Adoption Books

This book is a wonderful book. It really shows a woman who did not harbor bad feelings for being given up for adoption, she took it as a plus that she had more family and was able to become close with her biological Mother and extended family. Mary is an extraordinary woman, Mother, daughter. She has a healthy outlook on life.

Mary Quigley's Indelible Ink is a funny, touching, inspiring memoir. The text's short chapters and Ms. Quigley's breezy writing style make this book an addictive read that seems over too soon.

"In this beautiful and touching book Mary Quigley takes us into the world of adoption, from the perspective of the one adopted and from that of the parents who adopt. Your heart will be moved by this story and by the poignancy with which Mary portrays her life and the lives of those whom she cares about. Mary draws us into the events of her life and makes us companions on her journey."
-- Father Paul Keenan, host, "As You Think," Monday through Friday on The Catholic Channel/Sirius 159


"Mary Quigley masters the art of navigation through history in her fleeting read, Indelible Ink. With precise attention to voice, she transports the literary traveler through the portals of the past, engaging a universality that will mark all passports PRESENT. An indeed read for the person who prefers dynamic to static."
-- Patricia Ellyn Powell, author, Louisiana in Words


"Let Mary Lenore Quigley's journey from First Communion to reuniting with her birth mother take you on an enlightening adventure! Her story is rich, passionate, and heart warming. For all genealogy researchers and adopted children, this book is a must-read!"
-- June Cotner,
author of Graces, House Blessings and other books www.JuneCotner.com

I have recommended this book to so many people! I carried it with me to China when we adopted our daughter. Everyone says that you'll forget so many details later -- even though it seems as if you could never forget an instant of such an event. But you do forget. Or you're so overwhelmed you don't know what to write. Or . . .

This journal is an easy size for packing for travel. It gives good sentence stems to prompt journaling -- without being too prescriptive (I don't like being bossed around by books). It is nicely organized into sections to do with the trip, the places, arriving home, etc.

At least 3 of us in my travel group were carrying this journal. If you're going to make an international trip to adopt, you need this book. Get it!

I bought the International Adoption Travel Journal in 1998 for our first adoption and couldn't believe that I actually wrote in it!!! The easy guidance that the journal provided and those long hours in a hotel room with a sleeping toddler made writing delightful. What a thrilling memoir to bring out year after year and relive the memories! What a treasure it will be for our daughter!

We've just been referred our second daughter. This is one of the first items on my list of "must haves" for the trip.

This is a great little journal if you are planning an oversea's adoption...It will help you to prepare a great memento for your new baby when she/he is older. The journal has places for info on your new arrival, itineraries, daily travel journel, destinations, and lots more... I highly recommend it.

Catherine and Sherry Bunin, Is That Your Sister? (Our Child Press, 1992)

Is That Your Sister? is another of the adoption books I've been reading recently. It's more vertical-market than the others (as the title implies, it's about how to deal with questions from ruder sections of the populace when your parents have adopted a child who doesn't look much like you), but still holds up quite nicely under scrutiny. (To clarify and explain that comment: books are like computer programs. The more vertical-market they are, the shoddier they tend to be. Think back to the worst of your school textbooks for an excellent example.) The big drawback is that there's not much there to hold up for scrutinizing. This isn't to say it's bad-- nothing impressed itself upon me as really awful (as the creepy pictures in This Is How We Became a Family), but within two weeks of first reading it, I had to read it again in order to refresh anything but the basics of the book's mission in my head. It doesn't stand out either in a good or a bad way, but that puts it ahead of about 90% of vertical-market books of any type. Thus, if you are in a situation like this (if you have adopted children of two different races, for example, or if you have a birth child and an adopted child from another country), you may well find this a valuable book to have around. ***

I did not anticipate that I would love this book as much as I do.
Most adoption books do not really "fit" our family for several reasons.
Our children are adopted through the county, so we were not chosen
by the birth parents, didn't get to meet them, etc. Our children
are a different ethnic background, we adopted siblings, etc. Our situation
is much different from that described in most children's adoption books.
When I got the book today, it didn't seem like much. I wasn't prepared
for a story that would seem so much likes ours. I did a quick read
thru before reading it with our kids (ages 10,8,6 and 1). I didn't make
it thru without crying. It felt like my child wrote it.
I am so excited to find a book FINALLY that fits, and that our kids
can relate to. I am considering sending a copy to a few families close
to us.
One of the best things about the book is that the adoptive mother
and adopted daughter wrote the book together. It is written from the
point of view of the child, 6 yrs old. The recommended age is 4-8 yrs,
but it was totally appropriate for my 10 yr old son. I think it is ever
so much more touching because it is written as the daughter telling
you the story, and what an awesome experience for a mother and
daughter to go through together--writing a book like this together!

This is a great book that incorporates two issues that children often have to deal with: adaption and racial issues. The book, told in the first person, focuses on two adapted children of two different cultural backgrounds. Highly reccommended--it will teach your children that not everybody in the world is the same.

Highly recommended. A mother and daughter visit the mother's birthplace in Vietnam, learning the story behind the kite which means so much to the daughter and the facts of the mother's earliest years. Touching and meaningful, this book is terrific for children and adults from age 7 and up. Used in our school for discussions around Vietnam, war, and multiculturalism.

This is a good story about an important topic - a woman's search for her birthfamily. Two small things bothered me: First, the narrator calls the American (grand)father the woman's "Foster Father". A child adopted from Vietnam would not have been a foster child; therefore the correct term would be "Adoptive Father". Second, the main character prays to a goddess in Vietnam. This is probably realistic but for my children it is not something I want to encourage. Aside from those small flaws, I found this to be a touching and important book.

This is a great book for all the children whose lives are touched by adoption. The wonderful illustrations accurately capture the beauty of Vietnam. We are thoroughly enjoying this book!

Great book for those of us with babies from China! Blatant Christian gospel message -- fine for our house, but not for others that I know with children from China. Lovely as a gift if the spirituality matches.

Expertly written by Don Regier and deftly illustrated by Karen Pritchett, The Long Ride is actually two stories in one "flip it over" book. One one side it's the story of a child's search for his family when they get separated in a large Chinese city. Flip it over and it's the story of the family's search for their missing young one! The alagorical message is one of adoption and the family of God. Bright, detailed color illustrations bring the hustle and bustle of a busy city to life, in this entertaining two-part tale recommended for young readers age 5 and up.

This book tells the story of a caucasian couple adopting Asian children from two perspectives, the toddler child's and the parents'. Although I read this book often, it is rare that I can read it without choking on my tears.

My daughter fell in love with this book when she was 2 1/2. She was adopted from China and this book really helps us teach her about adoption. In fact, she often asks me to read the book using her Chinese name in lieu of one of the character's names.

The artwork is beautiful as is the relation of the adoption journey to God's adopting his children into his family.

Unfortunately, at best the stories are loosely related on Chinese adoption and are inaccurate regarding the process and the ability to adopt non-blood-related siblings. But the most disappointing aspect is the parents' apparent lack all understanding of Chinese culture; the father does not even know what chop sticks are. Additionally, the book does contain a reference to all the money involved in adoption.

When my daughter is better able to understand the book, perhaps I will only read her the children's story and skip or alter the family's story. For now, she cannot comprehend the negative aspects of the book and it is one of our favorite books to read.

This book is beautifully written, and the author's gift of story-telling draws pictures in your mind that take you personally to the time and place of each encounter described in his life. Honestly and intimately written, this book shows the author's heart and soul. I highly recommend this book and look forward to the author's second offering!

Howard Freemen has shared everything about his life with emotion, wit and charm - this is a must read for young people and adults who find themselves on "the brink".

I laughed and I cried and throughly enjoyed this book. Each essay is wonderfully written and very insightful. Howard Freeman is a very talented writer and I could really relate to his style and his stories. Great wit. I highly recommend this book.

Beautiful. Personal, yet well-known situations of life. We can cry and laugh with Ms.Hunt, and even sing as we read of those situations that resonate with our own hearts.

Lyrics of My Heart
Wow! So much passion, emotion and the revealing of the author's life and the life of others packed into one small book. It is a must read book and will cause one to look deep inside his or her own life to find true meaning.

I found this volume of poetry very compelling, filled with many beautiful lessons on life and sharing. It has a simple beauty about it that invites one to read more and more. I will await the next volume by this author with anticipation!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Mary Beth's personal account of her experience in Mexico while waiting for the finalization of her son's adoption. As a mother waiting for her son from Guatemala, I found this book to be comforting. Although Mary Beth and her husband had a difficult period in their lives (Mary Beth being in a foreign country, Eugene being away from his newly found family), they all remained positive about the experience. I truly felt as though I knew Mary Beth as she described her experences in her emails to her friends and family. I also enjoyed the lessons in Spanish that were embedded within her leters. As Mary Beth's stay in Mexico came to an end, I too felt a sadness that the journey was ending.

What a tribute to motherly love! Becoming a first time mom is an adventure in itself, but Mary Beth learns more quickly than most that for her child, a mother will do most anything. Following the De Ribeaux family through its adventure truly made for great reading. I read this book in three days, not wanting to put it down because I had to know what happened next. The story is personal and the style truly makes the reader feel that he or she is one of the family's close friends. Congratulations to the author on capturing the essence of family and illustrating how making the most out of a bad situation often creates memories that are not only lasting, but cherished.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book about the trials and tribulations associated with adopting an infant from Mexico. It is written so that the reader shares the emotional highs and lows just as if he/she had lived through the experience. The author cleverly incorporates humor and tidbits about Mexican culture and customs. Best of all, she demonstrates how to make the best of a difficult situation. I found the story totally inspiring.

This book is so rare. It's rare you can find books that are real and people are not goody goodies. But not juvenile deliquents. Trinty speaks a life where things aren't ideal. But she can make the best of it. She used to live isn't the hood but now she has to go to some smalltown countryplace. Trinity tries her best to track down her mother and gets to know herself while doing it.

Tough, smart Trinity B. Jones bounced between foster homes and St. Helen's Home for Girls until she landed in Linden Falls. Her foster mother Susan and her daughter Kelly are nice enough but life as a country girl in "Podunk High" is a total bore. Luckily Fred, her latest in a string of case workers, gives her a web address for ALTLIVES.com, a mysterious computer game that allows her to peer into the lives of the people in her past, including her real mom. She discovers her mom is married to a wealthy man in nearby Pittsburgh and she becomes obsessed with finding a way to get back into her life.

When she finds out Josh Johnson is sure to be elected King of the Fall Dance, Trinity devises a scheme to get him to ask her to the dance. But she knows it'll take more than becoming Fall Queen to get her social climbing mother's attention. Undaunted, Trinity works out another plan. Since Linden High lacks a planning committee or a theme for the dance, she and Kelly take over and convince everyone to make it a charity event to benefit St. Helen's. Trinity uses Kelly's name to trick her mom into donating $2,000 to their school's charity and an invitation to be the star of the show. As plans often do, this one grows larger in its dimension until it blows up in her face. Trinity is forced to decide between the real world and ALTLIVES.

Trinity's ability to spy on her real mom through the Internet adds a satisfying element of fantasy to the heart wrenching reality of her life. It seems perfectly fair and reasonable that a foster child should have the right to peer into the life of the parent who abandoned her and make her own judgments. While "My Alternate Life" is an inside look at the life of a foster teen, McClain skillfully weaves the common issues of self-esteem and self defense for young women into the plot. Teen readers will be drawn to Trinity's rough edges and identify with her independent spirit as she makes the biggest decision of her life.

Copyright (c) 2004 by Peggy Tibbetts

Fifteen-year-old urban tough girl, Trinity B. Jones, was perfectly happy with her life. Sure, she didn't have her birth Mother at home with her, and her foster parents didn't really care about her, but she was able to do what she wanted, and her boyfriend, Nate, loved her. But suddenly, her foster parents got sick of teenagers, and threw them all out, leaving Trinity with no home. Now, Trinity is forced to move to the suburbs with a family court lawyer named Susan, who's looking to do a good deed, and her 15-year-old daughter, Kelly, who's miss popularity, and a total phony. But when Trinity places the computer game that her social worker, Fred, gives her, she's suddenly able to experience her alternate life. The life that she would have had with her birth Mother, had she decided to keep her, instead of throw her away like an old t-shirt. Everything Trinity is experiencing is a dream come true. Now if only she could escape this life, and live forever in her alternate life.

Lee McClain has created a diamond among cubic zirconia, with MY ALTERNATE LIFE, as it is one of the only teen books on the market about a foster child. Trinity is a fast-talking teenager, filled with the usual angst that overtakes most kids over the age of thirteen, who knows exactly where she wants to go in life, and that's back to urbania. Her quick wit, and hilarious remarks will keep readers flipping the pages, while the sadness that overtakes her at times over the abandonment by her Mother, will have readers sympathizing with her, and hoping that she finds the family life that she so rightfully deserves. Filled with wonderful characters, both main and supporting, as well as an extremely fresh, and original plot, this is sure to be a winner in the eyes of teenage readers the world over.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

This book was perfect for use in my environment. I was looking for a general book about adoption. I'm an Elementary School Counselor and a teacher asked me to come in her class and share some info about adoption. She had 3 kids in her class that were adopted and the kids were asking lots of questions. (The adoptive moms thought it would be cool if I'd come in and share some very general info so the teacher asked.) This book is perfect. Many of the books out there get too detailed and are meant to bring out the therapeutic issues that come up for adoptive children. Those books have their important purpose. This is a great first book for adoptive families to lead their child into the idea that they were adopted and general enough for general audiences too.

My 2 yr old daughter, adopted from China, enjoyed this book. Although I don't think she grasped the story behind it, she enjoyed the illustrations and would often open the book and page through it. It was a library book but we are considering adding it to our collection.

Our son, Joshua, was in his 2s and we wanted to introduce the fact that he was adopted in a bit more concrete way (since we talk about it openly with other people when he is around). I tried talking with him at bedtime, but he got very uncomfortable. I checked out a few books from the library, and this became one of his favorites quickly. Even though he is a boy and was a domestic adoption, he does like this book.