Adoption Books
Nurturing Adoptions is several long-awaited books in one: a deft overview of neglect and trauma's effects on children and families, a collection of practical pearls for adoptive parents, a best practices primer for child welfare professionals, and a lovely illustration for child therapists of Deborah Gray's state-of-the-art therapeutic approach.
While I do enjoy traipsing around the Pacific Northwest to Deborah's fantastic trainings, it's so nice to finally have this material collected in book form, especially one so infused with hope, wry wit, empathy for all involved, and hard-earned practical wisdom. Her previous book, Attaching in Adoption, which has been our must-read attachment book for parents and professionals, now has a wonderful new sibling.
This practical primer covers some of the same ground as Nurturing Adoptions, but is a quicker read. They would complement each other nicely for parents looking for practical ways to parent fostered and adopted kids using high nurture and high structure.
A very nice place to start for families exploring international adoption. The author interviewed a lot of folks in the field, and put together an excellent collection of country charts, as well as advice on choosing an agency, worksheets for the the paper chase, travel tips, and information about common transitional issues for adoptive families.
There isn't a lot out there on the unique challenges of toddlers, let alone adopted toddlers. This is a book that many of our parents have liked.
A classic - this gentle, sensitive overview of adoption addresses adoptive parents, birth parents, and their children. Covers the developmental stages in adoption and "normative crises" along the way.
I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on this one ... looks to be an excellent compendium of adoption parenting advice.
A different kind of adoption book - essays by 20 adoptive parents on various aspects of the adoption experience.
A good read about adoption and contemporary America ... compelling evidence and arguments about open versus closed adoptions, the role of money in adoption, and other hot topics.
Children need a safe, loving way to revisit their life story, again and again. A lifebook really can be simple (sometimes simple is best), so don't let scrapbooking performance anxiety get in the way.
Written for pediatricians and practioners but accessible enough for the ambitious parent. A wonderful, exhaustively researched textbook on adoption medicine.
