Book Review: So You want to adopt…Now What?: A Practical Guide for Navigating the Adoption Process

Sara Dormon is a clinical psychologist who counsels women who face unplanned pregnancies and are considering adoption. Ruth Graham is the mother of a woman who released a child for adoption when she was a teenager. So it makes sense that So You Want to Adopt…Now What? seeks to help adoptive... more

Part 4 of 4

Part 1: Book Review: Adoption as a Ministry, Adoption as a Blessing by Michelle Gardner Part 2: When Your Spouse is Reluctant to Adopt Part 3: What... more

Part 3 of 4

Part 1: Book Review: Adoption as a Ministry, Adoption as a Blessing by Michelle Gardner.

Part 2: When Your Spouse is Reluctant to Adopt

When Michelle and Steve Gardner decided to adopt older children with physical challenges, their friends and church family challenged them with several questions.... more

Part 2 of 4

In the previous post, I reviewed Adoption as a Ministry, Adoption as a Blessing by Michelle Gardner. In the next two posts, we’ll look more closely at some of the topics introduced in the book.

Michelle’s husband, Steve Gardner, chimes in on one chapter called “The Reluctant Father.”... more

Part 1 of 4

If you’re considering adopting an older child with physical challenges, you should read Adoption as a Ministry, Adoption as a Blessing, by Michelle Gardner. In 1994, Michelle and Steve Gardner thought they had the perfect family; they had two biological sons, ages 10 and 8, and a daughter, 5. The family lived in Taiwan, where Michelle and Steve taught in a school for missionary... more

My Special Someone: A Child’s Perspective of Adoption by Brittany and Sherry Kyle

Part 1 of 3

Have you ever thought about writing a book in honor of the child you hope to adopt? If so, My Special Someone is the perfect example for you to follow. This delightful little picture book was written and illustrated by 6-year-old Brittany Kyle (with help from mom, Sherry), to honor her adopted sister, Grace.

Brittany begins, “Once upon a time, I really wanted... more

Kids ask lots of interesting questions about their friends, relatives and classmates who were adopted. Adults ask many of the same questions. So Amy Coughlin and Caryn Abramowitz put their heads together and wrote a book that responds to those questions in a simple, direct fashion.

Cross-Cultural Adoption: How to Answer Questions from Family, Friends, and Community is organized in three parts.

Part... more

Part 3 of a 3-part series

In the previous two posts I discussed themes that bother me in adoption-related fiction and I began reviewing best-selling author Karen Kingsbury’s latest novel, Like Dandelion Dust. told me that the plot was inspired by a news report she read that caused her to wonder “what if…”

…What... more

Part 2 of a 3-part series

In my previous post, I discussed my unease that nearly all adoption fiction focuses on one of two themes:

Birth parents who want their child back. Birth parents/children who search and reunite with one another.

Karen Kingsbury’s latest novel is no exception. Currently #1 on the Christian bestseller list, Like... more

Part 1 of a 3-part series

Two prevalent themes exist in nearly all the adoption-themed fiction I read, including Christian fiction. Both themes play up the worst fears and deepest sorrows of people involved with adoption.

First, there’s the theme about birth parents who suddenly decide they want their child back. Second, there’s the theme about angst-ridden searches and reunions between birth parent(s)/child.

Adoption, in and of itself, isn’t very exciting. Who wants to read a novel about normal, happy adoptive families... more