Books for Adults on Adoption from China and Korea

by Pam Connell | More from this Blogger

09 Apr 2007 09:29 PM

I recently published a series of blogs on children's books dealing with adoption, including books specifically featuring kids adopted from different countries. Here, I will present books for adults on adoption from China and Korea. Many are memoirs which tell of adoptive families' experiences. Others are memoirs of adoptees and even of birthmothers and an adoption worker. Others are serious looks at the topics of preserving heritage and the reasons children are available for adoption.

Books for adults on Korean adoption: A Single Square Picture tells the story of a girl adopted at age 7 who returns to search for her birthfamily. Their reunion brings unexpected complications. Lots of description from the year the author lived in Seoul as an adult, and description of relations with both her birth and adoptive families.

Voices from Another Place is an anthology of writing by Korean adoptees, mostly young adults.

After the Morning Calm: Reflections of Korean Adoptees contains reflections on identity and growing up different from Korean adoptees ranging in age from their 20s to their 50s.

I Wish for You a Beautiful Life is a collection of letters by birthparents as if addressed to their children. They are written by residents of a Korean maternity home as a part of their counseling after relinquishment. (It is a book intended for adults, to give them insight they can use to answer their children's questions. It is not appropriate for children as several of the young women report having considered abortion or even suicide.)

Many Lives Intertwined is the memoirs of Hyun-Sook Han, a Korean woman who became a worker at an American adoption agency and placed many thousands of Korean children in American homes.

A Euro-American on a Korean Tour at a Thai Restaurant in China is adoptive parent Chris Winstons' story of parenting teens adopted cross-culturally.

Pushing Up the Sky is a memoir of a woman in an intercultural marriage in the U.S. who has a biological child and adopts both an infant and an older child from Korea.

Books for Adults on Adoption from China: Meeting Sophie: a Memoir of Adoption. This adoption memoir is unique because the author talks about the impact of her adoption upon her career and her relations with her extended family.

Chinese Adoption Handbook: How to Adopt from China and Korea Author: John H MacLean Practical information, researched from an adoptive father's perspective.

From China With Love: A Long Road to Motherhood Author: Emily Buchanan Journalist Buchanan describes how she was determined to adopt from a country where adoption was well-regulated to avoid any potential issues with child trafficking. Her daughter was one of those few Chinese girls in foster care instead of an orphanage, but there were still cultural issues and the reaction of friends back home to deal with.

Lost Daughters of China: Abandoned Girls, Their Journey to America, and the Search for a Missing PastAuthor: Karin Evans Written by an adoptive parent; presents a more scholarly and reflective look at societal trends in China and America which are emerging from China's one-child policy and cross-cultural adoption. More on these issues is found in Wanting a Daughter, Needing a Son: Abandonment, Adoption, and Orphanage Care in Chinaby Kay Ann Johnson

Intercountry Adoption from China: Examining Cultural Heritage and Other Postadoption Issues, by Jay and Jaci Radzewski, survey adoptive parents' attitudes and experiences regarding teaching about heritage, Chinese language acquisition, dealing with diversity or lack of diversity in their neighborhoods and schools, and more.

Passage to the Heart: Writings from Families with Children from ChinaAuthor: Amy Klatzkin (ed.) An anthology of writings by parents who've adopted from China.

Waiting Child: How the Faith and Love of One Orphan Saved the Life of Another By Cindy Champnella The author's daughter, adopted at age four, had taken on a somewhat maternal role to a younger boy at the orphanage and convinced her adoptive family to return for him.

For children's books related to adoption, please see the following blogs:

Children's Books on Adoption from Korea and Vietnam

Children's Books on Adoption from China

Children's Books Starring Internationally Adopted Kids (includes kids adopted from Eastern Europe and Latin America as well as books on international adoption with no country specified)

Children's Books on Adoption: Domestic and General Adoption Issues

Learn more about Pam Connell

Pam Connell is a mother of three by both birth and adoption. She has worked in education, child care, social services, ministry and journalism.

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger

gina00 (680) 09 Apr 2007 10:09 PM

Thank you Pam :) What a great list of helpful resources :) Gina