Showing titles in Adoption & Fostering

Through Adopted Eyes explores the world of adoption from the viewpoint of adoptees. Russian adoptee Elena S. Hall shares her own story and thoughts on the subject of adoption in addition to interviews from other adoptees of different ages, heritages, and perspectives. Whether you are an adoptive parent, curious about adoption, or an adoptee yourself, this unique collection of memoirs provides real insight into lives directly impacted by adoption.

The adoption of a child is always a joyous moment in the life of a family. Some adoptions, though, present unique challenges. Welcoming these children into your family - and addressing their special needs - requires care, consideration, and compassion.

Harrowing, heart-breaking and often horrific were the challenges that confronted Marvin after his birth in prison. Born in distress, Marvin was wrenched from his drug-addicted parents and deposited into an orphanage. In this inspirational memoir, Marvin searches for his birth parents and battles his crack addiction with the help of the woman he loves, determined to start a family and to live his life crime and drug free.

Born in Africa to a Nigerian princess, Precious Williams was less than one year old when her mother put an ad in Nursery World: "Pretty Nigerian baby girl needs new home." Precious's mother had flown to London in search of a new life - a life in which there was no space for a daughter. The first response came rom a 60-year-old white woman, Nan, who prided herself for being "color blind." Correspondence were exchanged, no questions asked, and Precious left her mother for Nan's home in rural England.

After two years of waiting to adopt - slogging through paperwork and bouncing between hope and despair - a miracle finally happened for Vanessa McGrady. Her sweet baby, Grace, was a dream come true. Then Vanessa made a highly uncommon gesture: when Grace’s biological parents became homeless, Vanessa invited them to stay. Without a blueprint for navigating the practical basics of an open adoption or any discussion of expectations or boundaries, the unusual living arrangement became a bottomless well of conflicting emotions and increasingly difficult decisions.

Baby Rosemary - born to an Italian teen and a married black man in Detroit in 1946 - is adopted from an agency by a black couple in Saginaw, Michigan. The adoptive mother's abuse instills in the girl, whom they name Marylin Elnora, ambition to achieve great things on her own. At age 19, Marylin sparks a racial and religious scandal by marrying former Roman Catholic priest Thomas Lee Atkins, who is white and 25 years older.

Nancy's labor pains were harsh and long, close to seven years, in fact. Conceived by Ukrainian parents, her two adopted children, Alyona and Alec, began their rebirth six years later in an American city near the East Coast shoreline.

Kaiser is a dog who grew up on the streets with his owner - although they were homeless, they had each other and with that came an unbreakable bond. However, when Kaiser's owner is diagnosed with terminal cancer, their future together is cut short and Kaiser is at risk of being left alone and in danger. However, this is when Michelle - founder of the charity Dogs On The Streets - met Kaiser and his owner. She immediately knows that she must help Kaiser and tirelessly campaigns on his and his owner's behalf.

Embarking on an adoption journey can be daunting, but now you are not alone! This collection of true, beautiful accounts takes an honest look at the process, the struggles, and the undeniable joy that comes with adoption. With insights from all three adoption triad viewpoints, Adopting Hope shares a wealth of lessons learned and tips for every person contemplating an adoption journey.

When they were young, Susan and Edna, children of Holocaust refugee parents, were inseparable; Edna was Susan’s first love and constant companion. But as they grew up and Edna’s physical and mental challenges altered the ways she could develop, a gulf formed between them. Susan’s life became even more complicated when, just short of her 16th birthday, she learned that she’d been born without a uterus and would never menstruate or give birth to children. As she coped with this trauma, Edna continued loving her unconditionally, as she always had.

The audiobook You May Not Be Who You Think You Are! is a compelling, hard-fought, masterful, real-life account of one man's journey of dogged determination to discover his once concealed bloodline. A bloodline that had been quietly and mysteriously tucked away in the innermost crevices of the heart where only the sacred secrets of adoption, and the captive spirit of deceit owned the power to released it into the light of truth.

Two Heartscharts a course through a complex series of relationships stemming from the author's adoptive family, her maternal and paternal birth families, and an abusive marriage as the author seeks the one thing she so desperately wants: Family. It is the story of a woman's journey through unfathomable grief, of what it takes to go into the abyss of deep-seated wounding, to feel the pain, and to come out the other side, whole, healed, and thankful.

As a child, Susan Silverman was surrounded by a loving family; although her parents weren't happily married, they were devoted to their kids. In a vibrant, funny, imminently relatable voice (think Anne Lamott meets Katrina Kenison), Silverman tells of a family's evolution - from her parents' devastating loss of their infant son to raising bright and wildly unique daughters. It's also the creation story of her own family - raising her own bright and wildly unique daughters and taking a journey to adopt two boys from Ethiopia.

Belonging Matters is meant to support the adoption community, while creating a conversation with those not directly touched by adoption.

When a family secret comes to light, lives are changed forever in this honest, beautiful, and sometimes painful memoir. When Mark, adopted at birth, set out to find his genetic family as an adult, he found something he never expected—three full-blood siblings, including a persistent sister who would alter the course of his life. He finds himself faced with the emotional task of coming to know his entire birth family, along with the unintended impact it has on his parents and his marriage. This raises age-old questions: What defines family? Nature or nurture?

Faces of Foster Care has heartfelt and frank messages from people around the country who have been involved in some way with foster care. Told like mini memoirs, their inspiring and sometimes heartbreaking stories bring us into their lives and show us unique perspectives of foster care in the United States.

Robert Tickner had always known he was adopted but had rarely felt much curiosity about his origins. Serving in the Hawke and Keating governments, he held the portfolio of minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs, and while there he was instrumental in instigating the national inquiry into the Stolen Generations. When, in his 40s, Robert at last turned his attention to the question of his own birth, he had some sense of the potentially life-changing course that lay ahead of him.

Pregnant from her first sexual encounter, a teenager living in a town of 3,000 Catholics keeps her secret from everyone until six weeks before the baby's due date. Hustled out of town and hidden in the Iowa countryside within hours of finally confiding in her mother, she concocts a scheme that will allow her to raise her child, but can she win over any of the people who might help her? As her pregnancy and its looming consequences unfold, she realizes that her life of lies and secrets has only just begun.

If you want to know how to be a better step parent, then check out this step-by-step guide. You will discover the effective tools and techniques on how to blend families together with less conflict and become a better step parent to the kids.

In this practical guide, adoptive parent Helen Oakwater helps you to understand the ins and outs of adoption. Using Helen’s insights and tips, you will become better at understanding what makes you tick, and learn how to become calmer, kinder to yourself, and identify what helps or hinders. Only when you have learned how to look after yourself can you nurture a hurt child.