Adoption Books

bad item- is not a positive reinforcement training tool. the company return policy is not very upfront about having to pay postage and handling both ways when you return the item, and you will.

I read this book cover to cover in no time, because I couldn't put it down! What a great read, so many useful suggestions on what to do in every potentially "annoying" situation. This book really trains the owner who in turn will now have to knowledge to train their dog the right way because they will learn how the dog thinks. Great, great, great book. I absolutely suggest this to anyone thinking about adopting... even if you've had a dog before!

Great book and great advice! Very detailed dog selection process helped our family get the perfect dog!

This book is unique in that it talks specifically about adopting a shelter dog. Shelter dogs have a whole different set of challenges and expereinces than puppies - and this book has simple, straight forward advice on a successful and rewarding adoption.

Well-written and consise, this book provides help for most common issues and potential pitfalls of adopting an adult dog. The story of the author's work w/ a "vicious" dog (last chapt.) is especially illustrative of how much adult dogs have to offer, even and perhaps esp. ones that did not grow up in good circumstances.

Further, the book's focus on positive reinforcement and emphasis on training and exercise (read "play") for a dog will prevent many problems if followed.

While writing this review, my newly adopted adult Belgian Shepherd brought me a pair of dirty socks from the laundry basket - time to consult the book! :-]

We read this again and again when we have questions - give information state-by-state! Good job, Randall!

Randall Hicks book is written in an informative way- but maintains a warmth towards the many emotions involved in adoption. I used this book as a guide for our own adoption and it helped me through many of the issues- from the beginning decisions surrounding the type of adoption process we wanted- through the final court date. The legal advice is accurate, but the advice surrounding the emotions on both sides of adoption is invaluable.

This is one of four how-to adoption books my husband and I bought in our plan to start an adoption. It was BY FAR the best. It was clearly written and laid out the information just as I would have done. The amount of detail was increadible, as no other books came close. We loved the step-by-step approach, and the insightful tips the author gave on finding a qualified agency or attorney, and how to eliminate the ones to avoid. He bluntly says what others seem to hesitate to do. He is an adoption attorney himself, and his tips are great.

The first half of the book was a wonderful step-by-stop approach, from basics (meeting a birth mother, networking, finding an agency or attorney) to technical things we need to know (birth mother consent laws, spotting risky adoptions, federal legal issues which can sometimes affect state law - in general, how to protect yourself).

The second half was a state-by-state review of each state's unique laws. It also listed each licensed agency in that state, as well as adoption attorneys and their bios.

This book was GREAT! The best part of all... We found our attorney through advice in this book, and she turned out to be great. We found a birth mother through the advice on networking in the book. Our son was born July 2, 2002 and we will soon be finalizing our adoption!

As soon as I read this book, I wished I was the type of customer who sent back books of little value. We have just began the process of adoption and we are exploring the different avenues available in domestic adoption so I thought this book would be helpful, but instead I found the same information I was able to obtain in less than one day at the computer, by entering "Adoption" in my search engine. The chapter containing the laws of every state was concise and puts it all in one easy package but I am not sure if that is enough to make this worthwhile. The book also lacked any real material on the homestudy process, what you might excpect from agencies versus attorneys versus state agencies, and the pros and cons of each. So if you are completely new to the process of adoption, want the facts and nothing but the facts, are pretty sure that you want to use an attorney and conduct your own search for a prospective birth mother, then this book is for you. If not you might want to look elsewhere

This book, despite its unfortunate cover art and title, is full of valuable information written in straight-forward manner. It is unburdened by emotion and agenda found in many adoption books -- Hicks takes no sides and displays no politic. Although he doesn't present his material alongside weighty psychological information, "Adoption in America" is not detached nor condescending. It's the facts, well-written and well-organized. It's got a wonderful state-by-state list of agencies and attorneys and each state's general adoption laws. Note that the book focuses on domestic adoption, and more on independent [or private] adoption than it does on agency adoption. I, personally, would remove "how to adopt in one year" from the title; the book has enough power in its information to stand well on its own whether you adopt in a year, five years, or not at all. It's a good, solid, informative guide that takes no sides and leaves no emotional blame. It's a valuable source of information. I recommend it.

This book is inspirational for those thinking of adopting. The writer takes one through their experience- the ups and downs. It also reveals Gods plan in caring for children in need and the various ways inwhich one can do this. This book also shows mercy, grace and Godly love.

Michelle Gardner draws the reader beyond her words and into the hearts of the children. My daughter and son-in-law are adopting through Michelle and we know this book is authentic. It answers questions and encourages the reader to take the needed giant step into adoption.

As we are working through an adoption from China, we were told that we had to read this book. The title didn't exactly turn me on but I went ahead and ordered it anyway.

First of all, I was encouraged when I opened the book to see that it was going to be a pretty quick read. Some of our other books on adoption and China have been kind of daunting. I think I whipped through this one in just a few hours.

Secondly, the book is very moving. I was concerned that it was going to be a guilt trip, reading about this saintly family that had adopted three special needs kids internationally, but it really didn't come across that way. I appreciated the viewpoints of the kids themselves, each of whom wrote a brief chapter in the book. The author does a pretty good job of keeping things down-to-earth but I doubt you can read this book without getting some tears in your eyes. It was very inspirational.

Finally, the book has a strong emphasis on how churches and individuals can and should support people who are adopting or who have already adopted. Because it is so readable, I think it could make a good gift to give to people who don't quite "get it" when it comes to the issue of adoption or who simply want to better understand it.

This book was a nice place for my wife and me to start down the road toward adoption. If you are considering adoption, it will be helpful to you and encourage you. By no means, however, should this be the only book on adoption you read! If you are considering older child, foreign, or special needs adoption, you'll need tons of reference materials; this book is not a reference. It is the heart-warning and true story of one couple's multiple adoption experiences. We enjoyed it.

As a previous reviewer noted, this book is an easy read. I read it in just a few hours. It is very well written and quite moving. This is one of few good books on adoption that are written from a Christian perspective. The writers were missionaries. The book is realistic about the challenges of adoption but also very encouraging.

this book was a wealth of information and was worth the money. It was written in terms easy for me to understand and it brought to my attention things i never thought about before

If you are considering adoption (or have already decided!) this is the book to get. I got this book when my husband and I were first looking into adoption. It gives a great overview of adoption and explains each step very well. It can be read straight through or you can go straight to a certain page to get answers for your questions. Now that we are a little further along in the adoption process I'm reading it again and getting even more out of it. I've read about 6 different adoption books so far and this one is the best.

The author's adoption expertise is vast--that is why she can make adoption truths and realities easy to understand. I highly recommend this book!

We were considering adoption, and knew absolutely nothing about it before reading this book. It gives an excellent, neutral explanation of everything you need to know about adoption. It doesn't sugar coat anything.

It is also a great book because you don't have to read it in any certain order. You can pick and choose which chapters interest you.

It was very informative and made me feel more confident about the whole process. I would recommend it to anyone considering adoption.

I began reading this book last fall. It was exactly what I was looking for. A high level overview of the different types of adoption, along with lots of practical advice on what to expect when adopting. The format was easy to read and easy to follow. I feel that this book gave a very honest, straightforward view of all types of adoption, so that the reader could decide what they are most comfortable with. Now that we have decided on an adoption path, we are on to other resources, but Adoption For Dummies was really helpful while we were trying to decide what path to take.

There is also a paperback edition of this book which ships immediately:

Choice: True Stories of Birth, Contraception, Infertility, Adoption, Single Parenthood, and Abortion

This book was incredibly honest, heartfelt, and moving. The diversity of stories and voices kept me interested and the emotional power of these stories truly affected me. I found myself crying in the middle of class as I read this book (whilst pretending to take notes and pay attention in class). I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

I can't imagine how anyone could remain unengaged by the stories in this book. I was moved almost to tears (and often actually to tears) by all of these women's powerful, beautifully written stories. I was given this book by a friend who wanted to buy it for all of her friends, it was given to her by a friend who also bought it for all of her friends, and I plan to recommend this book to everyone I know as well.

I was eager to read this book after reading a favorable review in my local paper. As a woman who had experienced most of the topics covered in the book, I was looking for some insight from other women regarding these major events. However, I found the book rather flat and unengaging. A few of the essays really drew me in (Janet Mason Ellerby, Sarah Messer, and Kimi Faxon Hemingway all wrote powerful essays), but for the most part, I remained unmoved by their stories. I would recommend this book, but I would say, take it out of the library (sorry, Amazon!).

This is absolutely one of the most emotionally powerful, though-provoking, conviction-challenging books I have read in a number of years. I only wish I could give it six stars.

It is NOT, as some might think, all about the choice to have an abortion. It is about all the emotional, mental, and moral complexities of ANY pregnancy, and the desires, decisions, fears, and longings that go along with a pregnancy. There are stories of women who gave their children up for adoption, and have suffered the pain of wishing they could have kept their children for the rest of their lives. There are women who recount the histories of women in their family who did not have the choices that they themselves now have when faced with an abusive relationship, a pregnancy where the resulting child would be unlikely to survive, having absolutely no money to be able to take care of a child conceived despite carefully using birth control. There are women who had to choose between dying themselves and attempting to carry a much-wanted pregnancy to term. There are women who chose to become single mothers despite pressure to have an abortion or give up the baby for adoption. There are women who knew their fetus might be abnormal, but chose to have the baby, come what may. There are stories of women who had abortions, both legal and illegal, who had severe medical consequences as a result. There are women who had an abortion for an early pregnancy when they could not carry it to term, and are thankful for that choice because it gave them a chance at a better, happier life - and more children that they could care for and support - later in life. Women who miscarried, and have dealt with the pain of this loss. Women who adopted from another country, acutely aware of the terrible circumstances that must have led to the bio mother of their child having to give up her baby. Women who miscarried much-wanted children. Women who knew deep down that they were not meant to be mothers, and decided to not have children.

It is about choices - ALL the choices - associated with so many different pregnancy situations.

None of these situations are without feelings, without an awareness of other options or possibilities. Many of the women in these essays made decisions that they knew they had to make, but were gut-wrenching in the extreme. Many women in these essays support having ALL options available for pregnancies, even if they themselves strongly disagree with some of the options. In thinking forward to having my own family in the future and having never been pregnant (yet) myself, I have the utmost respect for most of the women in these essays in making these difficult choices (regardless of what choice they made) and strongly facing up to the consequences. Do not look for this book to be an unabashed endorsement of abortion - it is NOT that at all. That would be too simplistic to represent the reality of most women's situations when faced with pregnancy.

I believe that this book should not only be required reading for teen and young adult girls/women, but also for the boys/men too. I would also strongly suggest it for women's studies classes looking at reproduction.

I have already recommended it to several friends - one who appears to be infertile and is working on adopting from another country; another who is living with her boyfriend and will probably marry him, but may or may not be ready to be a mother now should she get accidentally pregnant; to a woman who got easily pregnant with her first two children, and conceived through a fairly foolproof form of birth control for her third.

Choices.

Even if you assume you will disagree with many of the decisions made here, pick up the book anyway. You may be surprised at the empathy you have for the women in these essays - and that you may even have something in common with them.

If you have some time to curl up with a beguiling mystery and you enjoy romance with some psychological intrigue mixed with the puzzle, I recommend Martha Powers' latest thriller, Conspiracy of Silence.

We meet journalist Claire Prentice in her doctor's office where she is being seen for the biopsy result of the lump on her breast. Although her report turns out fine, her doctor encourages her to learn more about any medical issues in her family history before Claire's approaching marriage. When she tells Dr. Craig it would be impossible to do that (her father died when she was three, her mother two years before, and both parents had no relatives), the doctor stuns Claire by saying she meant her biological parents, not her adoptive ones. And in this instant, having had no idea she'd been adopted, Claire's identity as she has always known it is shattered.

A few months later, determined to learn her real identity and family story, Claire leaves Chicago and drives to Grand Rapids, Minnesota, where she believes her adoptive mother may have lived as a child. As an ostensible reason for her arrival, Claire has obtained an assignment from her literary magazine to interview Grand Rapids local author and recluse, Nate Hanssen.

Claire rents a small cabin near a lake and soon begins to uncover small pieces of information that lead her into a convoluted and treacherous journey. It also soon becomes obvious, after one and then another murder, that someone in Grand Rapids wants the carefully constructed conspiracy of silence that surrounds Claire's life to be left alone.

Powers' pace and plot are very good and her authentic characters are fascinating. Always closely examining the clues in any mystery I read--and even taking notes at times--I did not guess the murderer's identity until it became obvious at the very end.

by Mary Jo Doig
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

This was very suspenseful. Kept you guessing until the very end. Excellent read!

Clare Prentice has had quite a rough time for the last couple of years. In the aftermath of her Mother's death, she soon is in the Doctor's office nervously awaiting the results of a needle biopsy and other tests. Her mother, Rose, died of breast cancer and Clare is terrified that she has it as well. Clare can't move forward with her engagement until she knows her health status. The fact she is cancer free is a relief. Then the Doctor drops a bombshell.

Her mother was not her biological mother.

Within weeks, Clare learns there are no records of her adoption and that everything she has always believed was a lie. Her only clue leads her to the idyllic town of Grand Rapids, Minnesota. For the folks there, she is in town to interview a very reclusive local author. For Clare, she is on the hunt to find out her own family history. A history tied into a sensational murder case. And for a murderer, Clare back home is a problem to be dealt with as quickly as possible.

What follows is a complex and deeply layered tale that captivates the reader. Clare is both incredibly determined to find out her past no matter where the trail leads and incredibly vulnerable to the pain of such knowledge. She soon bonds with the reader in a unique way that makes the book come totally alive in every sense of the word.

The main storyline involves the murder and the family legacy. At the same time, two secondary storylines are interwoven into the main one. One involves Clare and her interview assignment. The other, the beginnings of a romance between Clare and one other character. Therefore, the novel contains both a fascinating decades old mystery and her search for the truth involving the crime as well as the beginnings of a romance.

Much like the legendary Phoenix who arose again from the charred ashes, Clare has been badly charred and yet flies again. Her flight is weak at first, but, as she slowly moves on from the burning lies of her past and fits the pieces of various puzzles together, she comes to find out that she can succeed.

This is, simply put, one of the best books I have read this year. It wouldn't have been something I ordinarily would have picked up. It also isn't being done the justice it deserves by this review. All I can say is ... Read it. You won't regret it.


Kevin R. Tipple (copyright) 2008

Chicago reporter Clare Prentice is stunned to learn she is adopted when Dr. Craig calmly suggested after a physical she obtain medical information on her biological parents. Clare had thought Rose, who raised her was her biological mom. Now she knows her late adopted mom Rose hid the truth from her; her biological dad died before Clare was three. Her reaction to the disturbing news is to end her engagement to kindhearted Doug Kitridge.

She finds a high school ring amongst her late adoptive mother's stuff. With a need to know more, Claire heads to where the ring is from, Grand Rapids, Minnesota. While there she is assigned to interview reclusive novelist, Nate Hanssen, a resident who shuns publicity. Clare learns her birth mother was Lily Gundersen, who was murdered in Grand Rapids. Soon after her arrival someone stalks Clare who assumes her mom's killer wants his or her murderous secret kept quiet. Clare and Nate begin to act on their attraction to one another.

Outside of the interview occurring in Grand Rapids where the mysterious graduation ring comes from, CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE is a great suspense thriller. Clare uses her reporter skills to learn more about her mom's murder, but quickly learns nothing is quite like it seems and every one even the author she is falling in love with appears to have an agenda. With some nice twists along the way, readers will enjoy this exciting cozy with just the right amount of a romantic subplot to enhance the investigation.

Harriet Klausner

Clare Prentice, the protagonist in "Conspiracy of Silence," learns that her mother, who recently died, was actually her adoptive mother. She was not aware of the adoption previously and sets out to find out who she really is. Not able to find any records of her birth or adoption, the mystery of her identity starts unfolding when she finds a class ring, from Grand Rapids, MN, in her adoptive mother's possessions. Clare, unable to continue with her future until she resolves her past, sets out to Grand Rapids in hopes to discover her true identity.

As soon as she arrives in Grand Rapids she discovers that her birth mother, Lily Gundersen, was actually murdered there twenty-five years ago and the story was still fresh in the old-timers' minds. The accused killer was her birth father, and since, was believed to have committed suicide. Clare doesn't believe her father was the murderer because she has flashbacks to when she was four-years-old, and starts remembering the scenario. As the truth starts unraveling, mysterious events take place in the attempt to prevent Clare finding out the truth about her mother's murder. Martha Powers offers a page-turner that is traumatic and unsettling.

Well written, and with the best character development I've seen, "Conspiracy of Silence" is sure to keep you engrossed into all hours of the night. Each chapter ends with a hook to keep on reading. I finally decided if I was to go to sleep, I would have to put the book down in the middle of the chapter!

"Conspiracy of Silence" by Martha Powers is highly recommended to anyone wanting to read a mystery that is compelling, has unexpected twists in the plot, and the murderers' actual identity kept secret to the end. Even all the guessing wouldn't reveal how the story ends.

This is a fast-paced story that grabs you from the beginning. I read it in one day and laughed, cried and felt like I was living it. The book was passed around to a couple of friends and they all felt the same way at the end, breathless. For those who think this is a lady's book, my male friend read it and had the same reaction. He said he wanted to slow down while reading it because the end was coming too fast but he also finished it without putting it down. The end of each chapter leaves you wanting to know what happens next and you just keep on reading.

Angela gives hope and inspiration to people everywhere by showing you can survive and go on living despite the hardest challenges.

I would highly recommend this book to everyone.

This book is too fluffy to have any significance in the life of a parent or child. Let's talk, instead, about how the kid wakes up and passes gas all over the house, or how a mother has to work 3 jobs to support the kid's cereal-eating obsession. The kid that reads this will laugh....as the little toy he ate earlier on drops out in his stool.

Angela Dion writes wonderfully. Her topic may sound as if intrest might be limited to adopted children or birth mothers who have released a child for adoption. But Angela takes us beyond this area into the changes and maturing that occur in her own life over 20 years. This makes it of interest to anyone who enjoys biography.
Roberta Rogers, author, "Is That You, Lord?"

When I first met Angela Dion about three or four years ago, she was in the process of writing and publishing "Dear Son". Through our friendship, she shared with me some of the details of her life, so I knew the premise of the book when it was finally published.

I'm saying this as an unbiased friend: This book is really awesome! I haven't read too many books that are as open, honest or raw as this one. I could not put it down and read it in one night! I could identify with much of what she went through. What makes this book so compelling is not so much Angela's painful experiences, but rather how God took those experiences to fashion an extraordinary woman.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has experienced hurt pain and rejection to see how God can make a bad situation into an opportunity for healing.

Though I've never been in the authors position, by the end of this book (it's a fast read as you can't put it down), I felt I knew her and truly understood her heart: the pain, grief, anguish and finally after years of struggling with confusion and guilt, peace and understanding. Her writing style instantly draws you in to a visual and intensely emotional real-life experience.

An eye-, heart-, and mind-opener -- this book is important as we regularly walk obliviously in the midst of women struggling alone with this crucial and life-changing decision.

as i read this book, i wondered if she talked to anyone at all about adoption. she made it sound like adoption is the worst possible thing that a person can do. She said that abortion is a better way to go than adoption. I have no problem with other people's feelings, but i totaly disagree. This book does not give a very realistic perspective on the wholeadoption scean.

This book gives one of the most realistic perspective on adoption from a mothers perpspective that I've ever read. The only people who seem to benefit from adoption are the people who adopt, they lose nothing and no one. Death by Adoption has been saying truthful about the Emporer's new clothes for a long time. One of the few books to show adoption from the point of view of those who lose their family to adoption. A must read!!!!

This book gives one of the most realistic perspective on adoption from a mothers perpspective that I've ever read. The only people who seem to benefit from adoption are the people who adopt, they lose nothing and no one. Death by Adoption has been saying truthful about the Emporer's new clothes for a long time. One of the few books to show adoption from the point of view of those who lose their family to adoption. A must read!!!!

Though the author is not from the U.S., this book speaks to birthmothers in many parts of the world, especially those in the U.S. This book was written when there was almost nothing available to tell the birthmothers' side of adoption! I was able to get it through interlibrary loan. Shawyer's words helped me greatly when I began the Search for my son Paul. The author was one of the pioneers in exposing the pain of adoption. I give Shawyer five stars for courage. The book is not a skimpy one, says a lot, and deserves five stars!

Finally--finally after years of seeing this book referenced I own a copy. And it was worth the search. Shawyer's honest and compassionate look at adoption through the eyes of an astute, woman-friendly observer, is a stunner.

Social workers and doctors made a mistake when they targeted Shawyer and her twin babies for adoption fodder. She was not frightened by these "adoption police" who have destroyed millions and millions of perfectly good real families in the last fifty years. Shawyer resisted their date-rape style abuse. She describes vividly how the mother targeted for adoption keeps saying "no" to the suggestion of adoption for her child yet the social workers and doctors who have singled her out as fair game keep saying "yes." Ultimately, they simply whisk away the newborn for baby-crazed infertiles and tell the mother who complains that it is her fault that she didn't stop them. When this trickery was tried on Shawyer, she found the shaming and cult-like brainwashing tactics ludicrous, was able to fight off the attacks, and walked out of the hospital with her babies as God intended.

Ever since, she has stood up for mothers and their precious babies. She documents well the terrible suffering of adoption's victims, the unresolvable grief and post-truamatic stress disorder--ruined lives. After writing Death by Adoption, Shawyer was instrumental in the dismantling of the mean and shameful practice in New Zealand.

I was shocked to look in the front of Death By Adoption and see it was written 25 years ago. One suspects that Shawyer must be dismayed that after all these years with the horrors of adoption well-documented, it seems to be business as usual in the US for these appalling human rights violations.

Martin Firestone can't figure out why his father, the eccentric painter Leo Firestone, is throwing a fit. All Martin did was tell his dad he'd been accepted to medical school. Then, Leo tells Martin a story about his own father, Dr. Samuel Firestone, an extraordinarily gifted doctor and living legend in the small city of Hobart, NJ, but a man with a serious character flaw. During the summer of 1943, while Leo worked as Samuel's extern, he witnessed some highly questionable behavior. When Leo decided his father was covering up a murder, he and his girlfriend, followed a trail of clues to find the truth. By the time they realized they were in far over their sixteen-year-old heads, it was too late to call off the investigation. But there are loose threads in Leo's story. Martin picks them up, and sixty years after the fact, goes snooping in Hobart. And like his father, he comes away with a whole lot more junk than he'd bargained for.

This is a terrific book that I just couldn't put down. The writing is powerful, the characters dynamic and the story fascinating. The author pulls you into the story with the first paragraph and gradually peels away the layers on a sixty year old mystery. The more you read the more you want to know. This book is not only about the destination (the solution of the mystery) it's also all about the journey to get there. It's a grand journey with a compelling ending and a fascinating look into the world of the past when doctors were perceived as gods who in the end were just as human as everyone else.

Karp's latest, a departure from his Thomas Perdue novels, is billed as a mystery and there is a mystery here, but the real story is one of 1940s medicine: issues, ethics, and a big personality in a small town.

It begins when Martin Firestone tells his eccentric artist father, Leo that he's been accepted to medical school and his father blows a gasket. He demands that Martin meet him for lunch, where he delivers the meat of the novel: a long, detailed narrative fueled by numerous manhattans. Leo's story covers the summer of 1943, when he joined his doctor father as a sort of apprentice. It was a summer that changed the course of his life.

A perceptive, observant teenager, Leo admires his father, Samuel, whose powers of diagnosis and healing are legendary in Hobart, NJ. But Samuel, wholly dedicated to his patients, willing to make house calls any time of the day or night, is nevertheless unable to cure his wife of her drug addiction, an affliction that goes unmentioned in the household.

Accompanying his father, Leo soon learns there's more to doctoring than medicine. Samuel's judgments about treatments often have a personal component and his personal judgments often run counter to Leo's less flexible moral standards.

But when his dad lies to him about a dead junkman's cause of death, Leo begins to suspect him of something more sinister than unorthodox adoption arrangements and excessive leniency towards drunken, negligent parents. Enlisting the aid of his musical friend Harmony, Leo worms his way into the daily business of the junkyard, whose owner (the dead man's adoptive father) nurses a deep hatred of his father.

Leo's absorbing narrative is richly shaded with the details of small-town, wartime life, the myriad secrets kept and shared by a community, the moral dilemmas of a strong-willed man, and the black and white judgments of youthful inexperience. And when it's completed, Martin, following in his father's footsteps, worries at the loose ends in his story and travels back two generations to unravel the still-festering secrets.

While Leo's narrative is the well-written heart of this novel, it's also its only real problem. It's too detailed and finely written to be a brooding man's drunken ramble to his son. I kept wondering why Leo couldn't have come to Martin with a box of pages, saying, "here's a story I should have shared with you years ago," or something like that. Though I didn't find this a small flaw, it didn't stop me reading this compelling novel, and it likely won't stop most readers.

This is not a classic mystery, but it is an absolutely remarkable piece of writing. I became completely immersed in the characters and their story. It is poignant, engrossing, tragic and truly excellent. Be prepared to give it your undivided attention as you'll want to do nothing less.

Martin Firestone is in his mid-twenties when he decides to make a career shift. He is accepted to medical school and tells his father, artist Leo Firestone. But Leo explodes with anger at Martin's announcement, demands he meet him for lunch where much of the novel takes place.

At lunch Leo Firestone tells when he acted as an extern for his physician father, Dr. Samuel Firestone during the summer of 1943. It was the summer he lost his boyhood, and his life changed forever.

Dr. Samuel Firestone practiced in Hobart, New Jersey and was considered a doctor whom everyone could count on no matter the emergency or time of day. An excellent diagnostician, Dr. Firestone knew the community's needs and secrets.

While working for his father, Leo learns about black-market adoptions, abortion, murder, his mother's drug addiction as well as breaking the law while the country is at war. With his childhood friend, Harmony, Leo investigates the activities of the scrapyard owned by evil Oscar, helpful Martin -- and the parts of his father's life that trouble him.

It is what happens after Leo finished his story that brings resolution to a lifetime of regret and sadness.

Karp's prose brings Hobart and the era alive. I will definitely read Karp's other works. Armchair Interviews says the story is compelling and the plot intriguing. The twists and turns will draw you in to capture and keep your attention

"First, Do No Harm," by Larry Karp, begins with a choice: Martin Firestone, son of powerful and eccentric artist Leo Firestone, announces his decision to leave his career in computers and enter medical school. To Martin's shock and amazement, his father is furious, and insists that Martin lunch with him the next day. He has a story to tell him, he says. And so he does.
Martin's grandfather, Leo tells him, was Dr. Samuel Firestone, a legendary diagnostician and healer in their small New Jersey city. Leo's story begins the summer he turns sixteen, when his father offers him the opportunity to work as his extern. Their work takes them throughout the city, and Leo witnesses his father's remarkable abilities. Leo also becomes aware of many mysterious connections between the gifted physician--the Sorcerer--and the owner of a family-owned scrap metal business--the Junkman. As the summer progresses, the connections multiply: a heart attack that doesn't look like a heart attack, a blackmail threat, too many "nieces" having their babies. Leo begins to suspect that his father is involved in covering up a murder, and more. He decides to investigate, along with his best friend, and as the investigation plays out, disaster ensues.
"First, Do No Harm" is a father's story, told to his son, as well as a son's story, told about his father. But within these two stories are individual histories, of an era, of a city, and of another father and his son. And the final story spans three generations and two families--the Sorcerer's and the Junkman's--and the choices they made along the way. Most of these choices were made for the best of reasons. And what followed from them was often good: lives were saved, babies found loving adoptive parents, young women were enabled to live productive lives. But these same choices spawned great harm, as well: abortions, addiction, black marketing of metal and of drugs, and finally, violent death. Martin's grandfather, a larger than life character, practiced medicine on an heroic scale--but with heroism, came hubris, that pride that drove him to push the Hippocratic oath beyond its limits, redefining civil and human laws on his own terms.
The writing here is first-rate. The dual narratives proceed clearly, and the cadence is assured. A physician himself, Karp conveys the depth and scope of Samuel's skills with authority. The sense of place--and time--is vivid; it wouldn't be a Larry Karp book without music, and the background music of the narrative is played on a variety of radios, all playing the music of 1943, in the cars and homes and offices the reader sees. There a music box, too, that connects Leo himself to the Junkman just as Leo's father was linked to his nemesis, the Junkman's father. It also connects Leo to a girl named Harmony, his first love and "soul mate;" surely her name is no coincidence.
The characters are equally vivid--they speak in their own voices, and they tell their own stories, from Leo the artist to Murray the junkman to the characters within each narrative. And all these narratives dovetail with one another, like the music that permeates the book. As the several narratives unfold, the truths become more painful and more violent, until, in the end, a weary Martin concludes that "With the best intentions, the Sorcerer and the Junkman paved twin highways to hell."
Two of Leo's paintings frame the conclusion of the novel. One stays with Leo, and the other, an unfinished work, passes on to Martin, to complete with his own life. What he has learned has been devastating, but out of that devastation has come resolution, and a possibility of a greater final good.
"First, Do No Harm" is Larry Karp's fourth, and finest, novel. The first three, featuring amateur sleuth Dr. Thomas Purdue, are set in New York City, in the world of antique music boxes, and are engaging, intelligent, and intricately plotted. They share the same vivid sense of place that's found in "First, Do No Harm." Karp lives in Seattle, where he is working on his next novel.

This is a good story by another journalist but is too heavy on the facts of their three Hungarian adoptions and lacking in the emotion of the events. The author's personality is so loud among the lines of the story, it almost drowns out the story he is trying to tell. In reading this book I finally got the meet an ugly American.

One by one the Derk children capture your hearts as you read James Derk's tale of how a couple of ex-newspaper people expand their family again and again to make sure orphaned siblings in Hungary can grow up in one loving household. A fun mix of narrative and e-mails home to friends and family, Derk's touching account includes tearful goodnight kisses to a lineup of boys in a spare orphanage alongside wry humor at dealing the bureaucracies of both Hungary and the US. A good read that reminds you there are good people in the world, doing generous deeds out of love.

What an amazing story this is... an Indiana (or Illinois?) couple with no great income or means goes out and adopts seven kids... I could not put this book down. It is an honest portrayal of one family's story... wow.

A tale of unbelievable bureauratic battles, tiring travels, great expense, language difficulties, and determined love involved in adopting four Hungarian sibling orphans, followed by two more siblings in later years. A heartwarming story, told with humor, about the children,their dedicated care givers in the Hungarian orphanage, and the determined adopting parents who would not be discouraged by the many obstacles in their path.
If you liked "Daddy Longlegs" you'll love this book.
A page turner.

Ordered an autographed copy of this book online from the author's site [...] and could not put it down. This odyssey of a pair of Hoosiers involved with international adoption is both hilarious: a car that sounds like a weed-whacker, attempting to withdraw enough money out of a Hungarian ATM, the colorful people lining the main thoroughfare - and heart-breaking: so many kids, so much adoption red-tape, Christmas is petting a bunny taken through the orphanage in a small wagon, orphanage workers doing their best to try and make a home for these children, and the Derks' goodnights to the orphans.
I cannot get the image of the ones left behind out of my head.
There needs to be a sequel. How are the kids doing in school? Were there problems after the kids got to America? How long did it take them to adapt - or was it effortless? How do they feel about their home - is the little boy who liked to put things together and take them apart well on the road to a physics scholarship yet - and are there more sisters or brothers in Hungary?
The parts of this book that are funny are absolutely can't-breathe-for-laughing funny. And the parts that are sad...