This companion volume to The Out-of-Sync Child presents activities that parents of kids with Sensory Integration Dysfunction can do at home with their child to strengthen their child’s abilities-and have some fun together along the way. About the Author: Carol Stock Kranowitz, M.A., a preschool teacher for over 25 years, has a special interest in children with Sensory Integration Dysfunction. She collaborated with leading SI authority Lynn A. Balzer-Martin, Ph.D., OTR, to develop an innovative program to screen young children for this disorder. Ms. Kranowitz writes and speaks regularly about the subject and is a consultant to schools wishing to provide SAFE activities for strengthening all children’s healthy neurological development.

Learn how the Mall family adopted five children within 30 months, and why.

This book is ideal for anyone who is desperately waiting for their miracle baby and wants a fresh perspective. Louise Sibley and her husband Jon, Pastor a church in Devon. She writes in a very frank, knowledgeable, compassionate, humorous way and explains how her Christian faith has enabled her to fight against the unending pain of waiting for her promised family.

This book offers profound insight into such issues as how parents can create a truly intimate relationship with their adopted children, the ethics and philosophy of open adoption, and how we should respond when birth parents reappear in our children’s life. It also addresses some of adoptive parents’ most heartfelt questions and concerns about their children. Painful Lessons, Loving Bonds illuminates the heart of open adoption.

They come with a paper sack holding their world: their hopes, fears, and a few belongings. Some foster children stay for an afternoon, some for a few weeks, maybe a few years, and some stay forever. Their stories have touched and tugged at my heart. This is a story about why every child needs a childhood, a home, a family. It’s a story about love. Just ask the Paper Sack Kids!

Consider it the “practical life” version of What to Expect—it’s everything parents need to know about dealing with the practical aspects of having kids, from how to hire a nanny to choosing a guardian to saving for college. This book is about how to handle all of the practical issues that come up when you are a parent.

Never before has the prospect of adopting a child been so confusing or perplexing to the adoptive parent as in contemporary America. Even as the laws are being changed by court decision and legislative action, the birth rate is declining, reducing the number of children available for adoption and so increasing the competition. In an up-to-date explanation of the situation, the author discusses recent changes in the laws and in the procedures affecting who may be adopted under what circumstances, along with the legal proceedings, the agencies involved, and the fees. He also covers pertinent legal side issues, such as conflicts in the right to privacy and black-market babies, and the psychological stresses accompanying adoption.

Prospective adopters and carers are often faced with the prospect of having to decide whether they can care for a child with a health need or condition they know little about and have no direct experience of. It can be difficult to know where to turn for reliable information. What lies behind the diagnoses and “labels” that many looked after children bring with them? And what will it be like to live with them? How will they benefit from family life? The Parenting Matters series addresses those concerns. Each title provides expert knowledge about a particular condition, coupled with facts, figures and guidance presented in a straightforward and accessible style. Adopters and foster carers also describe what it is like to parent an affected child, “telling it like it is,” sharing their parenting experiences and offering useful advice. This combination of expert information and first-hand experiences will help readers to gain knowledge, achieve understanding, and to make informed decisions. This book explores general issues around substance misuse and children entering care as well as the impact on children of exposure to substances during pregnancy, including both specific effects (such as Foetal Alcohol Syndrome) and wider issues (such as genetic susceptibilities).

From the Publisher: Prospective adopters and carers are often faced with the prospect of having to decide whether they can care for a child with a health need or condition they know little about and have no direct experience of. It can be difficult to know where to turn for reliable information. What lies behind the diagnoses and “labels” that many looked after children bring with them? And what will it be like to live with them? How will they benefit from family life?

The Parenting Matters series addresses those concerns. Each title provides expert knowledge about a particular condition, coupled with facts, figures and guidance presented in a straightforward and accessible style. Adopters and foster carers also describe what it is like to parent an affected child, “telling it like it is,” sharing their parenting experiences and offering useful advice. This combination of expert information and first-hand experiences will help readers to gain knowledge, achieve understanding, and to make informed decisions.

This book provides a short explanation of ADHD and related conditions in children and young people, including symptoms, prognosis and treatment. Explores the different ways in which ADHD can affect child development and behaviour; the issues it raises with regard to educational provision for affected children; and where and how to get help.

From the Publisher: Prospective adopters and carers are frequently faced with having to decide whether they can care for a child with a health need or condition they know little about and have no direct experience of. No easy task... Where can they turn for reliable information? What lies behind the diagnoses and “labels” that many looked after children bring with them? And what is it like to live with and care for such a child?

The Parenting Matters series addresses those concerns. Each title provides expert knowledge about a particular condition, coupled with facts, figures and guidance presented in a straightforward and accessible style. Adopters and foster carers also describe what it is like to parent an affected child, “telling it like it is,” sharing their parenting experiences and offering useful advice. This combination of expert information and first hand experiences will help readers to gain knowledge, achieve understanding, and to make informed decisions.

Parenting a Child with Developmental Delay provides an explanation of developmental delay—including assessment, symptoms and prognosis—and what this term means for children. It stresses the importance of focusing on the child as a whole person, including their personality, lifespan development, emotional well-being and life experiences, and not just the child’s condition. The strain placed on the family as a whole that living with a child with developmental delay can cause is addressed and case studies throughout provide “real” examples of children and parents/carers living with a diagnosis.

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About the Author: Pamela Bartram grew up in Glasgow, studied Indian Philosophy and went on to train as a music therapist, working with profoundly disabled children. Subsequently, she retrained as a child psychotherapist, to engage with children in different ways and in the context of the family as a whole. Now also an adult psychotherapist, she works as a clinician/manager in the NHS, developing and managing a CAMHS team for disabled children and their families, and in private practice with children, adolescents and adults. She has a special interest in work with parents and in supporting the process of psychological change where a condition is “incurable.”

Sue and Jim Clifford, inspired by Jim’s own successful adoption, have since 1990 adopted nine children, aged between four and ten on placement. The story of their youngest, and the therapeutic parenting model they use to turn their children’s lives around, was told in the much-acclaimed BBC documentary, screened in 2011, A Home for Maisie. Both parents are well known as speakers on adoption and parenting challenging children. Sue, a dyslexia specialist, is an Adoption UK parent-buddy, and runs parenting training courses. Jim is a corporate financier, and an academic researcher at Cass Business School. He is the author of a study on the impact of permanence in adoption and fostering, and has developed, with the Consortium of Voluntary Adoption Agencies, the first adoption social impact bond for hard-to-place children.

From the Publisher: Prospective adopters and carers are often faced with the prospect of having to decide whether they can care for a child with a health need or condition they know little about and have no direct experience of. It can be difficult to know where to turn for reliable information. What lies behind the diagnoses and “labels” that many looked after children bring with them? And what will it be like to live with them? How will they benefit from family life?

The Parenting Matters series addresses those concerns. Each title provides expert knowledge about a particular condition, coupled with facts, figures and guidance presented in a straightforward and accessible style. Adopters and foster carers also describe what it is like to parent an affected child, “telling it like it is,” sharing their parenting experiences and offering useful advice. This combination of expert information and first-hand experiences will help readers to gain knowledge, achieve understanding, and to make informed decisions.

This book provides a short explanation of Dyslexia and related conditions (including dyspraxia), and their symptoms, prognosis and treatment in children and young people. Explores the different ways in which dyslexia can affect child development as well as the issues it raises with regard to educational provision for affected children, and where and how to get help.

From the Publisher: Prospective adopters and carers are often faced with the prospect of having to decide whether they can care for a child with a health need or condition they know little about and have no direct experience of. It can be difficult to know where to turn for reliable information. What lies behind the diagnoses and “labels” that many looked after children bring with them? And what will it be like to live with them? How will they benefit from family life?

The Parenting Matters series addresses those concerns. Each title provides expert knowledge about a particular condition, coupled with facts, figures and guidance presented in a straightforward and accessible style. Adopters and foster carers also describe what it is like to parent an affected child, “telling it like it is,” sharing their parenting experiences and offering useful advice. This combination of expert information and first-hand experiences will help readers to gain knowledge, achieve understanding, and to make informed decisions.

This book explains mental disorders generally and how they may manifest in children. Outlines the risk of mental disorder in a child from a family with a history of mental disorder, and the factors (genetic and environmental) that can put these children at greater risk. Explores what is known about the physiological processes that may explain a child’s behaviours and higher vulnerability to mental disorder.

From the Back Cover: Your adopted adolescent proclaims, “I can’t wait until I turn eighteen so I can leave!” And you celebrate your future liberation. If this scenario is too familiar, you’re not alone. And you’ve chosen the right resource for parenting strategies, tips, new suggestions, and insights to manage tough situations in your family. Dr. Gregory C. Keck—adoptive parent, psychologist, and adoption expert—helps you understand and appreciate the complicated journey that adopted adolescents face. And once you understand your role in their journey, you will be more effective in your role as a parent.

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About the Author: Gregory C. Keck, Ph.D., is a psychologist and adoptive parent of two sons who were adopted during adolescence. He founded the Attachment and Bonding Center of Ohio, which specializes in treating children and adolescents who have experienced trauma and developmental interruptions. Dr. Keck is also the co-author of Adopting the Hurt Child and Parenting the Hurt Child.

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By the Same Authors: Adopting the Hurt Child: Hope for Families With Special-Needs Kids: A Guide for Parents and Professionals (with Regina Kupecky; 1995, Piñon Press); Parenting the Hurt Child: Helping Adoptive Families Heal and Grow (with Regina Kupecky; 2002); and Keeping Your Adoptive Family Strong: Strategies for Success (L. Gianforte; 2015, Jessica Kingsley), among others.

Ann Stressman wrote this book after hearing Ruby Payne speak about the hidden rules of economic class, combining that perspective into her two decades of personal experience with foster care agencies and the special children needing care. The result is a “nothing can surprise me” compilation of very helpful and enlightening approaches for hundreds of the parenting situations that arise. Dr. Payne has contributed a chapter in the book for how to help children in school, and Stressman includes information for grandparents and adoptive parents as well.

From the Dust Jacket: When a child is adopted, he can arrive with hurts from the past—pain that stunts his emotional growth, and your family’s life, too. At some point your parenting dreams can shatter, and raising a hurt child becomes more like a burden than a blessing.

But don’t give up. With time, patience, informed parenting, and appropriate therapy, your adopted child can heal, grow, and develop beyond what seems possible now. From insights gathered through years of working with adopted kids who have experienced early trauma, Gregory C. Keck and Regina M. Kupecky explain how to manage a hurting child with loving wisdom and resolve, and how to preserve your stability while untangling a thorny heart.

“We hope that what we share will give you strength, courage, and commitment,” write the authors. “We hope you will tap into your own resources and creativity to become the parent you’ve always wanted to be.”

If you’ve adopted a child, whatever the circumstances, you’ll find hope and healing on these pages—for you, your family, and especially your adopted child.

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About the Author: Gregory C. Keck, Ph.D., coauthor of Adopting the Hurt Child, is the founder of the Attachment and Bonding Center of Ohio, specializing in working with adoptive families whose children experienced early trauma. He offers training regarding attahcment disorders, both nationally and internationally. Most important, he’s learned a lot from his two sons.

Regina M. Kupecky, L.S.W., has worked with adoption issues for more than twenty-five years. She currently treats children with attachment disorders at the Attachment and Bonding Center of Ohio, and conducts training nationally and internationally on adoption-related topics. She is also the coauthor of Adopting the Hurt Child.

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By the Same Authors: Adopting the Hurt Child: Hope for Families With Special-Needs Kids: A Guide for Parents and Professionals (with Regina Kupecky; 1995, Piñon Press); Parenting Adopted Adolescents: Understanding and Appreciating Their Journeys (2009); and Keeping Your Adoptive Family Strong: Strategies for Success (L. Gianforte; 2015, Jessica Kingsley), among others.

This book was written specifically with an audience of parents in mind. It uses language that is easy for parents to understand to describe what attachment is; what things can cause an attachment disruption for children; how an attachment disruption can result in both neurological and psychological problems, as well as mild to serious behavior problems for children; and provides an in-depth look at the parenting philosophies and techniques that are the most useful when parenting children who have experienced trauma during their early lives. It also discusses what other psychiatric disorders children may have when they’ve been severely traumatized, the various intensive therapies that are available for children who have serious attachment problems or AD, and how to find a properly qualified and well trained therapist to treat your children. In addition, the book discusses re-parenting techniques that can help children to learn healthier attachment behaviors, as well as a variety of adjunctive therapies that have been used over the years to try to stimulate brain development for traumatized children, many of whom have immaturity and damage in their brains. Many parents have found the book to be extremely useful, and a number of therapists have bought it so that they can share it with the parents that they’re trying to help to better understand what’s going on for their traumatized children. This book, by the highly acclaimed author of Children Who Shock and Surprise, is fast becoming quite popular with both Parents and clinicians with varying degrees of professional training.

This book presents a gentle, nurturing technique based on narrative therapy to help encourage a secure parent-child attachment relationship. Presented in a step by step workbook format, parents and professionals will find this technique easy to learn and helpful for healing trauma, building character, helping self esteem, relieving anxiety, and a variety of other problems. Based on Family Attachment Narrative Therapy, which was developed to work with children traumatized prior to age 2, Parenting with Stories is a valuable book for all parents and professionals.

From the Back Cover: Becoming an Adoptive Parent Has Its Own Special Challenges—and Its Own Special Joys

No one knows that better than author Stephanie E. Siegel, a therapist who counsels adopted children and their families and is also an adoptive mother of three. Now in this practical and reassuring sourcebook, she shares both her personal experiences and her professional expertise with adoption. Beginning with the painful discovery of infertility, which often precedes the decision to adopt, Dr. Siegel explores every facet and every stage of your adopted child’s development—from birth through those crucial teenage years, including:

• Insightful advice on when, how, and why you should tell your child about his or her adoption

• Strategies for coping with possibilities of inherited health problems

• Specific information for raising a biracial child, an international child, and a special-needs child

• Reassuring guidelines for handling the very real situations that can crop up—from answering questions about his or her biological parents to announcing the arrival of a new sibling

• And much more to make your life—and your child’s life—fulfilling, rewarding, and loving!

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About the Author: Dr. Stephanie E. Siegel is an adoptive mom. A psychotherapist who specializes in adoption, she has appeared on TV talk shows (“Woman to Woman,” “Careers,” “Solutions”) and has been interviewed for radio on “It’s Your Affair” and Los Angeles’ KGIL’s “Weekend Magazine.” Her column on parenting appeared monthly in Women’s News.

Using her own experience with a family of four children (three of whom are adopted), Dr. Siegel brings personal identification as well as professional skills to her work with families who meet the ever-changing demands of adoption. She counsels both individuals and groups and offers help to bioparents considering relinquishment, infertile couples, couples waiting for a child, adoptive parents and families, adopted children, adult adoptees, and adoptees and bioparents during search and reunion.

Often her services extend into the community. As Director of Family Life Education at the Congregational Church in Northridge, California, Dr. Siegel developed workshops for parents. She currently leads three adoptive parent support groups and has led a single parent bereavement group at Stephen S. Wise Temple in Los Angeles. In addition, she has lectured extensively in the Southern California area on subjects related to adoption and parenting.

Dr. Siegel maintains her professional practice and supervises interns at the Valley Counseling Clinic in Van Nuys, California. She also has a license to practice counseling and therapy in Montana. She earned her bachelor of arts degree at the University of California, Los Angeles, got her master’s degree from the California Graduate Institute, and received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology and adoption from International College in Los Angeles. As a member of both the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapists and the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, she has been actively involved in the San Fernando Valley chapter. Dr. Siegel lives in the San Fernando Valley with her husband and two of their four children.

From the Back Cover: Learn how to give your adopted child a positive, loving home

Parents of adopted children face unique challenges in addition to all the “regular” problems other families must face. How much information about the adoption should you share with your family? Your neighbors? When should you start explaining adoption to your child, and how? Grounded in a refreshingly positive approach, Parenting Your Adopted Child provides helpful tools that enable you to understand and counter common myths about adoption that may be harmful to your child.

Chock-full of expert advice from a renowned pediatrician who specializes in adoption issues and a noted writer on adoption issues who is also the mother of an adopted child, Parenting Your Adopted Child clearly demonstrates how to tailor your parenting approach to suit your child’s distinct needs. You’ll find the answers to such common concerns as:

• Why, when, and how do I explain adoption to my child and others?

• How can I help my child deal with adoption at different stages of life?

• How do I nurture a strong relationship between siblings?

• How do I deal with family members who don’t include my child?

• How do I help my child deal with people who harbor negative views of adoption?

• Does my child need a therapist and, if so, how do I find the right one?

• How much should I tell my child’s teachers?

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About the Author: Andrew Adesman, M.D. is chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Schneider Children’s Hospital and associate professor of pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Adesman also serves as director of the Adoption Evaluation Center and the neonatal developmental follow-up program at Schneider Children’s Hospital.

Christine Adamec is the author or coauthor of fifteen books, including four on adoption-related topics.

From the Back Cover: If you’ve adopted a child older than two years—from the U.S. or abroad—this practical guide will provide you with all the information and tools you’ll need to overcome difficulties and develop a healthy, loving relationship with your child. You’ll learn step-by-step how to identify your child’s unique needs and wounds, create a supportive home environment, and develop the skills needed to ally with your child against each challenge.

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About the Author: Brenda McCreight, Ph.D., is a family and child therapist and an adoption expert with more than twenty year’s experience. She specializes in pre- and post-adoption issues including counseling for adoptive and foster families in crisis and for families and children dealing with challenges such as fetal alcohol syndrome, ADHD, conduct disorder, attachment disorder, developmental delays, and cognitive impairment. McCreight is also an adult educator for both professional and lay audiences on issues related to child development, child trauma, adoptive and foster family relationships, and child behavior disorders. She lives in Nanaimo, British Columbia with her partner; they have nine children, seven of whom were adopted as older children.

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By the Same Author: Help! I’ve Been Adopted (2010, AdoptionEd), among others.

From the Back Cover: So demonstrates Patty Cogen, who for the past decade has studied the adjustment and development of internationally adopted children and advised their often-mystified adoptive parents. In Parenting Your Internationally Adopted Child, Dr. Cogen explains how and why to

• help a child cope with grief over the loss of everything and everyone familiar;

• tell the child’s adoption story from the child’s rather than the parents’ point of view;

• understand the ways in which a child’s development may begin at adoption;

• handle sleeptime, mealtime, and discipline problems;

• foster identity and independence in pre-teens and teens;
and much more. With advice on language and school difficulties and the development of self-control and independence, Cogen guides adoptive parents from preparations for a child’s arrival all the way through the teen years.

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About the Author: Patty Cogen, M.D., Ed.D., has a doctorate in education and a master’s degree in clinical psychology and has taught in both universities and elementary schools. She leads First Year Home groups for adoptive families, and advises parents all over the United States about their internationally adopted children and lectures to organizations across the nation on adoption and child development. She lives with her husband and two children, one of whom was adopted from China.

From the Dust Jacket: For some, parenthood comes easily; for others, the path to parenthood is long and paved with challenges, not only physical but emotional and financial as well. In words and photographs, Parents at Last celebrates 32 couples and individuals who persevered in their quest to become parents, often in the face of formidable odds.

These parents used any and every means available to them in order to bring a child into their lives, from adoption, both international and domestic, to high-tech medical procedures and even surrogacy. Their first-person narratives, accompanied by Helen Garber’s revealing photographs, share both the highs and the lows they encountered on their journeys.

“In the Beginning” looks at new parents, those for whom the memories of infertility, bureaucratic red tape, or the difficulties of single parenthood are still vivid, though tempered by the joy and excitement of their new arrival. “The Wonder Years” offers stories from families that have had a bit more time to reflect on the changes they experienced, and are beginning to grapple with some of the questions that inevitably arise around adoptive and medically assisted pregnancies. “In the Parenting Trenches” recounts the experiences of families with older children, and how parents cope with the dual challenges of adolescence and a family structure seen as “different” by much of the outside world. Lastly, “Pioneers Share Their Wisdom” focuses on those who have successfully seen their children to adulthood and the profound life lessons they’ve learned along the way.

Whether they chose adoption, sophisticated medical procedures, or even surrogacy, the individuals profiled in Parents at Last speak candidly of the obstacles and rewards they encountered in their roles as new parents. Their moving stories are sure to offer hope and encouragement to all those on their own paths to parenthood.

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About the Author: Cynthia V.N. Peck is the educational director and caseworker for Seedlings, Inc., a licensed New Jersey adoption agency that she helped to found. She is also the founder and publisher of Roots & Wings adoption magazine, which has subscribers in the United States and nineteen foreign countries. She is the parent of nine adopted children.

Wendy Wilkinson has been a public relations specialist for more than two decades and is a freelance writer with a master’s degree in journalism. She is the mother of a two-and-a-half-year-old adopted daughter.

Parents By Choice is a user-friendly book with easy to digest chapters, terminology, and questions concerning adoption and parenting of an infant and a toddler. Parents By Choice is an invaluable resource for potential parents, explaining the paperwork, financial, and emotional expectations of adoption as a normal, healthy option for creating a family. The authors, adoptive parents, present their story in an honest, engaging dialog full of knowledge and perspectives, which allow for a realistic view of living the process.

Parents for Children tells the story of adoption through the real-life experiences of twelve families, many of whom have adopted older children or children with special needs. Two best-selling authors tell of their own experiences, with one chapter about Jilly Cooper and her adopted children, and another by writer Elizabeth Gundry. Through their own words, they share the joy and delight of adopting a child, as well as some of the obstacles and emotional frustrations that adoption can entail. And throughout these intensely personal stories the adopters show their determination to give the children—some affected by past abuse, some mentally or physically disabled—the home, hope and love that they so desperately need. Sometimes harrowing, often inspiring, always compassionate and moving, Parents for Children shows human nature’s finest qualities at work. This book is published in association with Parents for Children, an adoption agency dedicated to finding adoptive parents for older children and those with special needs who might otherwise remain in care. Parents for Children is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2001.

From Kirkus Reviews: Everyday problems, such as occur in every parent’s experience, collected in the questions parents have asked and Child Study has answered. Their outlook is that of today, flexible, liberal, psychologically angled, and the value of the book is its application of that outlook to many specific issues. Topically arranged, here are practical pointers about habits and habit training, discipline and authority, health, food, sisters and brothers, development, sex, character, school and home, the problem child, the adopted child, the subnormal child, etc. Whether it’s a question of reading the comics or neglecting homework, here are constructive suggestions.

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Compiler’s Note: See, particularly, Section 5: No Two Alike (“Adopting a baby”) and Section 6: Emotional Growing Pains (“Telling the adopted child”).

From the Dust Jacket: An invaluable resource for any family who has adopted or is planning to adopt from China, A Passage to the Heart gathers together more than one hundred articles published over the past few years in the regional newsletters of the leading Chinese-adoption support group, Families with Children from China, and similar organizations across the United States, Canada, and Britain.

Writing from personal experience as adoptive parents or professionals working with adoptive families, the authors discuss such topics as

the waiting period the adoption journey settling in as a new or expanded family

specific issues of health and development for children adopted from China

the special challenges and rewards of adopting children over the age of one

single parenting through adoption

perspectives on China and international adoption

culture, language, identity, and race

going back to our children’s birth country

thinking about birth parents and other adoption issues.

By turns funny, moving, practical, informative, and deeply personal, this collection is a treasure trove for all families who have adopted children from China, as well as anyone who would like to learn more about international adoption.

Proceeds from the book will benefit the Amity Foundation and the Foundation for Chinese Orphanages—two charitable organizations providing medical care, foster care, and other services to improve the lives of children living in China’s orphanages.

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About the Author: Amy Klatzkin is a book editor specializing in Chinese studies, a member of the board of the Chinese Culture Foundation of San Francisco, and the newsletter editor for San Francisco Bay Area Families with Children from China. She and her husband adopted their daughter Ying Ying in Changsha, Hunan province, in January 1994.

A Passion for the Fatherless is written to help believers develop a God-centered ministry to the orphan. It exposes believers to the Scriptural mandate to care for orphans, helps them understand why God has issued that call, and equips them to joyfully respond to that call. It strives to achieve this purpose by developing a vibrant theology of orphan ministry for the church. Each chapter is accompanied with study questions so that it can be used in both personal study or with a small-group.

From the Dust Jacket: Midnight. A small figure comes flying down the stairs of the Sweeney house in suburban Connecticut, his eyes wide with terror. “Chuong! What is it? Tell me!” Ann Sweeney, on her way to bed, grabs her son and holds on tight as he nearly knocks her backward, locked in another of his wrenching night terrors.

Eleven-year-old Chuong is reliving for the thousandth time that day in 1975 in Saigon, when the overcrowded fishing boat he was on unexpectedly pulled away from the crush of people at the dock, leaving behind his frantic mother and father. He never saw them again. Chuong’s baby sister Huong was in his arms, little brother Dat was clinging to his leg.

How the three of them come to Connecticut, how Huong (now Hope) and Dat blossom, and how Chuong finally learns to let go of the past by accepting the love of his new family is but one of the fascinating subplots within the larger drama of Patchwork Clan, the story of John and Ann Sweeney and their seventeen children.

When Ann Sweeney had a miscarriage while carrying her sixth child, she thought she would never recover from the loss. But when she and John discovered the joys of adoption, a renewed sense of love and commitment came into their lives. First there was Marcus, a delightful redheaded imp—part American Indian, part black, part “something else.” This miracle was soon followed by another: at forty-one Ann gave birth to twins! Then the Sweeneys adopted Faith and Terry. Minh, a Vietnamese teenager followed. Maria, a blind Colombian Indian girl, arrived in 1977—and before long was riding her Big Wheel down the driveway with the others.

But it is the arrival of Carey and Michael, two brothers aged seven and five, from a New York City ghetto, that swells the “patchwork clan” to seventeen and pushes the Sweeneys’ strength and ingenuity to the limit. The story of how the whole family copes and learns to grow along with each of the new arrivals is a true testament of love, pain, and pride, and one that makes Patchwork Clan a very special book.

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About the Author: Doris Lund is also the author of Eric, which was made into a CBS television movie; You Ought to See Herbert’s House; The Paint-Box Sea; Hello, Baby!; I Wonder What’s Under; and Did You Ever; as well as the movie Attic of the Wind. She lives in Rowayton, Connecticut.

In these fifteen searingly honest personal essays, debut author Susan Olding takes us on an unforgettable journey into the complex heart of being human. Each essay dissects an aspect of Olding’s life experience—from her vexed relationship with her father to her tricky dealings with her female peers; from her work as a counselor and teacher to her persistent desire, despite struggles with infertility, to have children of her own. In a suite of essays forming the emotional climax of the book, Olding bravely recounts the adoption of her daughter, Maia, from an orphanage in China, and tells us the story of Maia’s difficult adaptation to the unfamiliar state of being loved. Written with as much lyricism, detail, and artfulness as the best short stories, the essays in Pathologies provide all the pleasures of fiction combined with the enrichment derived from the careful presentation of fact. Susan Olding is indisputably one of Canada’s finest new writers, one who has taken the challenging, much-underused form of the literary essay and made it her own.