Best of
Adoption

2010

Choosing to SEE


Mary Beth Chapman - 2010
    Together they began Show Hope, a nonprofit organization dedicated to caring for the world's most vulnerable children by providing financial assistance to families wishing to adopt, as well as increasing awareness of the orphan crisis and funneling resources to orphans domestically and internationally. Mary Beth serves as president of Show Hope and is a speaker for Women of Faith 2010 with her husband. She is also coauthor with Steven of the Shaoey and Dot series of children's picture books. Mary Beth and Steven have six children: Emily, Caleb, Will Franklin, and adopted daughters Shaohannah Hope, Stevey Joy, and Maria Sue, who is now with Jesus. The Chapmans live in Tennessee.www.MaryBethChapman.comEllen Vaughn is a bestselling author and inspirational speaker. Her recent books include It's All About Him with Denise Jackson (wife of Alan Jackson), which debuted at #1 on the New York Times nonfiction list. She is also coauthor with Chuck Colson of Being the Body. In addition to her nonfiction work, Vaughn is an award-winning novelist. She lives in the Washington, D.C., area with her husband, Lee.

In on It: What Adoptive Parents Would Like You to Know about Adoption: A Guide for Relatives and Friends


Elisabeth O'Toole - 2010
    One adoption professional called 'In On It' "the adoption book for everyone else"--the many individuals who are not adoptive parents themselves but seek information and insights into adoption in order to best show their love and support, positively interact with or provide services to adoptive families.

Message from an Unknown Chinese Mother: Stories of Loss and Love


Xinran - 2010
    These are stories which Xinran could not bring herself to tell previously - because they were too painful and close to home. In the footsteps of Xinran's Good Women of China, this is personal, immediate, full of harrowing, tragic detail but also uplifting, tender moments. Ten chapters, ten women and many stories of heartbreak, including her own: Xinran once again takes us right into the lives of Chinese women - students, successful business women, midwives, peasants, all with memories which have stained their lives. Whether as a consequence of the single-child policy, destructive age-old traditions or hideous economic necessity... these women had to give up their daughters for adoption, others were forced to abandon them - on city streets, outside hospitals, orphanages or on station platforms - and others even had to watch their baby daughters being taken away at birth, and drowned. Here are the 'extra-birth guerrillas' who travel the roads and the railways, evading the system, trying to hold onto more than one baby; naive young student girls who have made life-wrecking mistakes; the 'pebble mother' on the banks of the Yangzte still looking into the depths for her stolen daughter; peasant women rejected by their families because they can't produce a male heir; and finally there is Little Snow, the orphaned baby fostered by Xinran but 'confiscated' by the state. The book sends a heartrending message from their birth mothers to all those Chinese girls who have been adopted overseas (at the end of 2006 there were over 120,000 registered adoptive families for Chinese orphans, almost all girls, in 27 countries), to show them how things really were for their mothers, and to tell them they were loved and will never be forgotten.

Porcupette Finds a Family


Vanita Oelschlager - 2010
    He wants to have an attachment to the bear family he finds, but is afraid his "bear" mother and "bear" brother and sister will leave him too. This causes him to act out his fears inways that jeopardize acceptance from his adopted family. However, with the understanding and help of Mother Bear, Porcupette finally accepts that he is truly loved and wanted despite, or maybe because of, his differences.

Someone Always Loved You


Brooke Williams - 2010
    The victim of the crash is thrown into a coma and Jay keeps vigil by her side. As their lives, past and present intertwine; a story of love through time unfolds. An intricate drama including adoption, love, suspense, and plenty of questions, Someone Always Loved You is a novel that keeps the mind churning and the soul alive.

From Fear to Love: Parenting Difficult Adopted Children


B. Bryan Post - 2010
    A mark to shoot for, if you will. A system of understanding that has the power to make real change in the lives of those who take it seriously.

Hello, I Love You: Adventures in Adoptive Fatherhood


Ted Kluck - 2010
    Repeatedly. In this humorous and honest memoir, Ted Kluck—father, writer, and sports fan—details his adoption of his two sons from Ukraine. While not always self-flattering, his complaints and struggles will provoke laughter, some fear, and self-examination.In the first part of his memoir, Ted reveals the chaos the Kluck’s first international adoption, the adoption of his son Tristan. He includes stories of:Loads of paperwork, inspections, and prayer in the United StatesTraveling to Ukraine with tens of thousands of dollars in cash tucked in his beltUnexpected waitsConsuming uncountable numbers of Snickers bars and sodaSickness while still in UkraineLetters written to his soon-to-be sonGod’s unending faithfulness and reflections on His adoption of believersIn the second part of his memoir—the story of Kluck’s second international adoption—new struggles arise, causing Ted to process with his readers:Infertility—in a church full of pregnant women and large familiesStruggling in silenceTravel, againMissing the comfort of the United StatesA small amount of electrocution—the result of foreign electrical engineeringSpiritual depression and struggle to provide for his familyComplaint and trusting that God’s provision is sufficientThe blessing of the body of ChristIn each section of Ted’s memoir, you will feel deeply, laugh out loud, and learn. Whether you’re an adoptive parent, seeking to be an adoptive parent, or unmarried, you will enjoy and appreciate Ted’s humorous and honest stories of his adventures in adoptive fatherhood.“While Hello, I Love You is about the stories of two adoptions,in reality, the stories serve to show the trustworthiness of God despite impossible circumstances and the need to find contentment in his providential care.”-Book review by John Starke on The Gospel Coalition An Excerpt from the Book’s Introduction:            This book began as a journal—some spiral-bound notebooks that came with me to Ukraine the first time, and which contained letters that I wrote to Tristan during the experience. In the first half of the book, it reads like I’m addressing Tristan directly, while the second half is a more straightforward narrative of Dima’s adoption. They’re both love letters to my boys, and the whole thing is a love letter to Kristin, my wife.            You’ll also notice lots of frank, often sarcastic prose about cultural differences—usually with the author as the punch line, as it was my inability to deal with these differences that provided a lot of humor (in retrospect) and anger (at the time).            There’s also some tough content regarding infertility. If this is something you’ve struggled with in your marriage, I hope this chapter encourages you, and I hope you feel less alone in your struggle. If you’ve been blessed with biological children, please don’t feel guilty for having them, or in any way judged or made fun of by the observations in that chapter (see also: It not being you, but me).            Finally, the book contains lots of stories of God’s faithfulness—stories that we thought were too meaningful not to be told. Little “piles of stones” along the way that remind us of God’s goodness, love, and faithfulness. We hope that you’ll read them and not only be entertained, but be motivated to think of Christ and our adoption as His sons and daughters. It is only the love of Christ, and our hope in Him, that got us through the first, the most difficult adoption in the history of our agency’s work with Ukraine, then infertility, and finally a second adoption. And it was these adoptions, more than any other events or events in our lives, that truly taught us to find our peace, comfort, and identity in Christ.

Reclaiming Adoption: Missional Living Through the Rediscovery of Abba Father


Dan Cruver - 2010
    As it now stands, Christians usually think first about the adoption of children. Reclaiming Adoption sets out to change this situation by providing breathtaking views of God's love for and delight in His children - views that will free you to live boldly in this world from God's acceptance, not in order to gain it. Reclaiming Adoption begins by examining Jesus' Parable of the Prodigal Son because it ultimately puts God the Father's love on display - a love that embraces the younger son with uninhibited joy (Luke 15:20) and goes out to entreat the self-righteous older son to come join the celebration (Luke 15:28). The book is premised on the belief that behind the Parable of the Prodigal Son(s) is Scripture's teaching on adoption. The story of the Bible is that God the Father sent his only true and eternal Son on a mission, and that mission was to bring many wayward and rebellious sons home to glory (Hebrews 2:10) in order to adopt them into His family. That is the Story behind the story of the Prodigal Sons. It is the only story that gives our stories any meaning or significance. Dan Cruver and his co-authors are convinced that if Christians learn to first think about their adoption by God, and only then about the adoption of children, they will enjoy deeper communion with the God who is love, and experience greater missional engagement with the pain and suffering of this world. That's what this book is about. What the orphan, the stranger, and the marginalized in our world need most is churches that are filled with Christians who live daily in the reality of God's delight in them. Reclaiming Adoption can transform the way you view and live in this world for the glory of God and the good of our world's most needy.

Bound by Love: The Journey of Lily Nie and Thousands of China's Forsaken Children


Linda Droeger - 2010
    Raised in tradition-bound China, she wrestles with internal and external pressures, striking out on a journey from her homeland to America and back again. As the powers of survival and love bring her slowly and steadily into a world of abandoned children struggling to survive in China's orphanages, the strength of Lily's soul gathers, at times calm and soothing and at times a churning force sweeping away the obstacles that keep families from coming together. Out of moments of brokenness - the pain of betrayal and the grief of holding the body of a child never given a chance to live - Lily finds the power and persistence to change the lives of thousands of forsaken children, and generations to come.

Orfan


Corie Skolnick - 2010
    While ORFAN has a fantastical side that allows us to reach in and enjoy the story of JD, it also illustrates the searing pain of aloneness and how important it is that our communities support all our "orfans" to have stable, permanent lifelong families. As we see with ORFAN, families can appear in all shapes and colors and from the most unlikely places. ORFAN is an old-fashioned page-turner with real heart and an insight into love and how people authentically come together as family."ORFAN is an insightful look at adoption that is so often ignored. From the beginning of the story the reader is pulled into the authenticity of each life that is touched by adoption. I recommend this book to anyone who is part of the adoption triad, the birthparents, adoptive parents and adoptee. You will not be disappointed."-Karen L. Vedder, MSW, Former president of Concerned United Birthparents, Inc., Carlsbad, CA"A wondrous, unique story about the power of imagination and movie stars to lift us out of tough circumstances."-Paige Gold, Entertainment and Media attorney"ORFAN is a novel that shows us the world from the fragile perspective of an amazing young boy who has lost what so many take for granted. Corie Skolnick has created a raft of vivid characters who turn the idea of "family" on its head, while telling a mesmerizing story that reminds us of how we are all linked together by our need for connection."- Donna Accardo, Chair, English Department, Pierce College, Los Angeles, CA

Setting Their Hope in God: Biblical Intercession for Your Children


Andrew Case - 2010
    Be a part of the scripture-prayer movement, and join others in leaving a legacy of hope in God. With "Setting Their Hope in God," Andrew Case has served parents well by providing a rich resource of humble, biblical, bold, and God-honoring prayers we can bring before the Lord on behalf of our children. How blessed will be the family where these prayers are offered, that our children may indeed set their hope in God.-BRUCE A. WARE, author of "Big Truths for Young Hearts"There are lots of 'parenting resources' out there for Moms and Dads, on all kinds of important issues ranging from discipline to talking about sex to family vacations. One of the most important responsibilities of fathers and mothers, however, is to pray for and with their children. This book, drawn mostly right from Holy Scripture, can be a spur to your family to get off the couch and away from the television and on your knees praying for the salvation and welfare of your children.-RUSSELL D. MOORE, Author of "Adopted for Life," President, Ethics & Religious Liberty CommissionOur prayer is that God may use this book to motivate parents to pray for the next generations. The commitment of righteous parents to focused, purposeful prayer based on God's heart as expressed in His Word "has great power as it is working" (James 5:16). Use the introduction to inspire you to pray; and the prayers to inform your mind as you not only agree with them but also use them as a springboard for your own heartfelt prayers for your children, grandchildren, and a generation yet unborn.-DAVID & SALLY MICHAEL, authors of Children Desiring God curricula Pastor for Family Discipleship, Bethlehem Baptist ChurchAndrew Case has provided parents with a powerful tool: the Word of God turned to prayer-specifically for their children. What a blessing it is to read that prayer is a reminder of our littleness and of God's greatness. That nowhere are we more helpless than in prayer. For it means we can begin where we are, as we are, today. Soaked in scripture, interspersed with great quotes, this book will encourage, inspire, and strengthen anyone who wants to learn to grow in dependence on God, or-in other words-prayer.-SALLY LLOYD-JONES, Best-selling author of "The Jesus Storybook Bible"As a father, I continually feel inadequate to the task of praying for the three precious children God has entrusted to me. I understand that I need to pray and I genuinely want to pray. Yet I am so often lost when it comes to knowing how. In Setting Their Hope in God, Andrew Case turns to the ultimate prayer book, the Bible, to craft prayers for parents who want to see their children turn to the Lord, to live for the Lord, to honor him with their lives. I am convinced that this book will prove an indispensable resource to many mothers and fathers as they seek to hold up their children before the throne of grace.-TIM CHALLIES, author, blogger, www.challies.comWe Christian parents, to whom God has committed a holy trust of raising children, are often at a loss for words when it comes to praying for them. We long for their best, but how exactly to say it? And how to avoid the ruts of prayer into which we often fall and flounder? Here, in this fabulous book of prayers, the deepest longings of our hearts for them are expressed and then some. By themselves these prayers are but words-but may they be joined with faith and the Spirit's power, and prove to be truly efficacious! Thank you, Andrew, for this gem.-MICHAEL A.G. HAYKIN, Author of "The Christian Lover" and "The God Who Draws Near"

Created to Connect: A Christian's Guide to The Connected Child


Karyn Purvis - 2010
    Purvis' book, The Connected Child. Idea for use individually, as a couple or as part of a small group, this study guide will help adoptive and foster parents better understand how to build strong and lasting connections with their children.

Quackenstein Hatches a Family


Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen - 2010
    All the animals in the zoo have friends and family to play with and love. All of them, that is, except Quackenstein. Lonely and bitter in his ramshackle corner, he decides to adopt an egg. He cares for it diligently, waiting until the moment when it will hatch a baby duck of his own. On a dark and stormy night, the egg hatches, Quackenstein cackles, and lightning strikes, but wait—what’s this? That baby’s not a duck! What will he do? Where can he hide? And will Quackenstein ever find someone (or something) to cuddle? Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen’s clever rhyming text is perfectly paired with cute and spooky art from Brian T. Jones."Jones gleefully uses every cliché in the book, from lurid lettering and backgrounds to effective use of silhouettes and shadows. Bardhan-Quallen, too, takes advantage of horror-movie tropes, but she also mixes in some instruction in the form of cumulative nouns for animals. The surprise twist at the end happily resolves Quack’s fatherless state." -Kirkus Reviews

Dreaming a World: Korean Birth Mothers Tell Their Stories


Sangsoon Han - 2010
    They describe their situations then, the decisions they had to make, and their lives in the time since. What they have to tell us is both heart-breaking and compelling, from voices seldom heard.

From Fear to Love: Parenting Difficult Adopted Children


B. Bryan Post - 2010
    He helps parents and professionals with a radical new understand the impact of early life trauma and the impact of interruptions in the attachment process. In his compassion for parents and children, he offers hope and solutions for the challenges families face. Many parents of adopted children express their fear not only for their child’s present behaviors, but for what will become of them in the future. Bryan’s straightforward, truly love based, family-centered, clear-cut approach has created peace and healing for hundreds of families; families who once operated in fear are now experiencing love.

From Home to Homeland: What Adoptive Families Need to Know Before Making a Return Trip to China


Leslie Kim Wang - 2010
    Homeland trips offer great opportunities for helping adopted children develop a coherent narrative that makes sense of their complicated beginnings. Although the trip can be a joyful experience, it can also raise many challenges. The chapters of this book - by Joyce Maguire Pavao, Jane Brown, Jane Leidtke, Rose Lewis, and many others - offer the engaging perspectives of adoptive parents, professionals, researchers, and, most importantly, adopted children themselves. Together, they comprise a unique, invaluable resource that will help families prepare for a homeland trip, make decisions about how to travel, anticipate what they might experience in China, and meaningfully integrate events and emotions after arriving back home. From Home to Homeland is for all internationally adoptive families considering a homeland trip or figuring out how to best make sense of a trip after returning home.

Growing Up Black in White


Kevin D. Hofmann - 2010
    Born to a white mother and black father in Detroit in 1967, only weeks before the terrible race riots that brought a major city to its knees, the author was taken to a foster home and then adopted by a white minister and his wife, already the parents of three biological children. In this fascinating memoir, Hofmann reveals the difficulties and joys of being part of this family, particularly during a time and in a location where acceptance was tentative and emotions regarding race ran high and hot. Hofmann shares with readers the pressures and joys of being part of a family that navigated through tumultuous waters, and came out the victors in an old and oft-fought battle. This is a book that offers insight, humor, and plenty of hope.

Silent Embrace: Perspectives on Birth and Adoption


Ann Angel - 2010
    This collection of literary essays seeks to correct the imbalance by publishing personal stories by birth mothers, adoptive mothers, and adoptees. The stories cover a range of topics about adoption, open adoption, birth parent connections, and unification with children after closed adoption, focusing on the relationship with birth mothers. An anthology of essays by, for, and about birth parents.

Now I See the Moon: A Mother, a Son, a Miracle


Elaine Hall - 2010
    In the process, she founded The Miracle Project, a groundbreaking organization that uses the performing arts to connect with children with autism. Both controversial and unorthodox, Hall's innovative approach has been praised by leaders in the field of autism, including Temple Grandin, Barry Prizant, and Dr. Stanley Greenspan. She was also the subject of the Emmy Award-winning documentary Autism: The Musical. Hall now speaks around the country sharing her wisdom. Now I See the Moon is a story of hope, faith, and miracles; it is a story only a mother could tell.

Working with Children to Heal Interpersonal Trauma: The Power of Play


Eliana Gil - 2010
    The book describes what posttraumatic play looks like and how it can foster resilience and coping. Demonstrated are applications of play, art, and other expressive therapies with children who have faced such overwhelming experiences as sexual abuse or chronic neglect. The contributors discuss ways to facilitate forms of expression that promote mastery and growth, as well as how to intervene when play becomes stuck in destructive patterns. They share effective strategies for engaging hard-to-reach children and building trusting therapeutic relationships.

Belonging in an Adopted World: Race, Identity, and Transnational Adoption


Barbara Yngvesson - 2010
    In Belonging in an Adopted World, Barbara Yngvesson offers a penetrating exploration of the consequences and implications of this unprecedented movement of children, usually from poor nations to the affluent West. Yngvesson illuminates how the politics of adoption policy has profoundly affected the families, nations, and children involved in this new form of social and economic migration.   Starting from the transformation of the abandoned child into an adoptable resource for nations that give and receive children in adoption, this volume examines the ramifications of such gifts, especially for families created through adoption and later, the adopted adults themselves. Bolstered by an account of the author’s own experience as an adoptive parent, and fully attuned to the contradictions of race that shape our complex forms of family, Belonging in an Adopted World explores the fictions that sustain adoptive kinship, ultimately exposing the vulnerability and contingency behind all human identity.

A Cord Of Three Strands: A Story Of God's Woven Grace


Sara W. Berry - 2010
    The true story of three women struggling, searching, and finding God’s redemption and grace despite obstacles and heart-wrenching choices.First Strand: Peggy, longing for years to be a mom.Second Strand: Tricia, a rebelling teenager.Third Strand: Hilarie, the baby who brings love to all.