From the Publisher: The selfless act of adoption comes replete with the widest possible variety of human experience. There is joy and reward along with trial and challenge. Dennis weaves the lessons of adoptions into a tapestry that parallels the Christian walk. The Apostle Paul alludes to these lessons in his writing to the Romans. This book explores what Paul meant by the “Spirit of adoption” as well as some insight into the healing and potential wholeness that awaits all who have experienced insecurity, uncertainty and brokenness. In these pages you will find a ray of hope for healing the hurts you have received, not only for yourself, but for those you know who have not walked in the victory won for them through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

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About the Author: Dennis Nice lives in McMinnville, OR, with his wife, Margaret, and their two adopted sons. His three married daughters have made him the proud grandfather of nine, two of whom are also adopted. He has pastored at True Vine Christian Fellowship for the past twelve years and Margaret serves as Executive Director of a local adoption agency.

Author Jody Cantrell Dyer’s candor, wit, humor, and soul color each page of The Eye of Adoption. She directly addresses the sorrows of infertility and the demands of adoption while consistently word-weaving a life rope of assurance and optimism for her readers. A middle-aged wife, mother, and teacher, Dyer “tells it like it is” in hopes that waiting adoptive parents, birthparents, adoptees, and those close to them will find kinship through her story.

In this slim volume, the author tries “to present a cogent and credible philosophical justification for the practice of open adoption while also detailing how that philosophy might bloom first in specific rituals and practices whose effectiveness is there for all to see and, second, into a poetic revelation of something both about the grandeur of the human spirit and the healing power of love.”

From the Back Cover: “I just want to know why I was given up. That’s all,” Karen pressed her hands on the table and leaned towards me. “I just want to know why!”

In the summer of 1985, Crook travelled across the country in a van and interviewed forty of you about your feelings and ideas towards adoption.

Written for you, the adopted teenager, The Face in the Mirror examines the ways other adoptees deal with the complex relationships in their lives.

• How you relate to your families

• What you expect from society

• How you see society

• Questions you have about yourselves

Parents, teachers and counsellors will find it a help in communicating about the subject of adoption.

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About the Author: Marion Crook, B SCN, Seattle University, is the mother of four children: two adopted sons, one step-daughter and one natural daughter. She worked for many years as a public health nurse with many community health programs, including maternal, prenatal and school-age health counselling and consulting in British Columbia, before turning to writing fulltime. Recent works include sever acclaimed novels of mystery and suspense for young people, radio drama, magazine articles on entomology and conservation, as well as the second, widely acclaimed book in this series, Teenagers Talk About Suicide.

“I had prejudices and ideas of my own and you swept them away in your explanations, conversations and talking, talking, talking you did about adoption. Sometimes you told me quietly, sometimes emphatically, but you wanted to tell me and through me other teenagers what it was like to be adopted. I became a vehicle of your expression and this book became yours.” — the author

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By the Same Author: Thicker Than Blood: Adoptive Parenting in the Modern World (2016, Arsenal Pulp Press), among others.

We can’t successfully take our children on a path we haven’t traveled. For those that are called to love a child through broken and difficult beginnings, parenting presents unique opportunities for personal growth. When our own childhoods are marked with loss and challenge (as most childhoods are) it is common to find out usual methods of coping under fire. Parenting kids with early loss and attachment difficulties magnifies those areas in us which need deeper exploration. Face the Rain was written to help parents engage in their own healing journey so they may have greater capacity to help their children walk a path of joyful living.

From the Dust Jacket: In Facing the Wind, the New York Times-bestselling author Julie Salamon undertakes a unique and constantly surprising exploration of responsibility and fate—the causes, consequences, and legal and moral implications of one man’s deranged killings of his family.

Robert and Mary Rowe’s second child, Christopher, was born with severe neurological and visual impairments. For many years, the Rowes’ courageous response to adversity set an example for a group of Brooklyn mothers who met to discuss the challenges of raising children with birth defects. The Rowes adopted a third child so that their eldest would not have to bear the burden of Christopher alone later on; they made a tape to assist other parents facing similar challenges; they spoke bluntly and freely about things that most of the mothers couldn’t, like their anger and feelings of guilt. Then Bob Rowe’s pressures—professional and personal—took their toll, and he fell into depression and, ultimately, delusion. And one day he took a baseball bat and killed his three children and his wife.

Savage and horrifying as this act was, Facing the Wind stands at the opposite literary pole from tabloid sensationalism. In an eloquent and emotionally astute voice—and after years of intense research, hundreds of hours of interviews, and personally witnessing events crucial to understanding what happened to the Rowes—Julie Salamon not only tells their tragic story with intelligence and drama but explores the lives of others drawn into it: the mothers’ group, a social worker with problems of her own, an ocularist (a maker of prosthetic eyes), the young woman who became Bob Rowe’s second wife, and a judge of unusual wisdom.

Facing the Wind is a work of redemptive insight and compassion. It addresses the questions of how human beings cope with the burdens that chance inflicts upon them, and what guilt and innocence consist of. Does Bob Rowe’s attempted suicide after he kills his family testify to his madness, or does the failure of that attempt indicate sanity? Should a man whose past is so shadowed by an atrocity be readmitted to the legal profession? Such issues are fascinating and compelling in their own right, especially when addressed in such a brilliant, natural style. But, like all distinguished literary journalism, Julie Salamon’s account of these extreme events and their resolution goes beyond the “story”: It asks us to join its issues, and to look at our own lives and our own problems in the new, bright light that good writing always sheds.

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About the Author: Julie Salamon’s previous books include The Devil’s Candy (a national bestseller), The Net of Dreams, and The Christmas Tree—a New York Times bestseller. Formerly a reporter and movie reviewer for The Wall Street Journal, she is now a television critic for The New York Times. Her writing has also appeared in The New Yorker, Vogue, and The New Republic. She lives in New York City with her husband and their two children.

From the Back Cover: Since Facebook was launched four years ago, it has given people a means to make and sustain relationships in a way previously unheard of. Little wonder then, that Facebook is making an impact on adoptive family life. What was once largely managed by adoptıon agencies—the exchange of confidential and identifying information—is now possible through the vast database that is the internet.

Young people are searching for birth family members on Facebook without realising the complexity of what might happen and where this could lead. Birth relatives, too, are tracing and approaching children. Sometimes this happens in secret. Many adoptive families have found such situations difficult to manage. For birth parents too, an unexpected approach from a child they have not seen for years can also present dilemmas.

Facing up to Facebook: A Survival Guide for Adoptive Families examines the challenges faced by all parties involved in contact after adoption and looks at how adoptive parents can help children satisfy their curiosity and their need to know while minimising potential risks to their security and stabilıty. It looks at the pressing questions facing adoptive parents and practitioners. What do adoptive families, adopted children and birth families need to know about adoption in the Facebook age? How can they be equipped for new challenges? What do adoptive parents need to learn about protecting privacy and security in the best Interests of their children? How can they manage the complex situatıons that arise from unauthorised and unmediated contact? What help and support are available?

This guide provides a wealth of information, raises important questions, and offers valuable advice. Case studies and quotations enable readers to share others’ experiences and reveal the potential and significant risks that some people have experienced and how they have managed these. It also demystifies the technology behind social networking sites and provides a practical explanation of how they work. Essential reading for all those affected by the new reality of adoption in the age of social networking.

From the Dust Jacket: From one of America’s most insightful and independent-minded critics comes a remarkable new collection of essays, her first in more than fifteen years. Daphne Merkin brings her signature combination of wit, candor, and penetrating intelligence to a wide array of subjects that touch on every aspect of contemporary culture, from the high calling of the literary life to the poignant underside of celebrity to our collective fixation on fame. “the ways in which celebrity affects, for better or worse, those within its halo, as well as those outside it.”

Merkin’s elegant, widely admired profiles go beneath the glossy façades of neon-lit personalities to consider their vulnerabilities and demons, as well as their enduring hold on us. As her title essay explains, she writes in order “to save myself through saving wounded icons ... Famous people ... who required my intervention on their behalf because only I understood the desolation that drove them.” Here one will encounter a gallery of complex, unforgettable women—Marilyn Monroe, Courtney Love, Liv Ullmann, and Cate Blanchett, among others—as well as such intriguing male figures as Michael Jackson, Mike Tyson, Truman Capote, and Richard Burton. Merkin reflects with empathy and discernment on what makes them run—and what makes them stumble.

Drawing upon her many years as a book critic, Merkin also offers reflections on writers as varied as Jean Rhys, W.G. Sebald, John Updike, and Alice Munro. She considers the vexed legacy of feminism after Betty Friedan, Bruno Bettelheim’s tarnished reputation as a healer, and the re-envisioning of Freud by the elusive Adam Phillips. Most of all, though, Merkin is a writer who is not afraid to implicate herself as a participant in our consumerist and overstimulated culture.

Whether ruminating upon the subtext of lip gloss, detailing the vicissitudes of a pre-Yom Kippur pedicure, or arguing against our obsession with household pets, Merkin helps makes sense of our collective impulses. From a brazenly honest and deeply empathic observer, The Fame Lunches shines a light on truths we often prefer to keep veiled—and in doing so opens up the conversation for all of us.

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About the Author: Daphne Merkin, a former staff writer for The New Yorker, is a regular contributor to ELLE. Her writing frequently appears in The New York Times, Bookforum, Departures, Travel + Leisure, W, Vogue, and other publications. Merkin has taught writing at the 92nd Street Y, Marymount, and Hunter College. Her previous books include Enchantment, a novel, and Dreaming of Hitler, a collection of essays. She lives in New York City.

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Compiler’s Note: See, particularly, “Sleeping Alone (Diane Keaton) (2005)” (pp. 266-279).

From the Dust Jacket: Meet the eccentric, eclectic family members of seventeen of Americas finest writers in this dazzling, deeply moving collection of memoirs.

Take advice from Alice Hoffman’s wise grandmother, Lillie Lulkin. Keep watch over lone children with Brent Staples. Share with Bob Shacochis and his wife the heartbreaking sadness of two people longing to have a child. You can also listen in as Chang-rae Lee and his mother speak their own language; carefully contemplate life through the eyes of Whitney Otto’s beloved, irascible cat; discover if Marion Winik is really, truly related to either Charlie Chaplin or Jann Wenner; and barhop with a five-year-old Stuart Dybek and his Polish grandfather.

In joining this literary reunion, be prepared to discover your own sense of family history. Whether considering relations by blood, by marriage, by choice, or by chance, each writer here has something to share: skeletons, desires, sorrows, and joys. And in this Family, you will find that the pleasure of reading is much more than relative.

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About the Author: Sharon Sloan Fiffer teaches English and writing at the University of Illinois, Chicago. She is author of Imagining America, which was selected as one of the best one hundred books for young adults by the New York City Public Library in 1991. The former co-executive editor of the literary magazine Other Voices, she has received several honors for her short fiction, including the Illinois Arts Council Award.

Steve Fiffer is the author of several nonfiction books, including two collaborations with Morris Dees, founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center: A Season for Justice, which won the Christopher Award and the Gustavus Myers Award, and Hate on Trial, which was selected as a New York Times Notable Book of 1993.

The Fiffers recently co-edited Home: American Writers Remember Rooms of Their Own, and co-authored Fifty Ways to Help Your Community: A Handbook for Change. They live in Evanston, Illinois, with their three children.

Bob Shacochis is a novelist, journalist, and educator. He is the author of four books, including Swimming in the Volcano and Domesticity: A Gastronomic Interpretation of Love. His account of the U.S. military intervention in Haiti, The Immaculate Invasion, will be published in 1997.

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Compiler’s Note: See, particularly, “From Here to Maternity” by Bob Shacochis (pp. 213-240); see also, Introduction: “Skeletons” by Sharon Sloan Fiffer (pp. vii-xv).

Statistics show that over two million couples will experience some type of infertility issue when they try to become pregnant. However, when you are one of those two million, you feel completely alone and believe that no one can truly understand what you are going through. This honest and revealing book documents one couple’s long and arduous journey to become parents from the eyes of the author. The longer this process took, the more emotional and difficult things became, and the more the author relied on this journal to sort out all the emotions she was having. She never expected that this journal would last for years, hundreds of hormone shots and pills, blood draws, surgical procedures, terrorist attacks, international flights and the most emotional and financial roller coaster that she had ever been on. But she and her husband were desperate to become parents, to have their own child to love, to hug, to experience life with. By sharing their experience, this book offers insight into the emotional, physical and sociological effects infertility has on a couple’s relationship, their families, friends and themselves as individuals. It also provides in-depth detail of popular infertility treatments, domestic and international adoption processes.

From the Publisher: Then he said, “I think I am really lucky.”

“That’s good, William,” said Evie. “Why do you think that?”

He scooped up the remains of his dinner, put it into his mouth by himself, and began chewing, taking his time; keeping us in suspense.

Would he tell us that he was lucky because he had nice parents, maybe? Or because he had such lovely brothers and a sister?Or because he was part of a happy family?

The answer, when it came at last, didn’t feature any of these things. “I’m lucky because I’m so cool.”

The Family Business is the true story of the adoption of William, a little boy with cerebral palsy, by a middle-aged couple with three birth children. It tells of the journey William and the other members of the family made to get to the point where they felt they were a whole family. The story describes the doubts of the parents in the early days, the confused feelings of William, and some of the frustrations and humorous adventures the family has had in the “disability world.” It is a positive, upbeat account of the growth of love and the cementing of family bonds.

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About the Author: Robert Marsden was born in Newcastle on Tyne and brought up in Cumbria. He trained as a social worker more years ago than he cares to remember, and has spent most of his life working with children. He has had a number of short works of fiction published by Polygon, Fish Publishing, New Writing Scotland and others.

This book recounts the story of Paul and Ruby Field and how they set up The Children’s Family Trust in England. Without resources, the couple fought authority to rebuild a family of misfits, Britains unwanted problem children, to each of whom he gave his name.

This book is developed with the objective of promoting the concept of adoption in India. There are 12.4 million destitute children in India and yet only about 3,000 legal adoptions happen in a year! There are certainly many reasons for this startling fact...but is this justified? Can we as parents, as people who are mobilizing ourselves to become a super, liberalized economy really afford to close our minds to this picture? Adoption in India is mired by red tape, poor social acceptance, illegal practices and many misconceptions about the process itself. These issues and many other questions is what the book covers—right from the causes behind this dismal scenario to actual case stories of adoption and various organisations involved in this cause. This book presents a picture of the still-not-so-used word “adoption” in India. The book caters to: 1) social and child welfare workers and interested individuals; 2) the many interested but unsure couples/aspiring parents who want a baby, but are not aware of the process/implications/issues involved; 3) parents who have already adopted and are seeking some answers; 4) adoptees themselves. Adoption is one of the best forms of rehabilitating a destitute child. It is the most complete form of rehabilitation which provides a highly satisfactory solution to those seeking the experience of bringing up a child and for the child itself. Adoption is an option to many people who are unable to have a child due to medical/infertility/other problems as well as those who may not want to have biological child out of choice. The cherished hope is that many more people are made aware and are able to contribute in some way towards this very fulfilling cause. It’s a social awareness book. The articles are compiled by Catalysts for Social Action (CSA), who is producing this book. Articles are written by experts in the field, by celebrities and parents who have adopted and also by adopted children who are now adults. To find out more about CSA, please log onto www.csa.org.in. The book consists of 28 articles across five sections: 1) The first section is about the joy of adoption—first-hand accounts and interviews from adoptive parents and celebrities about their experience with adoption. Articles cover experiences around their process of assimilation, societal assimilation experiences, single parents’ experiences, parents who have brought up a biological child and have also adopted, etc. 2) This section covers the current adoption scenario in India—facts and figures, laws, organizations involved, corporate viewpoints, NGO view points and the process of adoption. 3) The third section consists of articles on adoptive parenting—the various stages of development, addressing adoption related issues, support groups, telling the child about adoption, adoption of a special needs child, the appropriate adoption language, etc. is comprehensively explained through personal and expert writings. 4) The fourth section explores the concept of closure which most adopted children seek and their deep desire to understand why they were relinquished. 5) The final section provides a comprehensive list of adoption agencies in the country. The book will carry photographs of children from various orphanages in India and also some adoptive parents. The photographs will be in black and white. The jacket will be in color with spot lamination. The book is in standard paperback size. Our objective is to give two messages—first that adoption is a life altering, win-win option that is very worth-while for both the child and parents. Second, since this is the case, why is the adoption rate so low and what can we do about it? We would like this message to go to as wide an audience as possible.

Foster caring is as challenging as it is rewarding. There is a school of thought that if one is interested in fostering, then one can become a foster carer. Considering the many problems that surface on a day-to-day basis in a given fostering environment, it takes much more that interest in fostering to make fostering work. Family Matters frankly discusses what fostering entails and clearly demonstrates how Mohammed and Sharon Lahrichi have had a reasonable degree of success in their fostering work. It documents cases that tell how foster children as well as biological children interpret their lived experiences as children of the same household. It is a book that foster carers, social workers and all those who involve in care work should read. In fact, it will make an interesting read for all members of any given family. Family Matters also advances the idea that fostering is a work of love, which should be taken seriously, but which also should be celebrated in spite of the range of emotions that foster caring is capable of evoking.

From the Dust Jacket: This is Mrs. Doss’s own story of the “one-family United Nations” and how it grew. A dozen years ago Carl Doss, a Methodist minister, and his wife Helen adopted a baby boy and loved him so much they couldn’t stop with a “lonely only.” Now they have a dozen children—all adopted, although considered “unadoptable” because of mixed racial parentage. Mrs. Doss tells how much each of their children came to them, and how they all fitted into one happy family.

First was Donny, who kept demanding a brother “just the right size of me.” But before Donny got his opposite, there were ten others. Laura and then Susan, who was shy and sickly—until she came out of the hospital into a home. Then Teddy, who had to overcome the fears from the past, and Rita, not mentally retarded at all, but only in need of security and affection. They were all soon “normal” enough to give Mrs. Doss the nightmarish feeling that she had become the Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

Numbers 6 and 7 were the infants Timmy and Alex, followed by Diane and Elaine, from Hawaii, who stared wide-eyed at their new family and observed wonderingly, “Plenty brothers—plenty sisters.” And they hadn’t seen the end of it yet, for there were still Gregory, Richard and Dorothy to come.

Children—individuals—they brought to their new life the background of Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Spain, France, Malaya, Burma, and of the American Indian—Chippewa, Blackfoot, Cheyenne. Their story is full of laughter and beauty and delight. Mrs. Doss recalls their life together—her fight with the flood and the storm, the moving and yet humorous memories of their Christmases, the riotous visit of Carl to the zoo with a horde of children and three women—and through all the problems and joys shines a love and a faith which are heart-warming in the deepest sense.

The Dosses have been called radical for their solution to the problem of helping “the ones needing love to find people who have it.” But as Carl pointed out, Christianity and democracy are both radical—“it is radical to say that all men are created equal, and that all men are brothers—and that the individual is important.” The Family That Nobody Wanted is an inspiring testament to the power of love and to the fundamental principles of our American heritage.

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About the Author: Helen Doss has been a writer and an internationally known advocate for adoptive families for more than fifty years. She has published numerous articles in such national periodicals as American Girl and Reader’s Digest, and is the author of thirteen books, including All the Children of the World and Really Real Family and the coauthor (with Carl Doss) of If You Adopt a Child. She lives with her husband Roger Reed in Yuba City, California.

Mary Battenfeld, who wrote an Introduction to the new edition, is Associate Professor of Humanities at Wheelock College. She is the author of several articles on teaching and multicultural literature, and the mother of two children adopted from India. She lives in the Boston area.

Having been partners for many years, Paul Hampsch and his life partner, Domenic, made the decision together to adopt. But finding an adoption agency that would even consider allowing a single gay man and his partner to adopt was quite a challenge. With the support of friends and family, Paul was surrounded by blessings and felt sure he would eventually be able to adopt. As time passed, Paul navigated a range of challenges, some of which tested his level of resolve in one way or another, but he was finally able to adopt and return to America with his children. His story is enclosed in these pages, and he tells his readers, “The bittersweet joy of parenting continues to make my soul complete...Each bend in the road leads to a new horizon.”

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About the Author: Paul Hampsch lives in Arizona with his two sons, Paul Jr. and Andrew. He currently volunteers at a local hospital emergency room, plays guitar, and loves to cook. Mr. Hampsch has also published trade manuals and training materials and is also the author of Marketing Is Relationship Building (1985).

From the Back Cover: YOU CAN PUT THE PIECES TOGETHER.

We’re all familiar with Cinderella, her wicked stepmother, and cruel stepsisters. Luckily for her, everything worked out in the end. But fairy-tale endings are never guaranteed when two families become one.

The Family Puzzle helps parents of blended families avoid the common pitfalls in the blending process and recognize the unique benefits of their new situation. You’ll learn the ins and outs of step-parenting: how to deal with ex-spouses, assorted relatives, and friends; and ways to make the transition as smooth as possible for all the children involved.

Practical and insightful, The Family Puzzle will give parents of blended families the help they need to turn their two families into one.

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About the Author: Nancy S. Palmer, a board certified marital and family lawyer and past chair of the family lawyers in Florida, left a successful law practice to mediate and help others parent after divorce. She trains mediators around the country and currently serves as co-chair of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee of the Family Law Section of the American Bar Association. Nancy is the coauthor of When Your Ex Won’t Pay: Getting Your Kids the Financial Support They Deserve (Piñon Press, 1995).

William D. Palmer is a certified civil and family mediator who practices in the areas of litigation, family law, and appeals. He has been an attorney with the Orlando office of Carlton, Fields, Ward, Emmanuel, Smith & Cutler, P.A. since 1976. Bill and Nancy parent a blended family of five children: Brent, Nicholas, Michelle, Carley, and Joanna.

Kay Marshall Strom has written thirteen books and contributed to many others. She is president of Santa Barbara Literary Service, an editing and critiquing service for writers. When she isn’t writing, Kay teaches writing classes and speaks at seminars and special events throughout the country. She and her husband, Larry, are the parents of two young adults.

Joey was ten years old when he walked up the path to the home of his new family. With him he brought three snakes and ten years of memories about the home and friends he had left 3,000 miles away. Time would prove to the loving family who tried to make a new life for this orphan boy that easing the pain of hose memories would take years of patient understanding.

Picture pack for use with 6- to 11-year-olds. Designed to help children talk about family life and understand the implications of a new brother or sister joining their family. Includes guidelines for parents.

From the Back Cover: When Phyllis Burke’s lesbian partner bore a child by donor insemination, it seemed natural for Phyllis to adopt him: baby Jesse, after all, was calling her Mama. But as Burke began adoption proceedings, she discovered that, even in liberated San Francisco, there were forces that would deny lesbians the legal right to be mothers.

Now Burke tells the deeply moving story of her entry into motherhood and, with it, the story of her growing politicization. Here, alongside accounts of shopping for Pampers and improvising costumes for a nursery-school Halloween party, are bulletins from a struggle that pits outrageous acts of civil disobedience against gay-bashing and homophobic films like Basic Instinct. Witty, eloquent, and vastly inspiring, Family Values celebrates the everyday courage of gay people while reminding us that love is always an active verb.

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About the Author: Phyllis Burke’s Family Values was the recipient of the 1994 American Library Association’s Gay and Lesbian Book Award for Nonfiction, as well as the 1993 PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Award, and was nominated for a 1993 Lambda Literary Award. Ms. Burke is also the author of the novel Atomic Candy. She lives in San Francisco with Cheryl and Jesse.

From the Back Cover: Fantastic Antone Grows Up is a field guide to life with an adolescent or young adult with fetal alcohol syndrome/effects. Under the best of circumstances, adolescence is a trying time for young people and their families. The budding adult seeks independence and autonomy while the resistant child within longs for protection and structure; questions about sexuality and work, social commitments, and solitary accomplishments loom large and can create a family battlefield. For the challenged and challenging young people with FAS/E, the circumstances as they begin maturing are never the best.

In this sequel to Fantastic Antone Succeeds, young people with FAS/E and their caregivers report on their experiences coping with the problems of adolescence and young adulthood. Again the editors and authors have concentrated on the wisdom of practice, as they candidly convey which techniques worked and which did not during the difficult passages of the teenage years and beyond.

The twenty-one chapters are grouped according to theme. Section one discusses the meaning of success for adolescents and adults with FAS/E—the need to define success in new ways. Cindy Gere found her path to success, for example, through creative expression. She graduated from college with a degree in fine arts and successfully completed a program in art. Many of her paintings, including the one illustrating the cover of this book, provide a poignant and candid expression of what FAS/E means to her. Section two discusses strategies that work in areas such as counseling, education, sexuality, trouble with the law, and independent living. Section three covers what families need from the community, including innovative programs that help individuals with FAS/E, and how to get a diagnosis at adolescence. The book also contains important resources, organizations to contact, and Internet addresses.

More has been learned about how alcohol poisoning in the womb alters brain function and physical development since the release of Fantastic Antone Succeeds, but science is far from providing the answers that affected young people and their caregivers need. Until such answers are forthcoming, nothing can replace the voices of experience with their practical messages of coping, caring, loving, weeping, laughing, and—more often than might be expected—succeeding.

From the Dust Jacket: This book began with the First International Conference on Educating Children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, held on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus in spring 1991. Dr. Judith Kleinfeld brought together experienced teachers, professionals and parents to explore the issue: How do we educate the alcohol-affected children whose numbers appear to be increasing in the schools, especially schools in remote northern communities with high levels of alcoholism? What can parents do in the home and what can educators do through the schools?

Conference participants presented their personal and professional experiences working with alcohol-affected children. Contrary to stereotypes of hopeless brain damage, delinquency, and victimization, many of the children were thriving and succeeding. A remarkable outcome of the conference was the discovery that teachers, parents, therapists and researchers from all over the world have independently devised very similar educational techniques that enabled these children to progress far beyond what had been thought possible.

Several themes emerged from the conference:

The negative stereotypes of alcohol-affected children are highly misleading.

Early intervention and excellent family care make an enormous difference to the success and happiness of children with FAS/FAE.

We can identify specific educational strategies that help alcohol-affected children learn in the classroom and the home.

The chapters in Fantastic Antone Succeeds! expand on these themes and provide what educators call the wisdom of practice—the lessons and inventions of experience. The experiences are presented in the form of narratives—stories of people’s lives—rather than sterile lists of educational techniques. These stories emphasize that alcohol-affected children are not all alike. What works for one family and one child may not work for another. Educational strategies must be adapted to different families and to different cultural contexts. But inventive and loving parents and teachers are figuring out what to do and finding that much can be done.

Without minimizing the seriousness of FAS/FAE and the first priority—prevention—this book provides practical educational tools and strategies that can help alcohol affected individuals and their families lead happier, more productive lives.

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About the Author: Judith Kleinfeld is a professor of psychology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She developed and now directs the UAF Northern Studies Program, an interdisciplinary masters program for students interested in the circumpolar north. In 1987 she created and became the first director of the Teachers for Rural Alaska Program, an innovative teacher education program using the case method to prepare excellent teachers for village schools. Since 1969 she has done research on educational and northern policy issues. Her findings have been published in numerous professional journals and in a biweekly column in Alaska’s major newspapers as well as many outside the state. In recognition of her work, she received in 1993 the UAF Emil Usibelli Distinguished Research Award. Dr. Kleinfeld earned her Ed.M. in 1967 and Ed.D. in 1970 from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Siobhan Wescott is currently working towards a Masters in Public Health with an emphasis on behavioral sciences and health education. She first became interested in fetal alcohol syndrome while a legislative assistant for Senator Tom Daschle of South Dakota. Ms. Wescott published several articles on various aspects of FAS FAE in Winds of Change, a Native American magazine. She is a member of the board of directors of the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. After completing the requirements for her degree, Ms. Wescott plans to pursue her interest in finding creative solutions for educating women about the effects on children of alcohol consumption during pregnancy and on caring for children who are alcohol-affected.

From the Back Cover: Over the past three decades, more than a quarter of a million children have become citizens of the United States through international adoption. Kindergarten teacher Jane Katch recently found herself with three such children in her class: Katya, born in Russia, Jasper, from Cambodia, and Caleb, from Romania. Each child had spent early years in an orphanage, and each had unique educational and emotional needs. How Katch came to recognize and respond to those needs makes up the journey of discovery in this moving and insightful book.

Interspersing vignettes from the classroom and conversations with the children’s parents, Far Away from the Tigers first explores Katch’s misunderstandings and mistakes as she struggles to help the children adjust to school. As Katch learns more about each child’s preadoption past, she gradually realizes that they were deprived of some basic learning experiences and she needs to find ways to fill those gaps. Before Caleb can learn to read or write, he must improve his verbal skills by learning nursery rhymes, stories, and songs. Katya, who came from an overcrowded orphanage, now needs to be the center of attention; before learning how to form real friendships, she first must gain control over more basic functions such as eating and sleeping. And the youngest, Jasper, needs steady encouragement to play with classmates instead of sitting alone practicing his handwriting.

Slowly, through trial and error and by drawing on the deep understanding and intense commitment of the children’s parents, Katch discovers the importance—and joy—of allowing each child time to develop in his or her own way. Beautifully told, wise, and candid, Far Away from the Tigers is a gift for parents, teachers, and anyone who cares for children growing up in a new home.

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About the Author: Jane Katch teaches at the Touchstone Community School in Massachusetts. She is the author of They Don’t Like Me: Lessons on Bullying and Teasing from a Preschool Classroom and Under Deadman’s Skin: Discovering the Meaning of Children’s Violent Play.

Most couples in the U.S. have to wait up to seven years to adopt an infant domestically—and all the expense and waiting doesn’t always result in a successful adoption. Now, rather than relying on slow-paced and expensive adoption agencies, many couples are choosing to privately adopt a child. By eliminating the adoption agency, couples can customize and control their own adoption plans.

Inside this book, couples will learn how becoming proactive in the adoption process may significantly speed up the adoption. Following the Fast Track method, readers will learn how to:

• Establish a budget

• Assemble a professional team

• Obtain an approved home study

• Prepare an effective family profile

• Advertise for and talk to potential birth mothers

• Detect warning signs for frauds and scams

• Be prepared at the hospital

With this book as their guide, potential parents can actively pick their own birth mother. By doing so, couples will save time and money, reduce stress, and, most importantly, find a baby to adopt.

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About the Author: Susan Burns, Psy.D., is a licensed psychologist with over seventeen years of experience helping children and families. Using the Fast Track method, Burns and her husband, Scott, adopted their first baby in October 1997 and their second baby in April 2001. She currently lives with her family in Hawaii.

Fasten Your Sweet Belt is a must-read for any adoptive parent. Using personal stories, firsthand accounts from adoptive children and refreshing humor, the author and her 15-year-old adopted daughter dispense insightful wisdom on the do’s and don’ts of the journey of building a family through older child adoption.

From the Dust Jacket: Given our history, this father and this son might well have gone completely separate ways ... And only in becoming a father did I even begin to understand what it meant, what it was, what would be required of me, and who I was/am within that identity, father.

Pastor, author, and father Walter Wangerin Jr., along with his adopted son, Matthew, tell the story of their own lifelong relationship and how they survived times when brokenness and bitterness seemed inevitable. It is the story of Matthew’s desperate search for independence and his father’s own search for authentic fatherhood.

This is a book of deep emotion and serious meditation about broken lives and redemption. Father and Son weaves together each writer’s personal story and shows:

• how earthly fathers and sons are shaped by a Creator’s relationship with his creation

• how within the human experience of parenting we discover insights into the spiritual nature of home, family, and eternity itself.

As in As for Me and My House, Mourning into Dancing, and Little Lamb, Who Made Thee?, Walter Wangerin Jr. develops a series of insights about family, which readers can apply to their own lives. And these insights gain added resonance from the words of Matthew Aaron Wangerin.

Together, father and son have written a book that must be experienced as well as read. It’s a book parents will want to bring their lives to, not just their attention. Father and Son is the story of all of us, for we are all wayward children in need of a loving, patient father.

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About the Author: Walter Wangerin, Jr. is widely recognized as one of the most gifted writers writing today on the issues of faith and spirituality. Starting with the renowned Book of the Dun Cow, Wangerin’s writing career has encompassed most every genre: fiction, essay, short story, children’s story, meditation, and biblical exposition. His writing voice is immediately recognizable, and his fans number in the hundreds of thousands. The author of over forty books, Wangerin has won the National Book Award, New York Times Best Children’s Book of the Year Award, and several Gold Medallions, including best-fiction awards for both The Book of God and Paul: A Novel. He lives in Valparaiso, IN, where he is writer-in-residence at Valparaiso University and holds the Jochum Chair.

Matthew Wangerin played both high school and college basketball, serving as team captain at both levels. He enjoys public speaking and has dedicated himself to encouraging others to avoid life’s pitfalls. He lives in Atlanta, GA, where he manages a restaurant. Father and Son is his first book.

This book isn’t just for fathers, but it isn’t for everyone. It might be for you if you’ve ever changed jobs, moved out of one home into another, or had to explain the dead fish to a three-year-old. It might be for you if you are still enough of a child to ride the roller coasters, go sledding in the winter, or toss food up the air so you can (try to) catch it on the way down. If you go to weddings, if you dread the day your dog may be put down, or losing loved ones, you might want to read this. If you are older than fourth grade and know the real truth about Santa Claus, read this. If you’re not sure, have someone else read it and decide for you.

From the Back Cover: Think of the remarkable progress made in the child care field. Science has become aware of the basic needs of children after birth and even now is beginning to look at and examine what happens before birth.

For the many fathers (and mothers too) who want their children to develop healthy and grow into a sound maturity, we have tried to deal with those things which shed light on the parental role in a constructive and enlightening manner. There are those who want to return to the “old fashioned ways.”

There are those who want “present day thinking.” We have tried to combine the most interesting modern concepts with time-honored precepts so that father can better do his part in creating a reasonably cheerful home life.

—O. Spurgeon English, M.D.
Professor and Head, Dept. of Psychiatry
Temple University Medical Center

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About the Author: Dr. O. Spurgeon English is professor of psychiatry at Temple University in Philadelphia.

Mrs. Constance J. Foster has been a free-lance writer since 1927 and her articles have appeared in Parents’ Magazine, Good Housekeeping, Ladies’ Home Journal, etc.

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Compiler’s Note: See, particularly, Chapter 14: Father By Adoption (pp. 228-242).

When Sariah Fletcher and her husband discovered they would not be able to have biological children of their own, their dream of having a family of their own was shattered. What followed was a dark and painful time in their lives where they pursued one option after another to no avail. Finally, when they had hit rock bottom, they stumbled upon a solution. Many children in the foster care system are waiting for people to open up their hearts and homes. Often these children need permanent placement, because their biological home is not a safe environment. Sariah and her husband, with the support of family and friends, soon began their journey towards adoption. Fearless Motherhood: The Road to Adoption was born from the sincere desire to help bring families together. Chronicling their own experience, Sariah peals back the myths that surround the foster care system and walks the reader through the process of adoption. The biggest challenge for many couples is putting aside preconceived ideas about these children. Fear and self-doubt are the first obstacles to tackle. In the end this is a triumphant tale of faith, hope and the healing power of love. By sharing the emotional roller-coaster and small triumphs that were part of their journey, this book offers hope to others in similar situations. DNA and biology are not reasons to put aside the desire to start a family of your own. Fearless Motherhood has a clear message to anyone who reads it: having a family is an achievable dream. Family is a choice. If you want it, you can have it.