The journey to Samantha was the most unique adventure I’ve ever been associated with. The people we met and the places we saw were inimitable. I stood on the steps of the Great Wall of China and was able to see the wall curve and wind through the mountains and valleys. It was humbling! I stood on the banks of the Pearl River and watched as the city of Guangzhou lighted up the sky at night. It was beautiful! I witnessed the street traffic, congested and busy with automobiles, motorcycles, scooters, pushcarts, bicycles hauling ox carts, and pedestrians scurrying past and around each other. Vehicles and pedestrians alike were all jockeying for position, all in the name of commerce—the product of a country with 1.8 billion people. I shall never forget these things! We were in China to get our daughter and take her home. This book chronicles our story through an ordinary and simple man’s view. I wanted to enlighten everyone not so much with China’s history, but with the journey of our adoption process. About the Author: Carlos Pineda was born and raised in San Antonio, TX, and currently resides in Dallas, GA, with his wife, Lorraine, and recently adopted daughter, Samantha. Carlos and Lorraine have two daughters, Amanda and Stephanie, from a previous marriage and have been blessed with six grandchildren. Carlos is a Staffing Program Manager and is welcoming his first work in print. Lorraine is a legal secretary for a law firm in Atlanta, GA, and was very involved and supportive during Carlos’s writing of this book. Carlos and Lorraine now celebrate their life with Samantha Jun born in the city of Nanchang in the Province of Jiangxi, China.

From the Publisher: Millions of women go through life hiding or denying the feelings that result from the loss of a pregnancy through miscarriage or abortion, the inability to conceive, giving up a child for adoption or the choice not to have children. Roughly 75% of women in the U.S. fall into one or more of these categories of missed motherhood, although many have a child at some point. Rather than being able to explore and express their feelings and receive the support they need to integrate their losses and create joyful lives, these women often suffer in silence, and so does our entire society. The authors two sisters use their own experiences, along with those of 12 other women, as a starting point for a much larger story. Their healing journeys are followed by specific steps that readers can take to create a culture of understanding and support so countless women can move out of the closet, grieve their losses, experience their wholeness and move into joy.

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About the Author: Kani Comstock was training as a research scientist when she first experienced missed motherhood. Her life then took a different course. She has lived and worked in Japan, traveled widely especially in the Pacific region, designed cultural and educational exchange programs, developed and directed four organizations including the Hoffman Institute, and wrote a prior book, Journey into Love. For the last few decades, Kani has been a Hoffman Process Teacher and Coach. Throughout life, she has been fascinated with exploring the unknown, striving to understand why we do what we do, and creating programs that enable us to grow into wholeness. She lives in Ashland, OR.

Barbara Comstock studied East Asian cultures, then earned an MS and an MFA in textile art and sculpture. Making art in Nepal, she also assisted on a feature-length documentary filmed at a Buddhist monastery. After years of designing and producing custom clothing and making and showing her art, she had a life-changing experience and joined the Hoffman Institute. Barbara has delighted in designing and directing programs, teaching in, training teachers for and coaching graduates of the Hoffman Process. It has never been her priority to have children. She lives with her husband, who has been her partner for 25 years, in Ashland, OR.

From the Back Cover: In the aftermath of the Great Armenian Earthquake, little Maria was born into a world where hope was only a distant memory. But hope is what her mother had to give, as she left her precious baby in the hands of the orphanage doctor in the small Russian town of Armavir.

Halfway around the world, Tony and Marsha Woods, still grieving from the loss of their first-born son but clinging to their long-held hope for another child whom they could love and cherish, were led by a series of miraculous events to Armavir and to the amazing Dr. Vegislav. Together and against all odds, they accomplished the impossible.

This true story of an orphan girl’s journey from desolate beginnings to the life of an American “missionary kid,” finding her home in such places as Japan, Hong Kong, Ethiopia, and Australia. But most important of all was her discovery that the words of God through the prophet Jeremiah were hers to claim as well: “For I know the plans I have for you ... plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

We use the word adoption very casually today. We speak of adopting pets, books, and highways. Yet the word has a far nobler significance. Adoption is the permanent placement of a child in a family with all its rights and privileges. God has forever placed us in his family. He has forever made us his children. He has forever changed our legal status. He has forever granted us an inheritance. He has forever lavished his love upon us. A Hope Deferred probes the depths of this wonderful reality by unfolding the six blessings of adoption as found in Romans 8. It intertwines these blessings with an account of one family’s journey to international adoption a journey encompassing twenty years, four continents, and countless joys and sorrows. The result is a valuable glimpse into the essential relationship between adoption, affliction, and the fatherhood of God over his people.

From the Dust Jacket: The truly remarkable story of a town built on dreams and second chances...

With its tree-shaded streets, Hope Meadows looks like any suburban neighborhood where children of all colors ride bicycles, and where an equally diverse mix of adults sit sentry in lawn chairs. Not visible are the tormented histories haunting the children at play, or what brought them to this little village of big miracles—an opportunity to finally understand the joys of a normal childhood.

Built on an abandoned Illinois Air Force base, Hope Meadows is the brainchild of sociologist Brenda Eheart, who envisioned the community as a solution to the problem of revolving-door foster care, a system that shuffled discarded, deeply troubled, and increasingly desperate boys and girls from home to home with no clear goal. Here are children given up by impoverished mothers; children as young as eight years old who are already dangerously streetwise; children of drug addicts, prisoners, and prostitutes; children who have never been taught the importance of responsibility, school, or the basics of human interaction. Here “unadoptable” children are given the chance to thrive in permanent homes.

At Hope Meadows, seniors find a renewed sense of purpose as foster grandparents. Their spirits are lifted and their lives enriched as they give and receive unconditional love from the children they nurture each day. At Hope Meadows, the meaning of community is rediscovered and redefined as a network of caring relationships built upon a shared mission: piecing shattered childhoods back together again.

In a world that often seems selfish and abusive, Hope Meadows provides sanctuary for the most wounded of our young. It is a place where their adult guardians provide them with the gift of hope and vice versa. And in the process, the greater needs of society are met.

With stirring photographs and inspirational stories of emotional and spiritual rebirth, this unique book is a tribute to a town built from the heart up.

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About the Author: Wes Smith has been a journalist for three decades, most recently as a national correspondent for the Chicago Tribune, where he worked for thirteen years. He has written or collaborated on sixteen books, and now contributes to magazines including Business Week, Biography, and U.S. News & World Report. He lives with his wife, Sarah, and children, Andrew and Jessica, in Bloomington, Illinois.

Hope Shining Brightly is a compelling and heartwarming story about one family’s determination to save two small children from the grips of the State programs which held them captive. This true story will help educate the reader about issues involved with legal risk adoption.

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By the Same Author: Holding the Hope: My Daughter’s Journey Through Reactive Attachment Disorder.

From the Back Cover: It’s cliché to say it, but you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Clichés are cliché because they’re true. When a potential birth parent is browsing through profiles, being able to create an ideal first impression is essential for hopeful adoptive parents.

An ideal profile can help catch the eye of potential birth parents by more effectively showing how their homes work, look, and feel. Because few (if any) adoption agencies use the “first come, first served” method anymore, some couples are chosen very quickly—but others, who might not have the right tools, wait for years.

If you’re hoping to adopt, there are things you can do to greatly increase the odds that you will be one of the couples whose wait is a short one.

Not all adoption agencies are the same. Different agencies will have different methods for creating your profile. Some use scrapbooks, others do everything online. Still, others will use a combination of various resources. Some agencies want one profile letter, some want two (one from each of the hopeful adoptive parents). Some ask for the letter to be written in first person, while others prefer third person, and some prefer a combination of the two. Confusing? Yes. Here’s the point: the basic principles will be the same, no matter the style.

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About the Author: Russell Elkins has always been a family man at heart, looking forward to the day when he could be a husband and a father. It took him a little while, but eventually his eyes locked onto a beautiful blonde, and he has never looked away. Russell and Jammie were married in 2004. They had the same goals for their home and didn’t want to wait too long before starting their family. However, filling their home quickly with children wasn’t in the cards, and they found themselves weighing their options to overcome problems with infertility. Their lives changed dramatically the day they decided to adopt. Russell and Jammie have adopted two beautiful children, Ira and Hazel, and have embraced their role as parents through open adoption. Both are actively engaged in the adoption community by communicating through social media, taking part in discussion panels, and writing songs about adoption.

Russell was born on Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, D.C., in the fall of 1977. Along with his five siblings, he and his military family moved around a lot, living in eight different houses by the time he left for college at age 17. Although his family moved away from Fallon, Nevada, just a few months after he moved out, he still considers that little oasis in the desert to be his childhood hometown. Even after leaving home, Russell always stayed close to his family. He shared an apartment with each of his three brothers at different times during his college career. They formed a band together back in the 1990s and still perform on a regular basis under the name of the Invisible Swordsmen. After nearly a decade of college and changing his major a few times, Russell received his bachelor’s degree in sociology from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He later graduated from Ameritech College where he learned the trade of being a dental lab technician. Russell now owns and operates Elkins Dental Lab located in Meridian, ID.

In The House on Sylvia Street, the author weaves humor and hard facts to tell about invisible and overlooked foster children. It’s a true story with fake names that will tug at your heart strings while educating you about the challenges these children face. Readers follow “Beth” and her current family through a spring of medical appointments, a summer week at the beach, Thanksgiving, and a winter week of pain and promise. Savor the humorous and touching stories of these young lives and the woman who not only cares for them but sends each one out into the world with a handmade sock monkey.

This is a personal story about one couple’s journey through the foster care system as they become foster then adoptive parents. The raw emotions of this book are featured in individual journal entries showcasing the emotional side of fostering and adoption.

P. Mark Taylor spent seventeen years of teaching mathematics at the junior high, high school, community college, and university levels. He spent another 12 years studying mathematics education, including seven years as a professor of teacher education at the University of Tennessee. His most important experiences, however, have been in personal life. Two birth-children and two adoptions later there are a total of six children providing rich fodder for telling the stories in this book.

Eunice Anderson adopted her children in the times of closed adoptions, and years later, and for medical reasons, she sleuthed her way to the birth parents in this memoir.

From the Publisher: The children of The Adoption Club have lots of different feelings about adoption. Michael was scared when he first met this adopted family, and was worried his adoptive family might not keep him. Other children talk about feeling happy, sad and angry, and how feeling can make them behave strangely. This workbook gives children a way to sort out feelings, discuss them and feel better. Written for counsellors and therapists working with children aged 5-11, as well as adoptive parents, this workbook is designed to help children to explore their feelings and behavior. It is one of a set of five interactive therapeutic workbooks featuring The Adoption Club written to address the key emotional and psychological challenges adopted children often experience. Together, they provide an approachable, interactive and playful way to help children to learn about themselves and have fun at the same time.

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About the Author: Regina M. Kupecky, LSW, has worked in the adoption arena for more than thirty years as an adoption placement worker and therapist. She was named “Adoption Worker of the Year” in 1990 by the Ohio Department of Human Services. She is currently a therapist with Dr. Keck at the Attachment and Bonding Center of Ohio, where she works with children who have attachment disorders. She trains nationally and internationally on adoption issues, sibling issues, and attachment. Ms. Kupecky authored a resource guide, Siblings Are Family Too, which is available through the Three Rivers Adoption Council in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She has coauthored a curriculum with Dr. Keck and Arleta James called Abroad and Back: Parenting and International Adoption and has written a curriculum on sibling issues titled My Brother, My Sister: Sibling Relations in Adoption and Foster Care.

Jonquil and Bryan Graham began with the idea of fostering a few New Zealand kids. After all, they had an ideal home for them—a rambling old house in a kiwifruit orchard in glorious Golden Bay. Nine adopted children later—five of them, including two pairs of twins, from Eastern Europe—and many others who were fostered, the Grahams feel they lead the richest of lives. This is a candid account, funny and heart-warming. It also shows the tragedy of children without families and the difference that true parenting makes ... To parents as well as to the children. Love fairly jumps off the pages of this book, along with the ups and downs of family life.

Understanding why people say what they do is the first step toward compassion, as it allows us to glimpse another s perspective. This can lead to giving others grace an undeserved gift of letting people off the hook for what they say that eventually leads us to forgive them. How Much Did You Pay For Her? challenges adoptive parents to develop a better understanding of the motivations behind what can seem like an endless stream of questions and comments about their family, and at the same time, addresses the truth of how these exchanges really feel. This book will encourage adoptive families with a desire to forgive in their hearts to respond positively to those with whom they engage, transforming pain into gain.

From the Publisher: Here is a little of what you will learn inside of this book:

• Requirements for becoming an adoptive parent. In the areas that we can’t give specific information, we will give you guidelines for where to look so that you aren’t being bounced around when trying to figure it all out.

• Preparation of your adoption plan. This plan helps you visualize exactly where you are in the process. Instead of sitting by while the adoption agencies and courts decide your fate, you will be able to be proactive in the process.

• What costs can you expect to incur? Adoptions can be quite expensive, but we will offer a few ideas for you to look into that may be able to offset some, or most of the cost involved.

But that’s not all! Here’s what else you will learn: Types of adoption — All about adoptions — Why you should choose adoption — Adoption dos and don’ts — Children awaiting adoption — Steps to put your child up for adoption — Adoption resources — Adoption photo listing — Adoption records: why are they so important? — Adoption lawyers — Adoption agencies — Choosing the right adoption agency and what to expect — Four places to help you find the right adoption agency — Where to find financial help when adopting a child — First-time adoption — Meeting your adoptive child — Preparing the home for an adoptive child — Five steps — Types of domestic adoption — The differences between open and closed adoptions — Adopting your stepchild — Adopting siblings — Adopting a special-needs child — Transracial adoption — Adoption from same-sex couples — Public adoption — International adoption — The pros and cons of international adoption — Canadians adopting from the U.S. — Russian adoption — Vietnamese adoptions — Adopting from China — And more...

From the Dust Jacket (1968 edition): Here are some random quotations from the book:

“Slightly over 50 per cent of all adoptions are made by persons related to the child being adopted. Of the remaining amount, adoption agencies are responsible for 60 to 70 per cent. Private arrangements or “independent placements” obtained through friends, doctors, lawyers, or other sources make up the other 30 to 40 per cent.”

* * *

“There is usually a waiting list of potential parents, or, to put it another way, there are more applications than there are children. A recent study reported that out of 14,000 agency applications in a recent year 8,500 placements were made, while 5,500 were left on the waiting list.”

* * *

“The number of white children adopted has been approximately ten times greater than the number of nonwhite children adopted. However, nonwhite adoptions are increasing at a faster rate than white adoptions.”

* * *

“There is no federal adoption statute in the United States and very little federal regulation as yet. State statutes govern the proceedings entirely; and, while there are substantial similarities from state to state, each state statute is different.”

* * *

“The preferences of the adopting parents can and often do have a great effect upon exactly what kind of child they will receive. Most agencies try to meet requests within limits, although there is no picking and choosing of children, as there is when one buys a new car.”

* * *

“There are two basic problems involved in adopting a foreign child. The first is getting the child out of his country of origin and into the United States. The second problem is the legal adoption and naturalization of the child as a United States citizen.”

* * *

“The function of the black market in adoptions is easily defined as ‘babies for sale.’ For the entrepreneur in this field there can be considerable profit. This market was born out of the same facts of the market place that otherwise rule our economy.”

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“What is the proper role of the attorney in the adoption process? Basically, the lawyer should serve in two capacities: as a lawyer and as a counsellor.”

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From the Back Cover (Dust Jacket): Approximately one out of every thirty children born in the United States this year will be adopted. The complex problems of adoption produced a multiplicity of laws, regulations, and methods. It is the purpose of this book to provide a complete guide for the couple who is eager to adopt a child ... to acquaint them with the various procedures ... to help them understand the requirements which often differ from state to state ... to tell them about the methods and service organizations available to them ... to direct them to sources of specific and specialized information. The subjects covered include the selection of the child, who may or may not adopt, religion and race requirements, state laws, public and private agencies, independent and foreign adoptions, and the black market in babies. An entire section is devoted to a state-by-state directory of public and private adoption agencies.

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About the Author: Robert A. Farmer is a graduate of Dartmouth College, A.B., Harvard Law School, LL.B., and Harvard Business School.

From the Back Cover: Through numerous conversations with prospective and successful adoptive parents across the United States, the authors gathered the most frequently asked questions about adoption and sought out the best possible up-to-date answers from adoption attorneys, doctors, social workers, and adoptive parents

In simple question-and-answer format, How to Adopt a Child provides valuable information on virtually every aspect of adoption....

• Common and international medical considerations to be aware of

• Frequently used adoption terms and their definitions

• Different forms of adoption:

Agency Adoption

Private Adoption

State and Special-Needs Adoption

International Adoption

Single-Parent Adoption

• and much more

Comprehensive and well-researched, How to Adopt a Child is an invaluable resource for prospective adoptive parents.

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About the Author: Connie Crain is a registered nurse who has spent the past eight years working in the labor and delivery/maternal child care unit of a small community hospital. She and her husband have one adopted daughter and are in the process of adopting another child. She enjoys traveling, reading, and entertaining friends.

Janice Duffy grew up in East Africa as the daughter of foreign missionaries. She received her B.S. in Nursing from Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. Janice has spent her nursing career working in the Neonatal Intensive Care field. She and her husband have five children. Her two youngest daughters were adopted from Romania. When Janice is not writing, she enjoys hunting for antiques, traveling, and swimming.

From the Publisher: There is an ever-increasing incidence of applications for adoption in the UK. How to Adopt a Child is the first book of its kind to explain the necessary legal paths to adoption—including new English legislation since the radical overhaul of the system in 2002—as well as addressing the psychological and emotional aspects of the process. Top family-law barrister Jeremy Rosenblatt guides the reader step-by-step down an easier path to adoption, making each stage as simple and as straightforward as possible. How to Adopt a Child covers such topics as adopting as a gay or single parent and adopting a child from abroad. This is the ultimate guide for anyone considering adoption in the UK.

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About the Author: Jeremy Rosenblatt read law at the London School of Economics before working as a Research Assistant at the House of Commons. He is the winner of the Anglo-Dutch Cultural Scholarship to the Asser Institute of International Law in the Hague and a Guggenheim Travel Scholarship to Venice. He is a sometime contributor to television and radio and has written a number of books on family law, including How to Do Your Own Divorce. He is now a family law barrister, living and working in London.

From the Introduction: This is a book of hope for people who wonder if the child they long for can ever be theirs. It is written in love by two people who have traveled that long and painful road to a successful conclusion—and have stayed around to help others embark on the journey.

It is also written to the relatives and friends of those who must travel this road. We know that you also suffer. Your love, encouragement, and care are needed.

Finally, it is written to children who were born elsewhere and adopted by Americans, especially to our own children. Sometimes it is difficult to be an adopted child. We hope that this book helps you understand how you became part of our lives and what your adoptive parents experienced before you did.

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About the Author: Eileen M. Wirth is assistant professor of journalism at Creighton University in Omaha. She is the mother of two foreign adopted children.

Joan Worden is an internationally recognized expert in the area of foreign adoption. She is executive director of KESIL Adoption Agency in Nebraska and the mother of three biological and two foreign adopted children.

Adoption is a process a family begins after countless hours of contemplation, soul-searching, research and input from friends. Many couples pursuing adoption have gone through years of infertility testing and have exhausted their finances and their emotional strength. One look at an adoption agency’s website and the overjoyed parents who have just arrived home with their little bundle of joy is all a couple needs to rejuvenate their devotion to becoming parents. At least that’s how it happened for me. My husband and I had been trying to conceive a second child for several years before we began considering adoption, and opted for international adoption as we are a multicultural couple. One informational meeting at a local church on international adoption, and I was hooked. The two couples who had just returned home with their babies were elated and gleaming with joy. I wanted to be one of them, not the woman who had a monthly meltdown every time she failed to get pregnant. Another couple may choose adoption when they already have children but have decided they have room in their hearts (and homes) for another child. Perhaps they have read a book about international adoption, or met a family who has adopted overseas. Whether they have been trying to conceive a child for many years without success, or have decided to adopt because the world is already too crowded, it all begins with paperwork.

This manual details the actual paper work and legal procedures for adopting a child (or an adult) who is already available, through the court channels. It specifically details, for illustrative purposes, the New York State procedures, but carefully carries other necessary information to insure that adopters in virtually every state could reasonably file for adoption.

This guide describes ways to deal with issues that arise when adopting older children. Written by experts in the field, Quick Easy Guides share little-known trade secrets and helpful hints to get you moving in the right direction. Quick Easy Guides gives you books you can judge by the cover. Our books are short, sweet and cheap. You can see for yourself.

By the Same Author: Gamines: How to Adopt From Latin America(1981, Dillon Press); How to Adopt From Central and South America (1989); Butterflies in the Wind: Spanish/Indian Children with White Parents (1992); How to Adopt Internationally: A Guide for Agency-Directed and Independent Adoption (1992); Butterflies in the Wind: The Truth About Latin American Adoptions (2004, Authors Choice Press); Inside the Adoption Agency: Understanding Intercountry Adoption in the Era of the Hague Convention (2007, iUniverse); and My Portable Life: Reluctant Runaway Finds Families for Thousands of Children (2009, iUniverse), among others.

By the Same Author: Gamines: How to Adopt From Latin America(1981, Dillon Press); How to Adopt From Asia, Europe and the South Pacific (with Gay R Hallberg; 1983); Butterflies in the Wind: Spanish/Indian Children with White Parents (1992); How to Adopt Internationally: A Guide for Agency-Directed and Independent Adoption (1992); Butterflies in the Wind: The Truth About Latin American Adoptions (2004, Authors Choice Press); Inside the Adoption Agency: Understanding Intercountry Adoption in the Era of the Hague Convention (2007, iUniverse); and My Portable Life: Reluctant Runaway Finds Families for Thousands of Children (2009, iUniverse), among others.

This book is extremely practical and detailed step-by-step guide. It contains all the information prospective parents need to know about adoption from Ukraine. The Guide will help couples to make educated decisions about adoption from Ukraine. “How to adopt...” is a real boon for prospective adoptive parents who are newcomer in this matter and are absorbing all the information regarding international adoption and particularly adoption from Ukraine. ALEXANDER BOGACH is Ukrainian attorney specializing in adoption. As the local attorney he takes a sober view of adoption from Ukraine. Alexander enjoys helping foreign and Ukrainian families in their adoptions. You may find hot news and updates regarding adoption from Ukraine on the author’s blog www.howtoadoptfromukraine.blogspot.com.

From the Back Cover (2000-2002 edition): Organized around 23 easy-to-follow steps, How to Adopt Internationally includes detailed coverage of every aspect of the international adoption process, including organizing a home study and fulfilling state requirements as well as choosing a country to adopt from, working through emigration and immigration, and traveling abroad to meet your child. How to Adopt Internationally also includes:

• Detailed information on the adoption requirements for 68 child-placing countries.

• Samples of the forms and documents parents will be required to provide.

• Guidelines for estimating the cost of an international adoption.

• Detailed information on collecting and verifying documents required for state approval, INS approval, and approval of the child’s country of origin.

• Practical information on preparing for the adoption trip abroad.

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About the Author: Jean Nelson-Erichsen and Heino R. Erichsen are adoptive parents and founders of Los Niños International Adoption Center. One of the first couples to adopt from South America, the Erichsens’ research and determination have paved the way for thousands of othr parents to adopt children from countries around the world.

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By the Same Author: Gamines: How to Adopt From Latin America(1981, Dillon Press); How to Adopt From Asia, Europe and the South Pacific (with Gay R Hallberg; 1983); How to Adopt From Central and South America (1989); Butterflies in the Wind: Spanish/Indian Children with White Parents (1992); Butterflies in the Wind: The Truth About Latin American Adoptions (2004, Authors Choice Press); Inside the Adoption Agency: Understanding Intercountry Adoption in the Era of the Hague Convention (2007, iUniverse); and My Portable Life: Reluctant Runaway Finds Families for Thousands of Children (2009, iUniverse), among others.