Adoption Books

Former US Air Force Commando Jake Thunder remains paralyzed during an incident in Somalia, but he believes he will one day walk again though the medical profession tells him otherwise. Using a wheelchair to get around Boston, Jake runs a private investigative firm.

Beautiful and wealthy Mrs. Vanessa Patterson wants to hire Jake, but is stunned by his wheelchair and his sarcasm. Still she employs him to find out who killed her sister Melinda who was estranged from the family. The police have not anything done anything involving the case writing it off as not worth the effort. Jake with the help of his friend Homicide Detective Frank McCloskey, makes inquires starting with Melinda's sleazy boyfriend Don Woolery.

This engaging private investigative tale stars a terrific unique optimist who refuses to allow his physical impairment from making the rounds and doing his job. The who-done-it is engaging as Jake cajoles his police pal to "help" him with insider information. Jake's wise cracking is amusing although how he keeps a client is questionable because who would want to pay someone tearing off your skin in double entendres. Fans of strong detective tales will enjoy this fine story due to the inspirational protagonist.

Harriet Klausner

this book would have made an excellent movie. it has it all--pathos, hilarity, inspiration. unlike other books about the disabled, this is definitly NOT writen in a sappy style. instead it's colorful and totally REAL. after u read this, u feel like u know sang and his family.

This book gave much basic information on the hands on issues of foster parenting. Very much the easiest read with the most essential information I have found to date.

Foundling: An Adopted Child's Search For Her Identity is the memoir of Mary Sturge, a woman who was abandoned at the age of fourteen months, and adopted at age four by a middle-aged single woman. Her long struggle in coming to terms with her self, her heritage, and her future are recounted, as well as her strained relationship with her foster mother and her battle with depression and frustrated search for her unknown biological parents. A stirring and candid personal revelation told through memories, daydreams and associations, Foundling is the remarkable account of a remarkable woman who was educated at the Royal College of Music in London and the New School in New York, who has been writing and performing music from a very early age, who married, had four sons, and in 1961 emigrated to the United States with her family.

Attorney (and Social Worker) Robin Bodiford of Fort Lauderdale has been crucially instrumental in making her home county of Broward the most progressive in the red (or dare we think purple state of Florida.) By way of her efforts, gay citizens in Broward County have greater legal protections than in any other county statewide. This particular article of hers, points out most excellently the atrociousness (more to the harm of needy children than to the gay community,) of the present state of Florida Law. May such efforts as hers, which point out the backwards and cruel effects of southern bigotry, which continue alive and all-too-well in Florida, soon change the tide!

I first read this in 1994 and was very pleased to stumble upon it again as I am now in the process of adopting an older child. The Bates family adopts two black girls in the 70's, after having two sons biologically. This book is a chronicle of their journey as a family and the issues that crop up along the way.

They deal with their families' reactions, racism in almost all-white Eugene, Oregon, and the ever-present doubts of their daughters. Do the Bates REALLY love them? Why did they adopt them and not some white kids?

For white people considering adopting non-white children and raising them in all-white towns, I really recommend you read this. The Bates come to the conclusion that placing non-white children with whites is probably not the best choice, but it sure can be made easier by living in a community with non-whites for classmates, teachers, etc. But they do advocate for all children having forever homes. If the state cannot find parents of the same race, then by all means, finding a home with parents of any color is the main priority.

This book also does a great job of showing how children adopted after infancy will have issues surrounding loss, trauma and abandonment. The author admits that post-adoption counseling would most likely have benefitted their family.

The tone of the book is overall upbeat. The family weathers issues that famlies of all colors tackle, but they come out with a positive attitude and no regrets on their decision to adopt trans-racially.

Back in the "bleeding-heart liberal" days of the early 1970's, good-hearted folks like the Bates family, writer J. Douglas and his wife Gloria, wanting to have another child without having another baby, chose to adopt a daughter -- one, and then a second -- without any conditions or preferences with regard to race. They could not forsee how their kind-hearted, thoughtful decision could affect them, their two sons, and the young woman their daughters would become. Lynn and Liska, two girls of color who never understood their place in this white family, both saw their situations in mirror images of the love that the Bates family shone on them -- while the Bates' showered them with affection, it only served to increase their fears that one day, for some reason, for no reason, they would be sent away. Their lives, especially their teen years, were spent in a perpetual game of "chicken," wondering just how far they could push their parents before the guillotine would drop and sever them from their family. In fact, while Liska was adopted to give Lynn a sister who looked like her, it only emphasized to Lynn that she could be easily replaced, and by a younger, cuter, more pliant child, with better hair.
Both grow up to be young women caught in a trap of unstable, dangerous relationships and out-of-wedlock children. But the Bates' never quite gave up on their daughters, and when faced with challenges that they never expected, reflectively wonder how they could have adopted black children without ever having had a relationship (or even a conversation) with any black person.
When in 1972 when the National Associations of Black Social Workers took a strong stand against transracial adoption, the Bates' were shocked, but unwavering in their belief that they had done the right thing. And contrary to the words of Spike Lee, the right thing for this family to do was to create an untraditional family, held together by an unconditional love.

I found this small inspirational book to include valuable insights for any parent with internationally adopted children. In a thoughtful manner, Lana Noone covers topics such as making time for your child's heritage, needs and perceptions at different ages, racism, and the invaluable attributes of care and attention. Lana Noone is the adoptive mother of three children, two of whom were adopted from Vietnam during the 1975 Operation Babylift. [...]

At fifteen and the youngest member of the Pierce family, Carolyn resents it when others treat her like a "baby." Can't they see how grown up she is? She is going to a real high school in Amarillo in the fall.

This is the 1890's and Amarillo will be a whole new adventure for Carolyn. After living on a homestead, she wonders what living in the city will be like. Will she have any friends in her new school? Will she miss her family?

In the meantime, Carolyn wants to reach out and help the new family that has moved into the area, especially Rowena a girl almost her age.

But after two local boys play a mean trick on them, the father won't allow any visitors.

That is until a prairie fire threatens to destroy their home, livestock, and land. Will everyone join together in time to save the Warren family?

With an intuitive understanding of a young teenage girl's heart, expressing all her secret desires and threatening fears, the author writes an uplifting story of courage and hope.

As the exciting plot carries us along, we see adversity and disappointment develop the characters' virtues. Even as they struggle with their faults, the purity and goodness of the characters shines through.

In the end, Carolyn finds out that growing up can be both complicated and wonderful. For those who like happy endings and love stories, The Good Land has quite the dramatic ending as it unfolds a beautiful love story as love stories should be, focusing on relationships and character, especially kindness to others under all circumstances.

Your daughter won't want to miss this uplifting story of courage and kindness.

The Good Land is the last in the Panhandle Series.

This memoir of adoption is more than an autobiography: A Good Likeness tells of an adult who only comes to terms with his past when his own child is born. His journey to find his own biological parents touches on social and psychological issues alike.