From the Dust Jacket: Few Hollywood careers have been more fabulous, more scandalous, more dizzyingly from-rags-to-riches and from-triumph-to-tragedy, more glaringly limelit than that of Joan Crawford, born Lucille Fay LeSueur in 1906 (or 1908, according to her press releases) in Texas. Miss Crawford rose from being a telephone operator in Kansas City (under the name Billie Cassin, since her mother had remarried) to a chorus line in Springfield, Missouri. and from there—as if propelled by one high, miraculous kick—came to MGM, fame, glamour, glitter, romance, and ultimate stardom.

For many people Joan Crawford was more than a star; she was the star, the very symbol of those dazzling movie queens whose faces were more famous throughout the world than those of emperors, dictators or presidents, and whose very appearance could create a riot—as Miss Crawford once did in New York’s Grand Central Terminal. She was a tough, ambitious, gutsy and fiercely competitive person, a complete professional when it came to making movies, a star on or off the stage. Her energy was inexhaustible and legendary, as was her temper, and her marriages were stormy and violent, whether with fellow-star Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. or with Pepsi-Cola executive Alfred Steele, who made her Pepsi’s ambassador to the world and died leaving her almost penniless.

Joan Crawford’s love affairs were the stuff of countless gossip columns, as widely publicized as her movies—and seldom indeed has a life been lived more in the limelight of publicity. Yet in this definitive, powerful and dramatic biography, Bob Thomas, dean of Hollywood biographers, has recreated the real life of Joan Crawford: her lonely, terrible death; her search for her father (who abandoned her at an early age and reappeared in her life when she was a star); her struggles to reach the top; the scandals that haunted her life (including the rumor that she had appeared in a blue movie and that Louis B. Mayer had paid a king’s ransom to buy the negative and destroy it); her tortured relationships with her adopted children; her drinking; and her courageous decision to resume work after Steele’s death.

Here, at last, is the complete and extraordinary story of Joan Crawford’s life, her films, her marriages, her secrets and her loves, in an intimate biography that delineates the character and the personality of the Ultimate Star.

---

About the Author: Bob Thomas interviewed Joan Crawford many times over a thirty-month period and conducted more than a hundred interviews with her coworkers and acquaintances to research this biography.

Born in San Diego, Thomas grew up in Los Angeles, where his father was a film publicist. After schooling at UCLA, Thomas joined the Associated Press in Los Angeles, and has reported for the Hollywood scene for thirty-five years. His is the author of many books, including biographies of Harry Cohn, Irving Thalberg, David O. Selznick, Marlon Brando and Walt Disney. His books about Howard Hughes and Abbott and Costello have been made into television movies.

The father of three daughters, Bob Thomas lives in Encino with his wife, Patricia.

From the Dust Jacket: In the first biography of Joan Crawford to give the full, uncensored story, best-selling author David Bret tells of Crawford’s rags-to-riches climb, from working in a Kansas City laundry to collecting an Oscar for her defining role in Mildred Pierce, and on to her devotion to Christian Science and reliance on vodka. He discusses the star’s legendary relationship with Clark Gable, her countless love affairs, her marriages—three of them to gay men—and her obsession with rough sex. Bret divulges what really happened that led her to disinherit two of her four children, earning her the nickname “Mommie Dearest,” as well as how her loathed mother forced Crawford to work as a prostitute, appear in pornographic films, and sleep her way to the top.

Bret analyzes Crawford’s films, many of which were constructed purely as Joan Crawford vehicles in which actress and character were often indistinguishable. Overtly generous toward her coterie of gay friends, she was unspeakably heartless toward her enemies, particularly Bette Davis, her costar in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, with whom she shared a lifelong feud.

Drawing on a wealth of unpublished material and interviews, including Marlene Dietrich and Douglas Fairbanks, David Bret presents a unique, fascinating portrait of a single-minded, uncompromising woman.

---

About the Author: French-born David Bret is a leading celebrity biographer. His previous books include biographies of subjects as diverse as Marlene Dietrich, Edith Piaf, Gracie Fields, George Formby, Morrissey, and Rock Hudson.

From the Dust Jacket: Meticulously researched, Joan Crawford: The Last Word deals in full with her long movie career and explores in detail her turbulent private life. Respected biographer Fred Lawrence Guiles uses newly discovered sources and recent interviews with many who knew her, and some who loved her, to establish the person behind the carefully crafted screen icon.

For most of her adult life she was a Star who dedicated herself entirely to her career. But since her death her luster has been tarnished. Here, at last, is a biography that sets the record straight.

In her heyday Joan Crawford was probably the most imitated woman in the world. Magazine covers featured her face, and high school and college girls copied her makeup and clothing.

Born Lucille LeSuer in Kansas City, she spent her childhood on the edge of poverty. But an iron will developed in adolescence drove her to New York City and eventual work in a chorus line. Spotted by a Hollywood talent scout, she was soon on her way to the film capital.

Four times married (to actors Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Franchot Tone, Philip Terry, and Pepsi-Cola executive Alfred Steele) and driven by a powerful sexuality, Joan Crawford lived her life on the razor’s edge. Yet she was a woman of great generosity who cared deeply for her four adopted children, although her ideas of discipline were colored by her own harsh upbringing. Her professional career spanned more than forty years and included such classics as Grand Hotel, Mildred Pierce, and MU Her remarkable progression from silent films to talkies to television exemplified her ability to adapt, chameleon-like, to the ever-changing demands of the industry that in many senses invented her.

Joan Crawford: The Last Word does not cloak the dark side of Crawford’s nature. This unbiased account restores the much-needed balance between those who regard her as the monster depicted in Mommie Dearest and the truth about a legendary star.

Illustrated with more than thirty photographs, many previously unpublished.

---

About the Author: Fred Lawrence Guiles was a playwright in New York in 1960 when he visited Virginia City, Nevada, to finish his play City on the Comstock. While there he encountered the film location sites of The Misfits, where he made the acquaintance of Marilyn Monroe. A few years later he wrote the book Norma Jean, which to this day is considered the best of the Monroe biographies. It went through ten printings and remained on the New York Times bestseller list for many weeks.

Later successful biographical studies include Marion Davies, Tyrone Power: The Last Idol, Stan: The Life of Stanley Laurel and, more recently, Loner at the Ball: The Life of Andy Warhol. They have been published in Japanese, Spanish, German, French, and Swedish languages, among others. Joan Crawford: The Last Word is being published simultaneously in London.

Mr. Guiles makes his home in Florida.

From the Publisher: Joined at the Heart is a compelling saga of love and determination to overcome insurmountable odds. It is a story of a birth mother and an adoptive mother who become joined at the heart by a child they both love. This story is an inspiration guide to those struggling with issues in adoption, substance abuse, or loss of a loved one, Nance Vizedom offers hope and courage to anyone whose life has been touched by grief and personal turmoil. The insights this book offers may change your life. If you have been touched by adoption or are thinking of searching for a loved one lost by the adoption process, this book is a must read.

---

About the Author: Nance Vizedom, a secondary teacher with her master’s degree, advocates education to combat the detrimental factors of drug and alcohol abuse and issues of multifaceted family life including families separated by divorce or by adoption. She supports reform of the exclusive use of closed adoption and closed records. She advocates participation in organizations providing support and encouragement to those searching for loved ones lost through the adoption process.

From the Dust Jacket: The Jonathon Letters: One Family’s Use of Support as They Took in, and Fell in Love With, a Troubled Child gathers together an exchange of letters between a foster/adopt mom and a specialized clinician far away. Their common interest: the struggle between a particularly wounded four-year-old boy who was certain he could not be loved, and the family with whom he had been placed, who were determined to love him. Unbeknownst to the correspondents, they were recording the story of the tortuously slow and unsteady opening up of the soul of a little boy...

The family happened to have that rare combination of internal and external resources that seem necessary, if any family is to survive the screaming, the resistance to attachment, the “crazy lying”, the aggressiveness, the manipulations, and the rage that are often seen in children with Reactive Attachment: Disorder. The reader is privileged to come to know a family with a unique persistence, and a driving energy that allowed them to keep bouncing back after each regression, and—ultimately—to understand Jonathon’s defiance and rage as his cry for the very thing he resisted the most.

---

About the Author: Michael Trout has been working clinically with foster children, with all members of the adoption triad, and with both adults and children who experienced early disruptions in attachment, for three decades. He is the Director of The Infant-Parent Institute in Illinois, and is a father, stepfather, and grandpa.

Lori Thomas is an active advocate and public speaker on children’s issues. She is the mother of six (three adopted), and a foster parent. She is President and Founder of Hope Village, Inc., and lives with her husband, children, and two dogs in Northern Virginia.

From the Dust Jacket: Josephine Baker once told Jean-Claude Baker that after she died he would discover the truth about her. Now, after two decades of exhaustive worldwide research, he has done just that, but the truth turns out to be much more fascinating—and shocking—than the legends that have attached themselves to her.

Here’s the neglected child starving for attention in the slums of St. Louis, the uninhibited chorus girl who shamelessly stole the spotlight from the stars—and became the sensation of Europe.

Josephine was the self-proclaimed Universal Mother, who gathered children from many countries, the expatriate who was erratic about the civil rights movement, and the outrageous entertainer who dared to become the first black sex symbol of this century.

Jean-Claude Baker collected the voices of men and women who, over the decades, shared the stage with Josephine. Here are the tales of the great impresarios and showmen who toasted her name from Paris to Rio, of her friends, her enemies, her servants, her lovers, and her family.

Though she never knew her father, she always claimed to be of mixed racial heritage. She was a secret agent; she was kept by princes and sultans. She hated being black and never forgave white people for what they had done to her race.

In this rich and evocative biography, spiced with never-before-revealed facts and anecdotes Josephine Baker comes to life again. Through the monumental efforts of a man who has devoted a good part of his life to her memory, we see, at last, the complex woman who was one o our century’s most captivating celebrities—the one who broke all the rules.

---

About the Author: Jean-Claude Baker was born in Dijon, France. At fourteen, while working as a bellhop in Paris, he met Josephine Baker. Her bold inspiration led him to pursue a remarkably colorful career that has included success as a nightclub owner, television producer, and restaurateur. Mr. Baker first came to the United States on Josephine Baker’s final American tour in 1973. He lives in New York City.

Chris Chase lives in New York City.

From the Dust Jacket: September

“This should have been my birthday month. To arrive in the world with the air so winy, the skies so blue, and the land sleeping under its late summer haze would have been a royal beginning indeed. But I was fated to be a March child, and, of course, there is something to be said for daffodils after all. At any rate, now that I have made the decision to gather up some fragments of my life and enclose them within a book, it shall know the joy of a September birth.”

Thus begins The Journal of a Happy Woman, with the awareness of Stillmeadow Calendar, and perception of Gift From the Sea, and the laughter of Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, Mrs. Strong shares her family (six children, four of them adopted), her joys, her frustrations, and her victories—a year from her life.

Favorite recipes, poetry, a tour of Elm Valley Farm—including the special delight of a hidden prayer corner created from a weed patch—all weave together to format book few woman will be able to resist.

Down to earth, practical, and spiritual, yet whimsical and funny, June Strong’s book clamors to be read, cherished, and brought out again to reread when you need laughter or encouragement.

The Journal of a Happy Woman is a unique and special event in Seventh-day Adventist publishing. It is a book for women—all women.

---

About the Author: June Kimball Strong majored in English at Atlantic Union College, South Lancaster, Massachusetts, and presently lives in upstate New York. As she describes in her correspondence, Mrs. Strong has mothered a family of six—“one married daughter, an Eskimo son, a Korean daughter, a Korean son, plus two more who arrived in the ordinary way.”

Mrs. Strong’s major hobbies are people and writing. Magazines in which her articles have appeared include Christian Life, Insight, and Review and Herald. In addition, she writes a monthly column for These Times. She also enjoys gardening and sewing when she finds the time.

Why did June Strong write Journal of a Happy Woman? The title suggests her answer: “Because it’s a joyous thing to follow Christ.” In this book the author shares her Christian enthusiasm with the reader, and it is contagious! Surely you will agree with one reader of Journal of a Happy Woman that “the description is so colorful, expressive, and human that I find myself living each day with her.”

As a foster Dad, I often envisioned my home as a waypoint, a temporary refuge, for children cast upon a sometimes perilous road towards a better future. My book, Journey Back Home, reflects that vision. It’s a true tale of life’s lessons as taught by the grace of more than sixty children who entered my home as strangers and left as sons and daughters. Nowadays foster parents get all kinds of training prior to opening their door to their first child, none of which provides the missing ingredient that a substitute Mom or Dad really needs: experience. That’s where Journey Back Home comes in. While I wrote it as an aid and inspiration for current and would-be foster parents, the narrative has relevance to anyone interested in dealing with difficult child behaviors or directing their children’s lives purposefully. My wife and I started fostering eleven years ago. We adopted our first foster child, and went on to provide a home for sixty other children over the years. My book is in part our story, but it is really about the children, and what they taught us about conducting them through the twists and turns of their journey back home.

From the Back Cover: When Melissa Pandolf and her husband, Doug, began the adoption process, the hopeful mother-to-be had her sights set on welcoming two beaming babies to quickly make the Pandolf house a family home. However, after three years; four trips to Russia; one to Washington, DC; and two plane crashes that threatened to bring their dream down around them, she came to realize that a bigger destiny awaited them on the other side o the world. As the adoptive parents of four Russian siblings, the young couple from Long {sland learned the true meaning of family, and what it means to go the extra mile to give your children what they need.

The Journey for Mama’s Babies chronicles the couple’s three-year odyssey to bring their children home. From the enthusiastic initial meeting to get the option under way, Pandolf shares every aspect o the experience, including the unexpected depression that was companion to the emotionally wrenching process. Enlightening, easy to read, an arrestingly honest, this tender, telling story of a family built across oceans, languages, and every imaginable obstacle will take hold of you heart, and make you hold your loved ones closer still.

---

About the Author: Melissa R. Pandolf is a full-time mother who recently celebrated her twentieth year serving in the United States military and is currently in the Air National Guard. She lives with her family in Patchogue, Long Island. Her life, as crazy and hectic as it is, is perfect, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

From the Dust Jacket: William L. White, “Bill White” of Kansas, went to England with a private memo—“uplook kids.” This memo, in cablese, recorded his desire to adopt an English child. Not long after he landed in England—he crossed on one of the fifty U.S. destroyers transferred to the British Navy—White found Margaret, who at this time was three-and-a-half years old.

Bill White installed her in Anna Freud’s rest home for war orphans in London. Here the daughter of the great scientist was managing a way station of rescue, trying to piece together some of the tine wrecked lives that lie in the wake of today’s war. He visited Margaret frequently, for she grew to trust him. Waked at night by Nazi raiders over London, she would ask fearfully about the “germanplanes.” Bill White would reassure her back to sleep, and ride the rest of the night out in the fire-wagons while the German planes sprayed incendiary bombs on the city.

Margaret was White’s personal job in England, and this is his personal book about Margaret and her England. His public job was writing dispatches for America, and he made it his business to see, hear, and feel all phases of the war. He spent nights at the R.A.F. flying posts, watching the bombers go off to Germany. He went mine-sweeping in the English Channel. He was bombed himself. This is the fiery background for Margaret, the little girl White was finally able to adopt and bring to America.

With the thoughts, speech, and action of an embattled people focused through the story of a child, the reader feels as if he is reading for the first time the human story of England at war.

---

Compiler’s Note: Basis for the 1942 film of the same name, starring Robert Young, Laraine Day, and Margaret O’Brien.

The Journey of Adoption is our family’s journey from a small community in northwestern Minnesota to the mountains of Guatemala. This story unfolds the uniqueness of beginning with one child, giving birth to twins, and culminating in the addition of a sibling group of three older children from an orphanage in Guatemala. The book presents both our perspectives as parents and our children’s. The children’s contributions of original chapters, artwork, and poetry make this a one-of-a-kind inspirational story for all ages. The cover design is an original acrylic painting by Jenna, entitled, “A Mother’s Embrace.” This painting was created to capture the intimacy and bond between a mother and child. We pray our story will encourage others to step out in faith and become the hands and feet of Jesus. There are so many precious children who need to know and receive the Father’s love through adoption. Our journey reveals how God’s amazing heart moves mightily on behalf of His precious children awaiting a family. About the Author: Tammy Sorenson of Jaran Family Ministries and the arts express’d has been involved in music ministry since elementary school. She has a B.A. in Piano Performance, a B.S. in Vocal Music Education, an M.A. in Music Education, a Doctorate in Practical Theology, and is licensed and ordained by the Fellowship of Christian Assemblies. Jaran Family Ministries has ministered at family camps, conferences, seminars, prayer and worship gatherings, and women’s retreats. Sorenson has been involved in local church leadership, beginning in worship ministry leadership at age eleven, and serving the last 30+ years with her husband, Kevan. She taught in the public school as a music educator for nearly 10 years, in private music instruction for 21+ years, and as a home educator of their six children for 16+ years. The Sorensons have three biological children, Jaran (20), twins Jessa and Jadan (17), and three adopted children from Guatemala, Jenna (18), Jocilyn (16), and Josiah (13), all of whom have ministered with the family in various areas of giftings over the past 16 years. Tammy has also served in children’s and family ministry leadership 16 years, and House of Prayer ministry seven years. She is a pianist, singer, psalmist, songwriter, teacher, and writer. The vision for the arts express’d is presented in her books, No More Orphans!, The Journey of Adoption, and I Am a Good Idea!

A collection of poems inspired by the frustrations, anxieties, complexities of being a foster carer, caring for an extremely damaged little boy. These are some of my thoughts and experiences, some will make you laugh, some will make you cry but anyone caring for children will be able to identify with the context. I found writing these poems my own personal release and if they help or inspire others who read them then that’s a bonus. Please don’t be put off by the word poems as the collection tells a complete story of child and carer’s journey.

My life, from an observer’s point of view, looked enviable. The month after marrying my soul mate, we bought a house in the country and worked tirelessly to turn it into the perfect home for raising children. Assuming I could control when our children would arrive, we spent happy years traveling with friends and working on our successful business. By my 32nd birthday, when a pregnancy had not occurred, we began to actively research why. This began the long, arduous journey through the hope and despair of unexplained infertility. Starting with the simplest treatments, we progressed through every conceivable option. I survived the ordeal with the love and support of friends and family, although even they, at times, could seem insensitive to the extent of my pain. With unusual twists and turns, I continued my quest for the children who I believed were somewhere out in God’s universe, waiting for me. This is a story of love and faith, dedicated to my two precious children.

Four-year-old Emmy Mott was diagnosed with brain stem cancer. Doctors gave her eight weeks to live. Her mom Tammy was devastated. God had other plans. During the next 41 weeks, Emmy’s story touched thousands of hearts all over the world through her Facebook page. Many came back to Christ and began to pray. Emmy’s story changed their lives.

If you’ve ever wondered whether foster and/or adoptive parenting may be for you, then A Journey to Love: Adventures in Foster Parenting is a must read. In it, you will share in the many joys (and more than a few of the frustrations) that come with taking foster children into your home. What do you need to be a foster parent? That could be a book in itself, but the most important quality is love. Specifically, you need the ability and willingness to love someone else’s child, knowing that you may eventually have to give him or her back. Through all the ups and downs of foster parenting, we have found that the rewards far outweigh the price. We trust you will, too. This is our story. We know that there are many others like it just waiting to be lived.

The author tells her painful story of infertility investigation and unsuccessful donor insemination treatment ending in the adoption of two children.

From the Back Cover: Journeying Through State Adoption is a practical guide for anyone who desires to adopt a child and who needs information to begin. It gives you a complete road map for navigating the state foster care system. You will walk through the touching story of a family who pursued their desire to share love with a child in need.

Additionally, Journeying Through State Adoption is for those who want to learn more about the state foster care system, professionals who work within the system, and people who serve as advocates for foster and adopted children.

This guide helps readers answer some vital questions regarding adoption:

• What are the requirements to become an adoptive parent?

• How do I get started?

• What kind of children are waiting to be adopted?

• Is there a child right for my family?

Journeying Through State Adoption includes helpful resources such as contact information for the child welfare agency in every state, listings for many nation-wide adoption support groups, help in identifying and obtaining subsidies for adoptive families, and a state-by-state definition of children with special needs.

Join one family as they discover the answers to these and many other questions during their step-by-step journey!

---

About the Author: Daphine L. Reeves is Vice President of Sharing Adoption Family Experience Through Networking, a foster/adoptive support group, and the spokesperson regarding adoption subsidies in Texas for the North American Council on Adoptable Children.

She lives in Texas with her husband, Dirk, and their daughters, Morgan and Jaelyn.

This book chronicles the story of one family’s journey together in the realm of special needs adoption. It will give you a clear look into the lives of a family with love for children as well as the lives of the unique individuals who live life with disabilities. You will see the impact they have had on the author’s life as well as others. Their journey has been long and at times treacherous. This book walks you through the joys and perils of parenthood, adoption, and our individual search for faith. As the author introduces you to the special people in her family you will feel encouraged and will learn the important life lessons these unique individuals can teach you. Her prayer is that you will encounter God in an amazing way that will bring you to a stronger faith in your Heavenly Father. The reader will be encouraged, taught and drawn to a deeper faith and dependency on God. This family’s story is emotion provoking, challenging and life changing. About the Author: Angela Tipton is a loving wife and mother of six, five with disabilities. She and her family live near Hendersonville, NC. She loves reading, crocheting, and is a support person for parents who have children with disabilities. Angela is a teacher, therapists, and an awesome advocate for her family.

The author writes a beautifully descriptive fictional story based on true experiences from her own life. She herself was adopted and now has two adopted children of her own. This book was meant to be an inspiration, to help and encourage adopted children, to not only point out the joy of adoption, but to also encourage parents in their hopes and dreams and to soften parents’ hearts towards considering adoption.

Joy can be interrupted—but not lost. Most people think of motherhood as a joyous experience, but for some it can be an experience of interrupted joy. This anthology delves into the subject of motherhood and loss from different perspectives of authors and artists from all over the world. The book is uniquely structured around the five stages of grief, mirroring the grief journey many go through. Editor and publisher Melissa Miles McCarter conceived of the anthology six years after her daughter died of SIDS and then struggling with secondary infertility after an ectopic pregnancy. The anthology focuses on mothers and their children who face loss in all forms, losses which can “interrupt the narratives of our lives.” Some of these universal themes addressed include: coping with the death of a child; relationships between mother and child (including adoption and estrangement): caring for disabled children: and having to mother one’s own mother because of an illness.

This sequel to Goodbye Junie Moon begins where she left off in Washington D.C. She has just testified in Senate Hearings about the corruption among the sergeants managing the army N.C.O. and enlisted men’s clubs in Vietnam. By succumbing to her conscience and becoming a whistle blower, she had put her life at risk and lost her business of providing rock bands for the military clubs. Her testimony made front page headlines all over the United States. With her life in tatters, she hopes to make a fresh start and that fresh start includes adopting a poverty stricken child from the streets of Asia. She has seen so much death and so many devastated lives that she now hopes, in some small way, to save a little life. This seems impossible. She is not the usual P.T.A. candidate. A divorced, ex-exotic dancer, suffering P.T.S.D. from the Vietnam War has little chance of meeting the adoption agencies stringent guidelines for adoptive parents. And even in the 1970s, such overseas adoptions were expensive. Even worse, the rules required that she be married. She had tried that once—briefly, and vowed she would never marry again. So, with no husband, no money, and a life best suited to the future T.V. series, Sex and The City, what hope did she have? Her only assets are courage, persistence, and determination. The only glimmer of hope comes from the royalties she hopes to accrue from a book she plans on writing about her Vietnam experiences. Can she change her hedonistic ways, find a husband and become an acceptable adoptive parent? Only time will tell. It is hard to believe that this story is not fiction but it has all been repeatedly verified.

The story of one ordinary family navigating through a life with fostered and adopted children, struggling to cope with loss, mental illness, and a sexual predator in their midst. The author hopes to raise awareness about the need to support victims of abuse and educate children in order to keep them safe. A story of faith challenged and God’s grace.

Whether you’re a mom already or your desire is to become one, Deby’s journey to faith and family will encourage you to stay on life’s conveyor belt and never give up on your dreams. Inviting His presence into the process makes all things possible.

From the Back Cover: This is the true story of a boy placed in foster care while his mother was in prison. It is also the story of his foster mother and family, and the impact he was to have on their lives. During the first months in his new foster home, Billy’s angry and erratic behavior made even this experienced mother and teacher question her decision to open her home to a child in need. However, as the child began to bond with his new family, they discovered in themselves a deeper caring than they could have ever imagined.

At times hilarious, at times sad and deeply moving, this story is a must for anyone who has ever considered fostering or adopting a child.

---

About the Author: Virginia Connelly has worked as a teacher, a Parent Educator, and as a migrant child advocate. She currently works with at-risk youth. Virginia lives in Carmel, California.

Why would any couple in their mid-forties, already grandparents and soon to be retired, think that there was something that they still needed to do? They wanted to make a difference that could be, and should be, made for others. They would give not just money, but themselves, to the lives of two children who lived deep in the heart of Siberia. They would receive just as much in return as they had given, because of one incredible truth. These were not just any children, but older children; the ones usually left behind, overlooked, or never really considered by prospective adoptive parents. One seven- and one 15-year-old whom others considered at one time or another, however, decided for whatever reason to adopt someone younger. These children faced different impossible situations that could have caused them a life of grief, if they choose the wrong course. In B. Matthew Bingham’s first book, The Answer is NO! What is the Question?, you will find that the author really does understand the child soon to be left behind, as he was himself adopted at the age of four and a half. In almost every country in the world, the real choice is of the child itself as to what they want, and where they hope to find ... “Borscht by choice.”

Just Out of Reach is the first book of its kind. It chronicles the story of a family trying to adopt from the foster care system that is told from the child’s voice. An appropriate read for people who have ever asked the question or wondered “How does this process affect the biological children in the home?” Social workers, psychologists, foster and adoptive families, and policy makers alike will find value and insight to the words spoken by this 11-year-old child.

Once Scott Roos embraced his wife Nancy’s vision to adopt an older child in need, the couple embarked on a roller coaster ride of international adoption. While the process was challenging and downright discouraging at times, they persevered with strength derived from heart-sourced guidance to overcome many obstacles, doubts, and fears. The joyous outcome, Katya, provided a gift of love and inspiration to their three biological children, extended family, friends, teachers, and strangers who Katya touched along her incredible journey. From a probable dead-end in a rural Russian orphanage, to a hopeful life in an American family, Katya’s Comet exposes the emotions, people, places, cultures, and logistics that the couple encountered along the way. While Katya’s Comet provides useful insights and references for international adoption, in a broader sense, it motivates you to seek a selfless vision with the promise of experiencing the ripples of joy that inevitably result when you drop your proverbial stone into the enormous pond of human need. Scott’s firsthand experience uniquely qualifies him to share this touching story. His down-to-earth writing style and heartfelt open sharing is positively engaging. About the Author: Scott Roos wrote Katya’s Comet with wisdom and conviction, gained from his family’s real-life adoption. An accomplished product designer, Scott tempers his career with Dahn yoga and growing political activism focused on creating a sustainable future. Scott lives in Glenview, IL, with his wife Nancy and their four children.

From the Back Cover: Foster children are more likely than other children to be involved in risky activities online due to backgrounds of neglect and abuse, an absence of supportive adults, lower self-esteem, and greater exposure to drugs and alcohol.

Covering all the dangers of online technology that your foster child might encounter, from cyber-bullying and “sexting” to child grooming and online hoaxes, this book pays particular attention to dangers unique to foster families, such as the difficulties Internet access poses for maintaining formal arrangements for contact with birth families. DeGarmo equips you with strategies to keep foster children safe online, giving tips on establishing expectations for Internet usage, advice on how to prevent inappropriate contact and protect personal information, and explaining the importance of “netiquette.”

---

About the Author: John DeGarmo is a proud foster and adoptive parent who has fostered over 40 children. He regularly speaks on his experiences at conferences and training sessions, and is dedicated to improving and promoting successful foster and adoptive care systems. He is the author of The Foster Parenting Manual: A Practical Guide to Creating a Loving, Safe and Stable Home, and the children’s picturebook A Different Home: A New Foster Child’s Story, co-authored with his wife Kelly DeGarmo, both published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers, as well as a memoir, Fostering Love: One Foster Parent’s Journey. John and Kelly live with their foster and adoptive children in Georgia, USA.

---

By the Same Author: Love and Mayhem: One Big Family’s Uplifting Story of Fostering and Adoption (2014).

From the Back Cover: Welcoming a new child into the home through adoption is a life-altering experience for the child, the parents, and everyone else in the family.

Expectations and realities often differ dramatically, and adjusting to the change can be difficult and emotionally fraught, Since the majority of children available for adoption today are in the system as the result of abuse and neglect, parents must acknowledge that these children will carry their trauma with them into their new homes. This book inspires a willingness to address these not-so-easy, didn’t-see-that-coming aspects of adoption, which is the first step toward building a strong family. The inclusion of real stories from real people adds heart and encouragement, offering hope for the future of the entire family.

A valuable resource for parents and professionals, this book provides useful strategies for tackling the challenges commonly faced by adoptive families.

---

About the Author: Gregory C. Keck, Ph.D., was the founder and director of the Attachment and Bonding Center of Ohio, which specializes in the treatment of children and adolescents who have experienced developmental interruptions due to their early traumatic history. He was certified as a Diplomate and Fellow by the American Board of Medical Psychotherapy and was a Diplomate in Professional Psychotherapy. He was the co-author of Adopting the Hurt Child and Parenting the Hurt Child, and author of Parenting Adopted Adolescents.

L. (Elle) Gianforte is an award-winning writer, collaborative author, ghostwriter, and developmental editor. Her extensive experience in the adoption arena includes serving on the board of directors of ATTACh, the Association for Treatment and Training in the Attachment of Children, for two years. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Kean University in New Jersey and attended the School of Visual Arts in New York. She is the adoptive mother of two sons.

---

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, NavPress); and Parenting Adopted Adolescents: Understanding and Appreciating Their Journeys (2009, NavPress), among others.

From the Publisher: This book will show you new options in adopting a child, tell you how to work with adoption agencies and agents, describe confidential, open, and semi-open adoptions, discuss adopting different types of children, and more. It also explains the rights of birthparents, the legal and ethical aspects of adoption, and the safeguards for a successful adoption.

The author gives advice on making the decision to adopt a child, new options for prospective parents, and much more. Practical details are explained, including getting started on your adoption plan, preparing for your child’s arrival, bonding between parent and child, and adjusting to the differences that adoption brings.

Here’s help for parents who must cope with the details of raising children in the often-demanding contemporary environment. Bringing up children today is different—and in many ways more difficult—than it was in past generations. Barron’s Parenting Keys speak to today’s parents, with answers to today’s problems.

---

About the Author: Kathy Lancaster is a freelance journalist, educator, and adoptive parent.

---

By the Same Author: Keys to Parenting an Adopted Child (1996), among others.