Adoption Books for Adults

Dear Birthmother : Thank You for Our Baby
by Kathleen Silber, Phylis Speedlin

Don't Think Twice
by Ruth Pennebaker
Synopsis:
Anne Harper, 17 and pregnant, is determined not to be affected by her condition, but there appears to be no choice. She will have the baby, give it up for adoption, and go on with her life. But as she shares devastating insults and the most intimate secrets with a wild collection of other unwed mothers in a group home in Texas, everything changes.

Giving Away Simone : A Memoir
by Jan L. Waldron
Synopsis:
At age 17 Jan Waldron became the unwed mother of a baby girl. Now, in this beautifully written, unforgettable memoir, she offers an eloquent account of a mother's relinquishment of her baby, their turbulent reunion 11 years later, and the decade after that in which they attempted to negotiate a peaceful reconciliation.

I See the Moon
by C. B. Christiansen
Synopsis:
When Bitte, age 12, finds out that her sister, Kari, at 16, is pregnant, nothing could please her more. She will be the perfect aunt. Then she is devastated to learn that Kari intends to place the child for adoption. Unable to understand Kari's decision, Bitte is sent to stay with her uncle until the baby is born. It is during this stay that she comes to see the love in her sister's act of courage.

Stepparent Adoptions

How to Adopt a Child Without a Lawyer for Less Than 50 Dollars Benji O. Anosike; Paperback

How to Adopt Your Stepchild in California by Frank Zagone, Mary Randolph; Paperback
For many stepparents, adoption is a way to guarantee their family a solid footing. It's also a good way to avoid confusion over inheritance or guardianship. This book provides all the forms and step-by-step instructions necessary to complete an uncontested stepparent adoption.

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Specifically Open Adoption

ADOPTION: A Handful of Hope
by Suzanne Arms
In a series of case studies _ closely observed, personal and moving _ we learn what adoption means to children, to adoptive parents, and especially to the women making an adoption plan for their babies. ADOPTION: A HANDFUL OF HOPE gets to the heart of what adoption is really like and shows how the whole process can be improved. This book describes how open adoption has affected the lives of many families as their children have grown. (Paper, 436 pgs, 1990)

THE OPEN ADOPTION EXPERIENCE
by Lois Ruskai Melina and Sharon Kaplan Roszia
Two leading experts provide an authoritative and reassuring guide to the issues and concerns of adoptive and birth families through all stages of the open adoption relationship. It covers the steps from initial preparation, to placement and the first year, through the challenges of adolescence. The OPEN ADOPTION EXPERIENCE is a timely and authoritative book that helps all involved in an adoption to understand and nurture their relationship as it grows and changes. (Paper, 389 pgs, 1993)

DEAR BIRTHMOTHER, Thank You for Our Baby
by Kathleen Silber, M.S.W. and Phylis Speedlin, Esq.
DEAR BIRTHMOTHER is the classic book on open adoption. It contains actual letters written between adoptive families, both children and adults, and birthparents. In a caring and compassionate manner, it makes the case for openness in adoption. The book provides specific and practical suggestions. It will cause you to consider carefully the issue of open adoption. You'll need two copies _ one for yourself and one to give to your child's birthmother. (Paper, 194 pgs, 1991)

CHILDREN OF OPEN ADOPTION
by Kathleen Silber, M.S.W. and Patricia Martinez Dorner, M.A., L.P.C.
This sequel to DEAR BIRTHMOTHER examines the effects of open adoption on the adopted child at each stage of development: infancy, preschool, school age and the teenage years. As with the previous book, the text is filled with excerpts from actual letters between members of the adoption triangle _ birthparents, adopted children and adoptive parents. CHILDREN OF OPEN ADOPTION has become another classic.. (Paper, 193 pgs, 1989)

ADOPTION WITHOUT FEAR
ed. by James L. Gritter, M.S.W.
In ADOPTION WITHOUT FEAR, seventeen couples give the stories of their experiences with open adoption. The reader shares in their joy and pain as they travel the road to adoption. They describe the bittersweet feelings as they add a child to their family while watching the birthparents say good-bye. Through these first person narratives, you come to understand what the term "open adoption" really means. (Paper, 176 pgs, 1989)

ADOPTION TRIANGLE
by Arthur Sorosky, M.D., Annette Baran, M.S.W. and Reuben Pannor, M.S.W.
This classic in the field offers a bright glimpse into the future and while overthrowing the old myths about adoption. The Los Angeles Times refers to it as "comprehensive, factual, forward looking, totally honest, readable and thoughtful." THE ADOPTION TRIANGLE is a well rounded book that leads to an understanding of adoption as a lifelong process for adoptees, birth parents and adoptive parents. (Paper, 237 pgs, 1984)

OPEN ADOPTION: A Caring Option
by Jeanne Warren Lindsay, M.A., C.H.E.
This book presents the concept of open adoption from a highly positive viewpoint. Its definition of open adoption strongly emphasizes the need for counseling, both for the birthparents and the adoptive parents. Using personal narratives, the book thoroughly explains the advantages and disadvantages of this approach to adoption. Specific agency examples are given to illustrate the process. OPEN ADOPTION: A CARING OPTION is an advocacy book for adoption reform. (Paper, 256 pgs, 1987)

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ISSUES FOR ADOPTEES

Adoption : The Facts, Feelings, and Issues of a Double Heritage
by Jeanne Duprau (Paper,1990)
Discusses the legal and emotional aspects of the adoption process and examines the current movement for giving the adoptee free access to the records concerning his or her origin. Lists sources to consult if searching for ones's birth parents.

THE ADOPTION LIFE CYCLE: The Children and Their Families Through the Years
by Elinor B. Rosenberg, M.D.
Synopsis:
Examines the effects of adoption on adoptees, adoptive parents, and birth parents at every stage of life and concludes that adoption is still a worthy solution to a significant social problem.
Table of Contents
1. The Myth of the Perfect Solution
2. To Have but Not to Hold: Developmental Tasks of Birth Parents
3. Becoming Parents: Developmental Tasks of Adoptive Mothers and Fathers
4. Growing Up Adopted: Developmental Tasks of Adoptees
5. Shared Lives: The Interrelationship of Developmental Tasks of Birth Parents, Adoptive Parents, and Adoptees
6. When Help Is Needed: Implications for Clinical Interventions
7. Surrounding the Adoption Circle: Implications for Social and Legal Practice
Appendix A. Developmental Tasks of Birth Parents
Appendix B. Developmental Tasks of Adoptive Parents
Appendix C. Developmental Tasks of Adoptees

(REVIEW: This well-balanced book will appeal to a wide range of readers. It provides a well integrated presentation of significant issues of adoption. It discusses developmental tasks of birth parents, adoptive parents and adoptees with commentary on their overlapping issues and intrrelationships. A section on clinical interventions is technical in approach and incorporates developmental stages. The book closes with discussion of legal and social implications.I have spent days searching libraries and data bases for solid information on adoption and life stages. This book is a direct hit for all members of the adoption triad as well as those in the helping professions. )

THE ADOPTION READER: Birth Mothers, Adoptive Mothers, and Adopted Daughters Tell Their Stories
by Susan Wadia-Ells (Editor) (Paperback; 1995)

Adoption has always been a woman's issue. With eloquence and conviction, birth mothers, adoptive mothers and adoptees tell their adoption stories and explore what is a deeply emotional, sometimes controversial, and always compelling experience that affects millions of families and individuals.

The author, Susan Wadia-Ells, adopt@sover.net, 11/18/96: The first feminist book on adoption & a literary anthology The Adoption Reader contains essays and stories by birth mothers, adoptive mothers and adopted daughters. These diverse stories of women's lives illustrate how women have moved through their adoption journeys in order to name and claim their whole lives. The thirty essays written by well known authors such as Louise Erdrich, Nancy Mairs, Shay Youngblood, and Florence Fisher, along with many less established writers, cover topics such as: open adoption; international adoption; lesbian families; single parent adoptions; bi-racial adoptees; reunions; open records;special needs children and foster parenting. This is a wonderful "gift book" for birth mothers, adoptees, adoptive families and for clinicians and administrators in the adoption field. The book has been favorably reviewed by major adoption organizations (AAC, Adoption, PACT, Roots & Wings, Chain of Life, etc) and by academic/women's studies journals alike. [Library Journal, The Women's Review of Books, etc]. The Women's Press just issued the British Editoin of the book in September, 1996. This has become the best-selling book at adoption conferences nation-wide and is being "adopted" by women's literature and family studies courses through-out the USA and Canada.

Adoption Reunions : A Book for Adoptees, Birth Parents and Adoptive Families
by Michelle McColm ( Paperback, 1993)

The author, Zo? Kessler (formerly Michelle McColm), zoek@istar.ca, 02/14/97: My readers say it best!

Writing Adoption Reunions was one of the most difficult, but also one of the most rewarding tasks I've undertaken. I'm delighted with the overwhelming response from its readers. Here is what adoptees, birth mothers and professionals around the world have to say:

from Adoptees: "For 14 years I've been in complete turmoil and overwhelmed with adoption guilt and shame. Only after reading your book have I really felt such tremendous relief in knowing others feel exactly as I do. I took the first deep breath in years and it feels wonderful!...thank you a million times over for your insight!"

Adoption Reunions is the most comprehensive book about reunions so far..." - Nancy Verrier, MFCC, adoptive mother, author of The Primal Wound: Understanding the Adoptive Child, California, U.S.A.

Adoption Wisdom : A Guide to the Issues and Feelings of Adoption
by Marlou Russell Paperback, 1996
jcraia@aol.com, 03/15/97, rating=10: An excellent, honest view of the realities of adoption. Adoptees, birth parents, and adoptive parents voice their experiences of adoption with honest, direct commentary from the author. A well-balanced book. A must read for those involved in adoption and anyone considering adoption.

BEING ADOPTED: The Lifelong Search for Self
by David Brodzinsky, Ph.D., Marshall Schechter, M.D. and Robin Henig
BEING ADOPTED: THE LIFELONG SEARCH FOR SELF illustrates the adoptees' common developmental pathways as they occur throughout the life span. It probes the complex issues that are involved in this ongoing life process. Five themes run throughout this book: the experience of adoptees, developmental perspectives, normality, search for self and sense of loss. (Paper, 213 pgs, 1992)

Birthbond : Reunions Between Birthparents and Adoptees - What Happens After...
by Judith S. Gediman (Paperback, 1991)

Birthright : The Guide to Search and Reunion for Adoptees, Birthparents, and Adoptive Parents
by Jean A. S. Strauss (Paperback, 1994)
In 1983, the author--herself an adoptee--began her search for her birth mother. In this inspiring new handbook, she shares her experiences and helps searchers map out their own step-by-step journeys that will help empower and support them throughout this trying and significant time.

JOURNEY OF THE ADOPTED SELF: A Quest for Wholeness
by Betty Jean Lifton, Ph.D.
In attempting to discover who they are and where they come from, adoptees face a lifelong search for truth. This book explores the inner psychological world of adopted people and shows that their search for biological and historical roots can be a journey toward wholeness. JOURNEY OF THE ADOPTED SELF draws on a study of adult adoptees as well as the author's personal experiences to illuminate how adoptees form a sense of self. (Paper, 328 pgs, 1994)

OUTER SEARCH/INNER JOURNEY
by Peter Dodds
The search for roots and the parallel inner journey for healing. Adoptees who read the book will know they aren't alone in wondering where they come from and have feelings validated about the need to search for biological parents. Birth mothers will learn how a child surrendered for adoption thought and felt about the woman who brought him in to the world. Parents who adopt can gain insight on how to effectively deal with their child's trauma stemming from adoption. For the general or non-adoptee reader--Outer Search\Inner Journeyis every persons search for belonging. Any one who has suffered the grief of losing a loved one will relate to the author losing both his birth mother and father. Those who have felt lonely, isolated and abandoned will identify with the story. But the book's most valuable benefit it that it offers a message of hope to everyone who has suffered the pains of loss and separation

The Primal Wound : Understanding the Adopted Child
by Nancy Verrier ( Paperback, 1993)

David Hill [born Aikin-Sneath] (hilld@usa.net), 05/30/97, rating=10: Essential for anyone involved with adoption This book is the bible of Adoption Books. I reccommend it for adoptees, adoptive parents and birthparents. Dealing with adoption without having read this book is like jumping out of a aircraft without a parachute.

Redwood399@aol.com, 08/27/96, rating=10: A sterling book about the impact of the adoption experience. As an adoptee, The Primal Wound validates and normalizes feelings I have had all my life. It should be read by all adoptive and birth parents to give them insight into their children's feelings and behavior. As a professional dealing with PTSD issues, this book is a must. If you read only one book about adoption, this is the one to read.Marianne Dickerman Caldwell, author of GONE WITHOUT A TRACE, (1995).

SECOND CHOICE: Growing Up Adopted
by Robert Andersen, M.D.
In this unique book, a psychiatrist looks back at his own black-market adoption. He combines an autobiographical description of growing up adopted with a professional analysis of the impact of adoption on his life. This book raises interesting questions about the effects of adoption on an adoptee's life. (Paper, 164 pgs, 1993)

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GENERAL ADOPTION BOOKS FOR EVERYONE

THE ADOPTION LIFE CYCLE: The Children and Their Families Through the Years
by Elinor B. Rosenberg, M.D.
Synopsis:
Examines the effects of adoption on adoptees, adoptive parents, and birth parents at every stage of life and concludes that adoption is still a worthy solution to a significant social problem.
Table of Contents
1. The Myth of the Perfect Solution
2. To Have but Not to Hold: Developmental Tasks of Birth Parents
3. Becoming Parents: Developmental Tasks of Adoptive Mothers and Fathers
4. Growing Up Adopted: Developmental Tasks of Adoptees
5. Shared Lives: The Interrelationship of Developmental Tasks of Birth Parents, Adoptive Parents, and Adoptees
6. When Help Is Needed: Implications for Clinical Interventions
7. Surrounding the Adoption Circle: Implications for Social and Legal Practice
Appendix A. Developmental Tasks of Birth Parents
Appendix B. Developmental Tasks of Adoptive Parents
Appendix C. Developmental Tasks of Adoptees

(Well balanced professionally written book on adoption issues
This well-balanced book will appeal to a wide range of readers. It provides a well integrated presentation of significant issues of adoption. It discusses developmental tasks of birth parents, adoptive parents and adoptees with commentary on their overlapping issues and intrrelationships. A section on clinical interventions is technical in approach and incorporates developmental stages. The book closes with discussion of legal and social implications.I have spent days searching libraries and data bases for solid information on adoption and life stages. This book is a direct hit for all members of the adoption triad as well as those in the helping professions. )

THE PSYCOLOGY OF ADOPTION
by David M. Brodzinsky, Marshall D. Schechter (Editor), David M. Brodxinsky
Synopsis: In this volume David Brodzinsky and Marshall Schechter have brought together a group of leading researchers from various disciplines to explore the complex interdisciplinary subject of adoption. While recent work has shown that adopted children are more vulnerable to psychological and school-related problems compared to their nonadopted peers, and that the rate of referral of adopted children to mental-health facilities is far above the general population, our understanding of the basis for these problems remains unclear. This book explores new insights into the problems of adopted kids.

ONCE YOU"VE ADOPTED

A CHILD'S JOURNEY THROUGH PLACEMENT
by Vera I. Fahlberg, M.D.
For some children, being in placement is only a brief stop on the way to being reunited with their parents or placed with an adoptive family. Others may wander in and out of care throughout their childhood. A CHILD'S JOURNEY THROUGH PLACEMENT provides the tools to help both professionals and parents support these children on their way to adulthood. (Paper, 432 pgs, 1991)

TEACH AND REACH: Students with Attention Deficit Disorders
by Nancy L. Eisenberg, M.S.W. and Pamela H. Esser, M.S.
Written for both parents and educators of ADD students, this easy to use, comprehensive reference covers all aspects of students' functioning (academic, social, emotional, and behavioral) in the classroom. It provides detailed innovative and effective teaching techniques and academic modification procedures. It includes strategies for doing homework, building self-esteem, stimulating motivation, and increasing organizational skills. TEACH AND REACH is an excellent book for you to donate to the teachers' professional library in your child's school as well as to keep for yourself. (Spiral bound, 200 pgs, 1994)

GROWING UP ADOPTED: A Portrait of Adolescents and Their Families
by P.L. Benson, Ph.D., A.R. Sharma, Ph.D., L.P, and E.C. Roehlkepartain
GROWING UP ADOPTED presents the eagerly awaited results of a groundbreaking study designed to examine the mental health and service needs of adolescents who were adopted as infants. The book examines issues such as identity, self-esteem, attachment, and family dynamics. The strong conclusion presented is that most adopted children do just as well as their nonadopted counterparts. (Paper, 128 pgs, 1994)

ADOPTION AND THE FAMILY SYSTEM: Strategies for Treatment
by Miriam Reitz, Ph.D., L.C.S.W., and Kenneth W. Watson, M.S.W., L.C.S.W.
Adoption is a profound experience that touches upon universal themes of abandonment, identity, sexuality, parenthood, and the sense of belonging. This book utilizes family systems theory to construct a practical treatment approach for working with families on the myriad issues and interrelationships that surround adoption. ADOPTION AND THE FAMILY SYSTEM offers practical guidance for implementing differential treatment and effective clinical procedures for all members of the adoption triangle. (Hardcover, 340 pgs, 1992)

KINSHIP WITH STRANGERS: Adoption and Interpretations of Kinship in American Culture
by Judith S. Modell
Adoption challenges our understanding of the core symbols of kinship in American culture: birth, biology, and blood. KINSHIP WITH STRANGERS examines these symbols and the way that they affect people who experience adoption. The findings reported here are timely and extremely moving _ they contribute valuable insights to the current debates about secrecy and decision making power in adoption. (Hardcover, 280 pgs, 1994)

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ADOPTION
by Christine Adamec and William L. Pierce, Ph.D.

RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT: A Tapestry of Many Therapies
by Vera I Fahlberg, M.D.