Happy, successful, easy adoptions are a reality! Many times the children are no more or less difficult to parent than average. However, sometimes raising adopted kids is extremely difficult. Are you really prepared to adopt? Read on as experienced foster, adoptive and even grandparents share stories of success, but also of struggles. Many entered adoption unprepared and were quickly overwhelmed. We wondered why our parenting methods failed. Why didn’t our love heal these children? Why were our previously happy families now falling apart? We lacked vital information about invisible disabilities; we didn’t know how profoundly neglect damages an infant. We didn’t realize we’d signed up to be missionaries to miniature heathens—nor that a spiritual enemy opposed us. Perhaps we assumed the natural state of man, apart from negative influence or defective genes, would be an ideal person; in the Garden of Eden... maybe. We’re not in the Garden anymore! Before you adopt, pray for protection and guidance—and be sure you read This Means War!

This is the compelling tale of Luke, a Korean adoptee who comes to an American family at age one and who gradually loses his life’s way—to die from crack cocaine at age 21. It is also a story of his adoptive father, a CIA officer, who offers an unsparing and vivid account of his own efforts—wise, misguided, passionate, naïve, creative, ultimately unsuccessful—to save his son. Luke is warm, likeable, funny, quick to win friends—and a skilled deceiver, able to impress others with a seeming maturity and urbanity. But the image he works to create for himself is increasingly belied by the darker realities of his life and the black hole he creates around his family. The tale chronicles a poignant and tumultuous quest to grasp the meaning of Luke’s life—and death—against a broad international backdrop from Afghanistan to Latin America. It explores the mysteries of adoption, identity, addiction—and grace.

In Through Our Eyes, William Hunter and some of the children he fostered share their experiences within these unique social welfare phenomena. The author took in children who suffered horrific abuse from their birth parents as well as during their journey through foster care. Hunter describes his personal struggle to salvage what humanity was left to these children and advocate against the immense bureaucracy of the state welfare and mental health systems. After a dozen years, it all came crashing down around him. The stress caught up with him and took a toll on his emotional and physical health. The cases of these children touch the human heart and invoke anger against the worst segment of our society. Few people know the suffering these children endure after the sensationalism of their abuse fades to the back page. Their struggle to survive in the system remains heart wrenching.

Soul and Rebecca have raised a perfect family, eleven children that have grown up in a world of love and devotion. Being middle aged has changed nothing inside of their hearts, they still feel that that they have more to give to children, more to offer to the innocents in our world that sometimes suffer just from being born. The Hancocks have changed other children’s worlds, do they dare to try it again? And this time there is someone that is watching, there is someone that cares, and she will follow the children. Will it be the final days of life as Soul and Rebecca know it?

Mary Graf and her husband, Dana, flew to Lima, Peru on a gray November day in 1991 with the intention of adopting a newborn baby boy. The adoption agency said the trip would last about three weeks, give or take a day or two. Fourteen months later, Mary and 14-month-old Patrick walked together off the airplane onto American soil for the first time, home from an odyssey that tested the will, the sanity and the spirituality of a woman who had just wanted to be a mother. This is a story about a woman who had to seek the shelter of a convent to keep her baby away from a court system that was intent on taking it back, a system that was riddled with corruption and plunged innocent victims through its not-so-hallowed halls like an errant pinball. This is a story about a woman who was robbed at gunpoint, had her apartment windows shattered by terrorist bombs and watched helplessly as military tanks moved in and shut down the government before her very eyes. How much could one woman endure before she was allowed to just take her baby and go home? In practical terms, this is a cautionary tale. The pitfalls of international adoption are spelled out in cringing detail. But, in human terms, what makes this story compelling and unique is that this is not your typical “birthmother changes her mind, tug-at-the-heartstrings” adoption story. On the contrary, Maya, the birthmother and Mary, the adoptive parent banded together with Elena, the Peruvian pixie of a lawyer, to take on a third-world bureaucratic monster that reared its ugly head on an almost daily basis. This is a true story and is recounted verbatim from the journals that Mary and Dana kept to document their travails. The names have been changed in most cases to protect the identities of all parties—both the innocent and the guilty. But there is no disputing the facts of this heart-wrenching tale. Or its heartwarming conclusion.

Till There Was You: An Adoption Expectancy Journal is a beautiful, one-of-a-kind keepsake journal for those expecting a child through adoption. Not just a memory maker, but also a compilation of thought-provoking passages from adoptive parents, as well as a therapist’s insights during each stage of an “adoption pregnancy.” With separate sections organized in meaningful categories, there is ample space to record your own thoughts and feelings on each topic. With sensitive text and touching photos, Till There Was You will help prepare your heart and inspire you to create your own journal of exploration.

From the Publisher: In 1989, the Yurceks’ sixth child, Becca, was born with a rare genetic disorder, and while she struggled to survive, her family tumbled into poverty. This is the true and inspirational story of their journey out of poverty and the many miracles they received along the way.

In the spirit of giving back, they adopted and reunited five siblings separated in foster care. And for their new children they fought for resources in mental health and child welfare with the same tenacity they had fought for Becca in the medical world. Other’s said their journey was impossible, but they proved them wrong.

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About the Author: Ann Yurcek, the mother of eleven children, takes you on a rare and wonderful journey of wholeness in parenting a critically ill child and adopting a family with extraordinary needs. AN enjoyable read you will not soon forget.

From the Publisher: In Richard Taus’ biography, it is evident that from an early age, Richard Taus knew he wanted to be a hero, a real American hero. However, he never imagined that he would be his son’s hero. In Elliott’s article, Richard says of his son: “He was almost four then and on the orphanage’s ‘death list.’ He weighed 20 pounds, boils covered his body, and he was coughing up blood.” Richard had saved David’s life.

Covering a dramatic period in American History, this boyhood memoir is the story about Richard in his earliest experiences, from childhood to adulthood. This story concerns the experiences and influences, both positive and negative, that shaped his life and the lives of others during a turbulent period in the Twentieth Century. To Be A Hero is about an American family, reflecting what so many families had to endure while serving this great nation in wartime and in peacetime. It tells of the sufferings all endured as a consequence of circumstances and mistaken, if not prideful, decisions made by the American government. This story should surely ring true to many Americans whose lives were affected by man-made disasters and tragic accidents.

The Richard Taus Story Part One is the prequel to The Richard Taus Story Part Two, An American Hero: Stolen Honor, which tells the true story of corruption and CIA/FBI intrigue. Has whistle-blower Richard Taus been railroaded? Has this decorated army officer and FBI agent been a casualty of FBI and CIA intrigue? Many believe this to be the case for Taus who questioned unlawful Intelligence agencies’ operations. Investigate the life of this man who is serving what amounts to a life sentence and decide for yourself.

When a woman chooses abortion, the lingering psychological effects can be devastating. Deanna Jones, author of To Be a Mother, knows too well the grief and guilt that can haunt these women. As a teenager, an abortion seemed the only answer for Deanna, but the decision caused her great pain afterward. Finally, by opening her heart to Jesus Christ, she was able to transcend her grief and forgive herself. Her memoir, published by Outskirts Press, is a story of hope that will resonate with many women, and inspire all who read it. Deanna Jones found herself pregnant at the age of 19. In an unstable relationship, and with a musical career starting to take off, she decided she was not ready for motherhood. “No way,” she said. “This is my life, my body.” And so she made an appointment at a local clinic. But she was not prepared for the overwhelming despair that would result. After the abortion she was left with a feeling of emptiness and loss. “Legalized abortion denied me a beautiful gift from God,” she says. “The desperation post-abortion far outweighed the desperation during my brief, unplanned pregnancy, and I was so off balance that I felt as if I would never be able to hold onto anything ever again. A part of me was missing and I would never get it back.” There is a happy ending, however. To Be a Mother is not focused on Deanna’s loss, but rather, it is a story of redemption, resurrection, God’s grace, and His extravagant blessings. Deanna found that by facing her actions and calling out to the true Father, she would be transformed, forgiven, and enlivened. With the Lord by her side, she was able to move from a difficult childhood and a painful abortion decision to the miraculous redemption of Christ and the healing joy that came from the birth and adoption of her six children. This true story shows us firsthand that God is compassionate, illustrating the relentless nature of His pursuit to save and claim His children and allow them life everlasting. The Bible declares that the Lord will turn our mourning into gladness and our despair into praise (Is 61:3), and for Deanna Jones, this has become truth. Follow her inspirational story as she is lifted from a wounded child to a place of understanding and joy as a woman of God. To Be a Mother is a celebration of life, of motherhood, and the sanctity of life itself.

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About the Author: Deanna Jones was born and raised in Rockford, IL, and is currently a bandleader and singer for the New York-based band The Deanna Jones Orchestra. She considers her greatest assets to be her six children—two by birth, and four by miraculous adoption.

Larry Schulenberg’s life drastically changed when he awoke one morning and discovered that polio, without warning, had taken away his ability to walk. During the intervening years, he’s done more than merely survive. He has become a husband, teacher, parent, and principal. Nearly a decade ago, Mr. Schulenberg was confronted by post polio syndrome and was forced to call an end to his career in education. Then, his son was incarcerated as a result of an addiction. So the former principal became an activist for reforming the federal sentencing laws and remained a loving husband and father. This inspirational memoir, To Catch the Snowflakes, tells the story of a little boy who was encouraged by his mother to do more than sit and watch the snowflakes fall to the ground and melt and so spent his life catching them.

From the Back Cover: Ron had no idea how personally involved he would become when he volunteered to work at the County Home for Neglected Children. Then he met Alan, a beautiful, blue-eyed seven-year-old with a sweet, eager smile—the most perfect child he’d ever seen.

But behind Alan’s blue eyes were scars that only love could heal. And Ron soon found himself wanting to be the one to give that love.

In the months that followed, helping a frightened little boy seemed easy compared to facing the questioning looks of friends and family—and fighting the open hostility and suspicion of County Welfare authorities. Ron was also losing his girlfriend, who felt she had lost Ron to Alan.

Everyone seemed to question how a young, single man could possibly be a parent to a troubled little boy. But when Ron heard the words, “Me want you papa,” he had no doubts at all that he had become a father.

This ebook captures the emotions of adoption and shares a glimpse of what it’s like to raise an adopted daughter. To Haley, Love Dad was written in a very easy to read “coffee table book” style.

To Hug an Angel is an inspiring true story tracing the frustrating, difficult and dangerous search by would-be adoptive parents for a young Araucanian Indian girl through the treacherous Chilean Andes during a military dictator’s state of siege. Chile was a democratic society, but that was to change rapidly. While en route to Santiago to finalize a typical foreign adoption, Carol and John were unaware of an assassination attempt upon the life of Chile’s military leader-turned-dictator. A state of siege was gripping the nation in fear. Upon their arrival in South America, an intimidating search by Gestapo-like soldiers became the couple’s introduction to the human indignities that would soon follow. Carol and John found themselves alone when their attorney was arrested for crimes against the state. No one had brought the child to Santiago. While gunshots shattered the fragile night air only blocks away, the American travelers, not yet exposed to the full impact of the military action, remained committed to the adoption. Caught in the turmoil, with their trip home delayed and with no knowledge of the child’s whereabouts, they opted to venture a thousand miles south through the Andes to find the child on their own.

From the Back Cover: THE CARING GUIDE TO ADOPTION OPTIONS

Finally a book that examines the full range of alternatives for those who cannot become biological parents, or who want to expand their families. Here are answers to your questions about agency and international adoption as well as less familiar choices, such as foster parenting, child and family mentoring, and identified and special-needs adoption. To Love a Child also provides information on applications, resources, and costs--everything you need to begin a life rish with Children.

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About the Author: Marianne Takas, an attorney at the American Bar Association's Center on Children and the Law, is the author of Child Support and Child Custody.

Edward Warner, her husband, is a senior editor at Capital Publications.

They live in Washington, D.C.

From the Back Cover (paperback edition): Dr. Robert Flavin had everything. An honored profession. A loving wife. Two beautiful adopted children. But it all began to slip away from him. First came separation followed by divorce, and then the staggering knowledge that he was dying.

With only a few months left to live, Flavin made this candid, passionate and irreverent memoir. The true story of a man’s search for a way out of the depths of loneliness to reconciliation with his family —a search that took him to the edge of despair and brought him triumphantly back again.

From the Publisher: Adoption is not about not wanting a child. It is everything about wanting the best for a child to whom you cannot offer the best. It is a selfless realization that, while the baby is on its way, the parent is not in a position yet to be a parent. It is, beyond question, the most difficult choice a birth mother could ever make.

From the Back Cover: Venture deep into the heart-warming—and heart-wrenching—world of international adoption as John Simmons’ poignant memoir chronicles his family’s personal quest to rescue five children from an impoverished rural Russian orphanage. To Sing Frogs recounts the Simmons family’s journey to discover the true meaning of family, while nurturing Sarah, adopted at age five, through the inner turmoil of survivor’s guilt, having left so many of her closest friends behind at the orphanage.

In his uplifting, yet brutally honest tale, this practical husband and father reveals a deeply moving perspective on the conditions at the orphanage, his angst over wanting to do more for the children left behind and the awe-inspiring, unshakeable faith and dedication of his wife, Amy. Meanwhile, Sarah’s journey of assimilation to life in America offers readers a unique perspective on the everyday experiences many take for granted, capped off by an unexpected reunion with two best friends from the orphanage she thought she would never see again.

To Sing Frogs offers an intimate glimpse at the transformation within a father’s heart as Simmons struggles to reconcile his practical science and engineering background, where all things are explainable and quantifiable, against the realization that, in matters of the heart, some things simply can’t be explained.

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About the Author: An adoption advocate and father to nine children (three biological and six adopted), John M. Simmons chronicles his family’s journey of love, laughter and discovery of what it means to be a family through international adoption. His award-winning novel The Marvelous Journey Home and his memoir, To Sing Frogs, detail the Simmons family’s quest to adopt six children rescued from an impoverished rural Russian orphanage and raise them in a serene mountain valley near Park City, Utah.

The Marvelous Journey Home earned Book of the Month status from Audio Book News Service and BookReview.com and made the Top Ten Reads Lists for MyShelf.com. The novel earned Best of State for fiction in the Utah Best of State Awards for 2008.

Simmons appears frequently as an adoption advocate and to share his experience with international adoption in television, radio and newspaper interviews. He makes regular book club appearances, and is a frequent guest speaker for various civic and other groups to increase awareness about international adoption. Simmons lives with his wife, Amy, and their children in Kamas, Utah.

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By the Same Author: The Marvelous Journey Home (2007).

From the Dust Jacket: This is a book about the journey of building family through adoption of a child between the ages of one and three. The journey begins long before the child arrives, and continues indefinitely. This book explores the decision to adopt, the preparation for adopting and the adjustment to adoption of a toddler. The book is rich in examples of challenges and strategies from real families whose children were adopted as toddlers. While the approach is primarily practical and “cookbook” in nature, the author does not presume to have the definitive answer to every challenge parents may encounter in toddler adoption! There is no single strategy that works in all situations. Each child, parent and situation is unique. Professional support services are sometimes indicated, and a variety of resources are discussed. The author discusses both the exquisite joys of toddler adoption and challenges that the majority of families will probably encounter. This is a “can do” book that is intended to encourage toddler adoption for parents who are stable, mature and ready for the challenge and journey of their life!

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About the Author: Mary Hopkins-Best is a mom. She and her husband Richard are parents of a daughter born to them on 12/25/83, and a son born on 5/27/89 who was adopted from Peru at seventeen months and arrived home at nineteen months. She has been a special educator, teacher educator, and college administrator for eighteen years and holds degrees in special and regular education, rehabilitation, and a Doctorate in education. She is the author of numerous publications about people with special needs, including “Bonding with a Toddler,” OURS, November 1992, and has conducted workshops for UW-Extension and various adoption agencies. Dr. Hopkins-Best is a member of the Adoptive Families of America, Parents of Peruvian Adoptees, and Peruvian Adoptive Families; is a partner parent for Western Wisconsin Postadoption Project; and is a member of the Board of Directors for HOPE, International.

From the Back Cover: As we drove home from this mother of all meetings, Joe sat in the back, flicking through his Thomas the Tank Engine book, oblivious to the drama taking place in his life. We were silent. I feared the future. Ed was angry. We were on our own. As far as the local authority was concerned ... it was our problem.

This is the story of Ed and Ruth Royce’s journey from childlessness to celebrating as a family. From a dual perspective, each with their own anxieties, expectations and vulnerabilities, they look back on their decision to adopt, to the fear that their family was falling apart, to their experience of music and art therapy, and then on to their decision to adopt a second time. Would they get to their sons’ deep-seated problems with drums and tambourines? They weren’t so sure...

In this inspiring account, the Royces record their feelings about the boys and each other, and show how therapy helped them come together as a family.

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About the Author: Ruth and Ed Royce have been married for twenty-three years, are very keen on wine and music, and live in the Welsh Marches with their two sons Joe and Jack, and Monty the cat. Joe is now midway through his secondary school years and Jack is finishing off at primary school.

From the Dust Jacket: Ben Stein has proved himself a jack-of-all-trades in a series of jobs: author, magazine columnist, lawyer, film and TV actor, presidential speechwriter, professor, and television game show host, to name a few. But the career he has loved the most is that of raising his son, Tommy.

In Tommy and Me, Ben Stein gives us an intimate look at life with his “angel boy.” Adopting a son in his forties challenged Stein in a way that no other relationship ever had. Spending time with Tommy transformed Stein’s values, leading him to abandon the self-absorption that had consumed him since law school days in the 1960s. In his life today, Tommy comes first.

This whimsical and warm story reveals that life can begin when you think you have nothing left to learn. Through Tommy, Ben Stein learns to value the generous, nurturing side of himself. He also gains new insight into his relationship with his own father by becoming one. Most of all, he learns gratitude for the “perfect angel” he has as his son.

Fatherhood was the role Ben Stein was waiting for all his life. His intimate and revealing journey through parenthood in the late 1990s will delight all Ben Stein fans who watch the TV program Win Ben Stein’s Money and the vast numbers of parents who need to value the best job on earth: “Daddy.”

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About the Author: Ben Stein, writer, teacher, lawyer, actor, and host of Win Ben Stein’s Money, has written more than a dozen books, numerous magazine articles, and many scripts. He teaches law at Pepperdine University and testifies often on tort reform and securities issues. His acting roles include appearances in the films Dave, The Mask, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and a recurring character in The Wonder Years. His popular Diary column runs in The American Spectator. He lives in Los Angeles and Malibu, California.

From the Dust Jacket: “When I discovered Tony, now over nine years ago, in that boys’ prison in Mexico, little did I know that one day that special little boy with the twinkle in his eyes would change the rest of my life. Little did I know the pain and suffering I would go through—and how the wounds of my own past would be reopened to be dealt with once again. Little did I know the impact Tony—my son—would have on my life and on the lives of thousands. Little did I know of the special journey God had set out for us....”

So begins Carolyn Koons’s heartwarming and inspiring story of her rescue of Antonio, a child incarcerated in a Mexican prison since the age of five on a trumped-up murder charge. Founder of the Mexicali Outreach missions program, Carolyn responded to her faith in God with investigations that led her into a web of conflicting stories, bureaucratic red tape, and a frustrating legal system which acknowledged that the boy must be innocent—but refused to release him.

Nine-year-old Antonio captured Carolyn’s heart at their first encounter. She admired his fight for survival and dignity against a violent, dehumanizing prison system. Convinced from the outset that he didn’t belong in jail, Carolyn suddenly found her life moving in an unexpected direction. Taking one step at a time, she refused to accept no for an answer in her attempts to free Antonio.

Tony relates Carolyn’s two-and-a-half-year legal battle to release the boy—a struggle that taxed her faith and resources to the limit. Although three different lawyers gave up on the case, Carolyn persevered. Complications multiplied—but when the Governor of Baja was moved to intervene, Tony found himself with a new mother and a new life.

That new life had its own complications. Saved from the fear and violence within the prison walls, Tony found adjusting to his changed circumstances in the United States difficult. Carolyn, too, found that she had much to discover about the responsibilities and opportunities of being a single parent. Tony shares the sometimes difficult, always rewarding journey of the two as mother and son. All who read Tony will find themselves exploring with Carolyn and her son the depths of the human heart and the joys of uncompromising faith in God.

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About the Author: Carolyn A. Koons is a Ph.D. candidate in higher education with an emphasis on single adult development at Claremont Graduate School. She has taught Christian education at Azusa Pacific University for twenty years. She is a recognized authority on the single life and is in constant demand as a speaker and teacher. Tony, now eighteen, recently graduated from high school.

CCAI is excited to announce the release of a new book, Toolkit for Adopting an Older Child! With so many older children being made available for adoption and now being adopted, it became clear that an informational book providing preparatory information for families considering or already entering into their own older child adoption was much needed. Toolkit for Adopting an Older Child is our effort at CCAI to provide insight from both professionals and families who have adopted older children into the unique challenges that adopting an older child can present. This book explores the initial adjustment of a child over the age of 5 into a family, how to cope with basic, immediate needs, and how to prepare for long term behavioral, emotional, and developmental difficulties. It is our sincere hope that this book will meet the need of our families to have a resource to help them thoughtfully consider and prepare for the adoption of an older child.

A series of hints on starting one of the biggest adventures of your life.

Fostering? Easy, we would look after children who weren’t looked after properly or maybe smacked too hard... No-one prepared us for this nightmare. The scream, when it came, was unlike anything I had ever heard before. It was so piercing it made every hair on my body stand on end, and the memory of the terror I felt then, in that instant, has never gone away. I flew out of my bed and ran into the girls’ room, convinced that something truly, utterly devastating was happening to one of the children. It was.

From the Publisher: Touched is the story of Jerry Sandusky’s life in his own words. From his childhood to his professional career, this book goes behind the scenes to explore the successes and challenges that Jerry Sandusky has faced in life, both on and off the football field. After graduating from Penn State in 1966, Sandusky went on to coach collegiate football for 34 years. Thirty-two of those years were with Penn State, as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach under Joe Paterno, until his retirement in 1999. The book also explores Sandusky’s involvement in children’s charities, including the founding of his charity, “The Second Mile.”

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About the Author: Jerry Sandusky retired as defensive coordinator of the Penn State University football team following the 1999 season. He spent 32 years at Penn State, all as an assistant to legendary head coach Joe Paterno. Sandusky is the founder of The Second Mile, a charitable foundation that has touched the lives of more than 100,000 children.

Kip Richeal is a 1987 graduate of Penn State University and a former student equipment manager with the Nittany Lion football team, Richeal is the author of two previous books.

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Compiler’s Note: This biography was published a number of years before Sandusky was indicted, in 2011, on various charges stemming from allegations of child sexual abuse. The scandal also tarnished the reputation of head coach Joe Paterno, who is alleged to have known about the abuse and looked the other way, including during the fifteen-year period encompassed by the indictment (see, e.g., Paterno Legacy: Enduring lessons from the Life and Death of My Father by Jay Paterno [2014, Triumph Books]). In Wounded Lions: Joe Paterno, Jerry Sandusky and the Crises in Penn State Athletics (2016, University of Illinois Press), Ronald A. Smith states in a timeline of events that, on June 20, 2012, Sandusky’s adopted son, Matt, revealed that his adoptive father had abused him, as well. In 2013, Matt Sandusky filed papers to legally change his family’s name (including his wife’s and children’s), according to Adam Galinsky and Maurice Schweitzer in their book Friend and Foe: When to Cooperate, When to Compete, and How to Succeed at Both (2015, Crown Business), citing a July 17, 2013 report on CNN.

Missy and her husband are about to embark on a trip of a lifetime. Not just their lifetime but the lives of a brother and sister in a faraway place. I prayed for a sign. What I got was a hole in my heart, and I could not look the other way. Often times, simply taking the first step is the hardest. We all know what it feels like to be overwhelmed in some way, and the remedy can sometimes be as simple as this: Just do what is in front of you. So began my journey into adoption. Home is that wonderfully messy place that offers a reservoir of safety and assurance where love is fully given and fully accepted. Home is that haven where we are able to journey together through thick and thin as a family! The miracle of every adoption story is amazingly life-changing and unique, and I am truly honored that you decided to join me on a portion of ours. About the Author: Missy Grant is a wife and new mom of two who has “stumbled upon” a love of writing in response to her passionate pursuit of adoption. Missy is former tennis pro, a current triathlete, mountain biking lover of the outdoors, pilates and fitness trainer, who describes herself as a “simple girl with a passionate story to tell.”

Our consumer culture sets exacting standards and norms for what constitutes an ideal child. The tough realities of life often create children and child-bearing and rearing circumstances that are outside the ideal. How do women whose experiences don’t match the norm cope and adapt? How do they make sense of it to themselves and to the world?

In a rich series of ethnographic case studies, Transformative Motherhood intimately conveys the experiences of women in the United States who, in each case, have reproductive encounters that do not match up to these cultural standards. From women who choose to become surrogate, foster, or adoptive mothers, to others who give birth to children with disabilities or who have had a pregnancy loss, all creatively meet the challenges posed by their particular mothering experiences. It is often the language of giving and getting, so prominent in a consumer culture, that these women use to make sense of their situation.

In the process, Transformative Motherhood redefines conventional understandings of motherhood, the mother/child relationship, and the role of biology and the law in determining what constitutes a family.

Contributors: Rayna Rapp, Hélena Ragoné, Judith A. Modell, Danielle Wozniak, Gail Landsman, and Linda L. Layne.

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About the Author: Linda L. Layne is Hale Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Science and Technology Studies at Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute.

A growing number of children are experiencing the multiple moves that are an inherent part of the Foster Care System. Early Permanence for children is vital for healthy bonding and attachment to their forever families. In our time, open adoptions are the norm and we see a growing number of older child adoptions with children who have spent at least some time in the Foster Care System. These children from hard places have experienced challenges in their early lives. They deserve and require a gentle approach when being transitions to their forever families. Foster Care is by its very nature, a temporary solution to a long-term challenge. Children who suffer repeated disruptions of caregivers are at risk for developmental delays, poor self-regulation and behavioral and mental health problems. The earlier in a child’s life that we are able to accomplish permanence the better for the child’s attachment capacity and long-term outcomes When an at-risk child is moved to her permanent home, we are disrupting her primary caregiver once again. It is incumbent upon us to undertake this process with care and sensitivity. Our primary goals are to Preserve the Child’s Attachment Capacity and to Support their Prior Connections. A traumatic transition can lead to long-term effects on the child and indeed the entire adoptive family. Transition is the slow and measured relinquishment of the nurture, care and discipline of a child by her current caregivers and the assumption of these same duties by her new adoptive parents. When embarked on in a thoughtful, tender manner, transition can be a gentle process that enlarges both the child’s sense of self and the circle of those who love and care for them. “In this book, foster and adoptive families will find many practical suggestions and tips that I believe will serve as anchors as they embark on the less than calm seas of transitioning children. Those who read will also find an unwavering commitment to remaining child-focused while having empathy for all involved in the complex dance that is transition.”

This book gets to the heart of transracial adoptions with an inside look from the children’s voices as well as documenting encounters with the child welfare system, school system and law enforcement. How the adoptive parent’s handle encounters with racism because of their belief’s and love for their black children and the events they have all endured.