Search Results for: blog book review the open adoption experience

Book Review: Secret Thoughts of An Adopted Mother

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“Dedicated with love to my son’s mother and mine,” writes Jana Wolff in her memoir Secret Thoughts of An Adoptive Mother. This sentence, as well as Wolff’s chapter “Mother’s Day or Mothers’ Day?” reveal Wolff’s understanding spirit, which shines through her memoir even as she discloses the conflicting thoughts and feelings that we all have. In her introduction, Wolff says that while she was a parent-in-waiting beginning the (domestic newborn) adoption process, she found books and articles about how to adopt, but none which talked about feelings brought up by different stages of the adoptive process. This book is an … Continue reading →

Book Review: Children of Open Adoption and their Families

Children of Open Adoption and their Families, by Kathleen Silber and Patricia Martinez Dorner, is an important read for adoptive parents, whether their adoptions are open or not. Other books describe the process of adoption. This book explores how the children in open adoptions actually feel and think, and how the adoptive and birth family members feel. These stories of children and their parents are a gold mine for those of us who’ve always wondered, “But how does open adoption work, exactly?” This book was written in 1987, but open adoption had already been in place in some agencies for … Continue reading →

Adoption Plot Alert—ER Series Finale at Earlier Time Tonight

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I’m always curious to see how adoption is portrayed in the general media. Last month I talked about an adoption storyline on NBC’s hit medical drama ER. ER (for Emergency Room) is ending its 15-year run tonight in a 2-hour series finale which will air at 9 p.m. in the Pacific and Eastern Time Zones, 8 p.m. Central Time. The finale will be preceded by an “ER Retrospective” show, airing at 8 p.m. in the Pacific and Eastern Time Zones and 7 p.m. Central Time. Angela Bassett plays Dr. Banfield, the tough head of the ER who just began the … Continue reading →

Embryo Adoption, Part Two

My last blog was on a relatively new type of adoption, embryo adoption. The visibility of embryo adoption will, I predict, increase quite a bit for three reasons. The increased debate about stem cells will impact people’s awareness of and beliefs about frozen embryos, which are a main source of embryonic stem cells. Some scientists say that embryonic stem cells, which have not yet differentiated into different types of tissues, will be the most useful for treating diseases (although non-embryonic stem cells, obtained from blood, umbilical cords or other tissue, have already been used to treat aplastic anemia, and other … Continue reading →

Book Review: We Rode the Orphan Trains

I’ve written a blog before on the story of the orphan trains, a true story which has captured the imagination of several writers who have written either memoirs or historical fiction. We Rode the Orphan Trains, by Andrea Warren, is different because it interviews adoptees at the other end of their life stories, those senior citizens who are still living today (the book was published in 2001) and who rode the orphan trains between 1854 and 1929. We rarely hear from adoptees looking back on their entire lives. The book’s format consists of introductory and concluding chapters, and a second … Continue reading →

Book Review: International Adoption: Sensitive Advice for Prospective Parents

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International Adoption: Sensitive Advice for Prospective Parents is a collaboration between Jean Knoll and Mary-Kate Murphy. Jean Knoll kept a journal throughout the process which led through two failed referrals, two adoption agencies and three countries to the eventual adoption of her daughter Jessie in Peru. Katie Murphy met her briefly in Peru just before returning to the U.S. with her own Peruvian daughter. Murphy writes commentary chapters giving some of the background of international adoption. These appear in between segments of Knoll’s journal. Knoll adopted as a single parent; Murphy has a husband and a biological son. There is … Continue reading →

Book Review: Adopting After Infertility

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Adopting After Infertility differs from other adoption books in that it goes more deeply into the losses of infertility, attitudes toward family, and decision making, as well as parenting adopted children if that is the option chosen. The book is divided into three sections. Part One deals with the losses experienced by persons who are infertile. There are tips on self-care, dealing with the stresses of infertility, and handling family events and relatives’ baby showers. Rather than specific medical information on options, this book offers ways to consider the emotional impact of the various options such as hormone treatment, in … Continue reading →

My Favorite Book Reviews of 2008

Most of my readers won’t be surprised to learn that I love to read—kids’ books, adult books, nonfiction, picture books—anything. But even I was surprised to learn that I’ve reviewed over 45 books this year. Since many bookstores have post-holiday sales, and since many of us were fortunate enough to receive bookstore gift cards, I’m challenging myself to pick my favorite “top twelve” of the adoption books I’ve reviewed this year. I began the year by starting a series: Adoption Books with Great Art. Although I’m a “word person”, I’ve become increasingly moved by the beautiful ways some artists can … Continue reading →

Book Review: How it Feels to be Adopted

Jill Krementz is a writer and artist known for her simple but powerful black and white photographs and for the word portraits which accompany them. She has written the series “A Very Young..[Dancer, Musician, Gymnast,] and also the series “How it Feels..[to have a Physical Disability, to be Fighting for Your Life, When Parents Divorce]. How it Feels to Be Adopted contains the stories of 19 children, told in their own words and accompanied by photographs. As with my last review, Why Was I Adopted?, I hesitated to read this book because it is twenty years old. Like Why Was … Continue reading →

Adoption Books with Great Art: Megan’s Birthday Tree

Another entry in our Adoption Books with Great Art series is remarkable not only because of its luminous paintings, but because it is one of the rare books that describe an open adoption so naturally. In Megan’s Birthday Tree, the narrator tells us that she sometimes wonders about her adoption, but “I don’t have to go far to find the answers to my questions. Mom and Dad tell me what I want to know. And since I have an open adoption, I stay in touch with my birth mother, Kendra, too. Although I don’t see her often, we mail each … Continue reading →