whom they have never stopped loving.

It is also an excellent read for other members of the adoption triad, especially parents helping their children, adopted at birth or later, to find the biological parents they need to learn their stories, and themselves heal.

Children have the least control in the adoption process, and they need to fill in the blanks to establish their identities, self-worth and most of all, to heal. But it can also be helpful for them, during the search and reunion process, to have a window into the experience of their birth parents, to understand that very often, they did not want to relinquish their child, but were forced to do so by circumstance, or other people in their lives.

This book beautifully describes the birth mother's experience, in ways I found most helpful and enlightening. It is a real God send; thank you, Jane Guttman for having the courage to share your inner most secrets in these pages, thereby helping other families to heal.

I learned of this book title and author mentioned on the ASAP horse rescue website, and I'm very glad I did. A lot of careful thought goes into the decision to take on the lifelong commitment of adopting a rescued horse. This book brought up many easy to understand details I may not have considered properly before making a decision. Nothing speaks more clearly than experience. With all of the helpful references, it's a very useful and enjoyable read.

This book complies basic information and is layed out well and a good starter book.. One thing I was disappointed is that it didn't really outline how to start up a Horse rescue but then again it didn't state that it did- A overall nice book !

This book is a fantastic read for those interested in the practical side of rescuing horses. It describes the various conditions rescued horses may be suffering from and how to recognize them. I highly recommend this book to anyone who might even consider starting a horse rescue or rescuing a horse from a bad situation.

I found this book extremely informative and an enjoyable read. The author obviously writes from experience and with a desire to encourage responsible horse ownership. She offers helpful advice for first horse owners and outlines the issues involved when taking on a horse in distress. For those of us with soft hearts and a lack of good sense, when it comes to an animal is trouble, this is a handy and humorous guide that will help us do the most good where it is desprately needed.

This is a cute book and a portion of the proceeds goes towards dog shelters, which in this tough economic climate are feeling the pinch. I also recomend "Hobo Finds A Home" which is another very cute children's book, but it's about a cat. A portion of the royalties goes to Second Chance Animal Sanctuary based in Tioga Pennsylvania.

What a wonderful story to share with your family and other children. I bought an extra copy and donated it to my son's pre-school. The children loved it and it sends a great message.

This book is a nice, simple story with a great message: when you want to get a pet, adopt! The pictures are lovely and the book was written by a teenager, which makes it appealing and lively for young children. I highly recommend it.

This is a cute book for the child that is an animal lover. A donation was made to petfinder.com and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Aunt Mary's Doghouse, that's great. The book isn't illustrated, but done with photographs. It's about a girl finding the right pet for her, and it's a pet from a shelter. If you love this book and love cats, check out "Hobo Finds A Home" which is about a stray cat who found a home.

Hope Meadows- a beautifully written account of a unique foster care community in rural Illinois envisioned and founded by Brenda Eheart; a woman who refused to take no for an answer. The accounts of the lives of these children and their "foster grandparents" who reside in this unusual setting will touch you, as it did me, in a profound way. It is deeply moving but without pretense. The families lives remain seriously complicated, and nobody pretends to have all of the answers. Yet the community thrives on simple "small town" values and an abundance of physical affection that serves to pierce through the horrendous experiences of these innocent children to their most basic of needs...to be loved and acknowledged by another human being. I too found "hope" in the perseverance of Brenda and her staff.

I have always thought that good foster parents deserved to be viewed as heroines and heroes by our society. Those who do even more and help the children with the greatest needs perhaps qualify as saints. And if they do more than that, I'm afraid that my language skills fall short of being able to capture my full respect and admiration. Naturally, there are never enough of such wonderful people. Unfortunately, many children cannot get foster care and live in orphanages. Others are abused in foster care in various ways. Others live in homes where parents do not take good care of them.

Recently, I read Build Your Own Life Brand! and was drawn to the profile in there of Ms. Brenda Eheart's work in establishing Hope Meadows, a community for children who would never ordinarily be adopted. Nationally, over 20,000 children "age out" of state care each year without such adoptions. Having worked with such children had broken her heart, and she determined to do something about it. This book details her efforts and what has evolved from them.

Hope Meadows emerged from Ms. Eheart's dream of a new kind of community that would match willing foster parents with foster children who had special needs, but also supported by some part-time foster grandparents and some professionals. A closed air force base and her lobbying efforts led to a grant from the state legislature in Illinois to buy housing for the community. Operations began in 1994.

The idea is to put together a whole community of caring adults with the time and resources to give troubled children the extra time, care, love, and attention that they need to have more normal lives. Hope Meadows is supported by the legislature and private gifts. The foster family gets $19,000 in salary, plus free housing. The seniors get low-cost housing. Professionals are in the community to provide training and support. The annual cost for a child here is around $20,000. This is more than the $13,000 usually spent in Illinois on foster care, but less than the $28,000 that juvenile correctional facilities cost per inmate. Most would agree that the extra expense for these children with the most difficult problems is well worth it.

The book mostly details the volunteers who live here, the children they have adopted or assist, and the challenges they have all faced together. Despite very difficult problems, so far around 90 percent of the children placed here have remained.

The volunteers were sometimes foster children or lived in orphanages themselves. Some of the children tell how they want to become foster parents when they grow up. Most of the seniors and adoptive parents have something missing in their lives that the community offers. In some cases it is the chance to have children, and in other cases it is the need to be needed. Many are idealistic people who want to help children, and are working at the limits of their capacity to do so. Single moms with education in this area are raising five and six children with special needs.

The stories are heartwarming, because they show the potential for love and caring to make a difference. You will be astonished, if you are like me, by all the wonderful things that people do. The challenges are enormous. There are crack babies to be weaned, children who are violent and need to be calmed, and young people whose nights are filled with horrible nightmares based on real events.

The book has wonderful photographs of the families that help make the stories come alive.

Do not read this book assuming this approach will sweep the world. As the author makes clear, the continuation of this award-winning program is far from assured. It gets its money annually from the state, and could be cut off at any time. Although there is interest in expanding the program, not much has been done. A second one has been launched in Cleveland with the initial help of McDonald's.

My favorite story in the book is about the six year-old boy who learns that his foster grandmother lives alone, and decides to move in with her so he can be the man of the house and take care of her. I'm sure you will find many stories here that you will love, too.

There's heartbreak too. Some children aren't able to improve. Some are taken away by the courts after family members contest for the children. In one sad section, a foster father who had been a foster child himself dies suddenly and unexpectedly, leaving his family with more to cope with.

Whether this subject interests you or not, these stories will uplift your spirit. They will also tell you something important about our human impulses and needs.

Even if you cannot be a foster parent for some reason, how else could you help these unadopted children to have more normal lives?

May all be loved . . . and feel loved!

A beautifully written book by a talented author about an inspirational community started by a remarkable woman! Wes Smith's writing brings to life the story of Brenda Eheart's noble efforts to build a successful innovative alternative to foster care and adoption. As Smith so eloquently describes "It is a deceptively simple approach crafted by an improbable advocate in a most unlikely place." I couldn't put the book down! The brown-toned portraits collaged on the inside covers initially caught my eye because of their beauty, but by the end I could look at those same pictures and feel like I knew those faces, those smiles. I find myself wishing that I did know them or that I might meet them someday. Smith writes each chapter focusing on a single family/resident of Hope Meadows. Each chapter is an intriguing story in its own right, yet the stories interweave the lives of other residents as well, just as all the lives interweave at Hope Meadows to create the success of this inter-generational, inter-racial community. Smith writes in his introduction "In a world that often seems self-absorbed and hard-hearted beyond belief, it restores your faith in humanity to find that there are still people who believe they can make things better by reaching out and giving of their talents and their time." You will come away inspired by the human spirit and grateful that you had the opportunity to read this book.

I just finished reading Hope Meadows, and I am excited about this book, and the community it represents. The book tells the stories of children, adoptive parents, and older adults who live in a community that focuses on family. Seniors in the community volunteer to work with the kids, who, in turn, help out the seniors. Most of the children at Hope Meadows come from abusive backgrounds and have a multitude of behavioral and physical problems. Wes Smith has done an excellent job bringing these stories to life for the reader- you feel as though these are your neighbors. I HIGHLY recommend this book!....I actually cried reading some of these stories- if this book doesn't move you, nothing will!

Michael Watson's story of his search for his birth family is a celebration of resiliency, drawing in the reader as he struggles to reconnect with his birth mother and a family that had been told he died at birth. The heartening outcome of his personal journey is the establishment of his "Why Mom Deserves a Diamond" essay contest, to which over 25,000 students have submitted essays.

I have just finished reading "In Search of Mom" and loved every word of it. It had special meaning for me as I had adopted both of my daughters. It was like looking through a mirror from the other side.

In Search of Mom gave me the inspiration to search for my birth mother, in which I have already used many of Watson's ideas. If she is alive she will be 69. My main concern is to know my nationality.

 In Search of Mom is a fantastic book for anyone who has wondered what it feels like to be adopted. Because of Watsons unique way of involving the reader, I went through half the book the first evening. I have already ordered 5 copies for my friends. I highly recommend this book.

My girl spotted this book and took an instant liking to it. The story is kind of silly and she liked it. The art work is good as she likes looking at the pictures.

The final fight between Jazper and the moths might need explaining as she did get concerned about the knives trying to cut up jazper and I don't think she liked the nutcrackers.

It's a nice little story time book and I have had to read it every night for 2 weeks now.

My son who just turned 3 loves this book. He usually will only read books with us at bedtime. He brings this one to me through out the day and asks me to read it. He will also sit with it and retell himself the story. We're thrilled!

I saw it browsing in a book store, read it, and really enjoyed it. It's a refreshing new children's adventure story, which subtly hints at how it's nice to be yourself (in the end).

This is a great book that's really being overlooked. After a young grasshopper's father gets into an accident at the Tomato Plant, he is forced to get a job. Working with some magic-working moths, he learns enough magic to change his shape. He quits working with them to go into business doing street perfomances. When the disgruntled moths come after him, the magical battle begins!!

With really cute pictures and lively prose, Jazper delivers the goods.

THE JOURNEY TO MEI IS A WONDERFUL RESOURCE FOR ANY FAMILY CONSIDERING AN ADOPTION OF A CHINESSE CHILD. IT IS AN EASY READ FOR CHILDREN OF THESE FAMILIES WHO ARE STRUGGLING WITH FEELINGS ABOUT WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THEIR FAMILY IF A NEW BABY COMES. MS REMZA HAS A GREAT SENSE OF HUMOR AND MANY OF HER PERSONAL TOUCHES MAKE THE BOOK DELIGHTFUL.

The Journey to Mei is a wonderful read for the entire family. As a parent, it gave me insights into the feelings of a young child who was about to become an older sibling through adoption. My young daughters enjoyed the book. They found it to be fun, exciting and educational.

The Journey to Mei tells a story of a young girl whose family is adopting a little girl from China. The reader is engaged in the excitment of visitng China and finally taking the little girl back to the U.S. The tale is kept interesting by discussing the culture, language and including photographs. The author also covers the reason why so many Chinese girls are orphans. My 8 year old granddaughter read it and she said, "It was extemely interesting. It can be read by adults and children." And I agree.

I liked the book because it was realistic and readable for intermediate aged elementary students. At the same time it is teaching information about the Chinese culture that most young people would probably not know. It puts them in a very possible life situation - the advent of a new member of the family and how it affects their existing relationship. You get to watch as they all learn new information, including the parents, and how they grow in their ability to understand not only the new sibling but each other.A very satisfying story.

The book is very engaging and also very hard to put down. Once you start reading it you will find it very hard to stop. If everyone would read the book Juan the world would be a more compassionate place.

This book is an outstanding true story about the lure of the political and economic freedom that so many of us take for granted here in the United States. The love and heartbreak that the writer goes through in trying to get his adopted son legal citizenship in the U.S. is nothing short of amazing. I read this book in two days because I could not put it down. I have also bought a classroom set which I use in my 12th grade U.S. Government class in a lesson that helps many of my students understand what freedom means to people who don't have it and why so many people risk all they have in an attempt to enter the United States everyday. An outstanding book!

This is a gripping tale that becomes all the more poignant with the realization that it is a true story. I had the privilege of knowing Juan because Karl Price happens to be my uncle. One might say that this would color my thinking of the book and therefore this review, but, being one who also likes to write, I think the book is very well-written. Writing it in the first person, with Juan telling his own story, makes it all the more heart-wrenching. I was captured anew by the pain and frustration experienced by those that I knew and loved, even as I learned many details for the first time. I highly recommend the book and hope that many people read it. It is a story that needs to be told.

I had the chance to "preview" this book before mass publication. The sincerity, the depth and the poignancy in this book made me read it through without putting it down. This story is all the more compelling because it is a true account of one boy's life. The wheels of fate that are put into motion by a series of almost surreal coincedences is amazing, and caused Juan to lead a life he could never have imagined growing up in poverty. For anyone who can remember the turmoil of Nicaragua in the late 70's, this is a personal glimpse into the lives of people affected by that war. The heart-wrenching conclusion stayed with me for a long time. Simply written - very powerful.

Easy to read and informative. Good suggestions and insights for preparing for and becoming a bleneded family.

This book was fabulous! It is helping us to understand some of the comments and situations we are dealing with through our adoption process!

The bargain pricetag notwithstanding, this is one of the best parenting books I've ever read. It's concise but comprehensive, covering domestic and international adoption issues, special needs topics, open adoption, and a host of other important matters related to building happy, healthy adoptive families. I found the material on interracial and international adoption issues to be among the book's strongest features; the author offers great advice for sensitively answering kids' questions, straightforwardly dealing with nosy strangers, and maximizing the joy of being a multicultural family. An excellent resource.

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