From the Back Cover: Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Family and Personal Relationships is a debate-style reader designed to introduce students to controversies in family development and personal relationships. The readings, which represent the arguments of leading sociologists, psychologists, and family therapists, reflect a variety of viewpoints and have been selected for their liveliness and substance and because of their value in a debate framework.

For each issue, the editors provide a concise introduction and postscript summary. The introduction sets the stage for the debate as it is argued in the “yes” and “no” readings, and the postscript briefly reviews the opposing views and suggests additional readings on the controversial issue under discussion.

By requiring students to analyze opposing viewpoints and reach considered judgments, Taking Sides actively develops students’ critical thinking skills. It is this development of critical thinking skills that is the ultimate purpose of each of the volumes in the widely acclaimed Taking Sides program.

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About the Author: Gloria W. Bird is an associate professor of family studies in the Department of Family and Child Development at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. An active member of the National Council on Family Relations and the International Society for the Study of Personal Relationships, Professor Bird’s research has focused on stress and coping and dual-career families. Her work has appeared most recently in such journals as the Journal of Marriage and the Family and Family Relations. Professor Bird received a B.S. and M.S. from Kansas State University and a Ph.D. in Family and Consumer Environmental Studies from Oklahoma State University.

Michael J. Sporakowski is a professor of family development at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, where he has taught since 1970. He is a licensed professional counselor. A life member of the American Association for Family Therapy, he also holds memberships in the American Psychological Association, the National Council on Family Relations, and the Virginia Council on Family Relations, among other organizations. Professor Sporakowski’s major research interests include intergenerational studies of marital and family life, population-related issues, and long-term marriages, specifically those lasting 50 years or more. He received a B.S. and M.Ed. from Pennsylvania State University, and a Ph.D. in the Interdivisional Program in Marriage and Family Living from Florida State University. His work has appeared in such journals as Family Relations and Marriage and Family Review.

Ann Vail is an assistant professor of family and consumer sciences education in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences Education and Studies at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. Her specialty area is the teaching of family-related content to adolescents and adults. She is an active member of the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences and the National Association of Teacher Educators of Family and Consumer Sciences Education. Recently, she served on the development panel for the National Standards for Family and Consumer Sciences Education. Her writings have appeared in the Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences, the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development Administrators Handbook, the Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences Education, the Journal of Vocational Education Research, and Equity and Excellence in Education. She has also authored numerous book chapters and monographs focused on improving family education. She earned her B.S. from Colorado State University and her M.S. and Ph.D. from Ohno State University.

Herbert T. Krimmel is a professor of jurisprudence and bioethics at Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles, California, where he has been teaching since 1977. He has recently been appointed to the advisory panel of the California Joint Legislative Committee on Surrogate Parenting.

John A. Robertson is the Thomas Watt Gregory Professor of Law at the University of Texas at Austin and a fellow of the Hastings Center. He has served on a federal task force on organ transplantation and on the Ethics Committee of the American Fertility Society.

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Compiler’s Note: See, particularly, ISSUE 8. Should Surrogate Parenting Be Permitted for Infertile Couples?
YES: John A. Robertson, from “Surrogate Mothers: Not So Novel After All,” Hastings Center Report
NO: Herbert T. Krimmel, from “The Case Against Surrogate Parenting,” Hastings Center Report
Professor of law John A. Robertson argues that the legal and ethical problems associated with surrogate motherhood are not significantly different from those that already exist with artificial insemination by a donor and adoption. Professor of law Herbert T. Krimmel questions the morality of bearing children for the purpose of giving them up, especially for payment.

From the Back Cover: Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Family and Personal Relationships, 5th edition, is a debate-style reader designed to introduce students to controversies in family development and personal relationships. The readings, which represent the arguments of leading sociologists, psychologists, and family therapists, reflect a variety of viewpoints and have been selected for their liveliness and substance and because of their value in a debate framework.

For each issue, the editor provides a concise introduction and postscript summary. The introduction sets the stage for the debate as it is argued in the “yes” and “no” readings, and the postscript briefly reviews the opposing views and, ° suggests additional readings on the controversial issue under discussion.

By requiring students to analyze opposing viewpoints and reach considered judgments, Taking Sides actively develops students’ critical thinking skills. It is this development of critical thinking skills that is the ultimate purpose of each of the } volumes in the widely acclaimed Taking Sides program.

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About the Author: Elizabeth Schroeder is a professional trainer and consultant in the areas of sexuality, counseling, and nonprofit administration and supervision. She has provided trainings throughout the United States to youth serving professionals and to teens, presented at national conferences, and written about sexuality issues and training for a range of national newsletters, magazines, and monographs. Recently moving into the international arena, she has developed adult peer educator and teacher training programs on sexuality and reproductive health in Kathmandu, Nepal. She also serves as a sexuality expert for the Network for Family Life Education’s award-winning Web site, Sex, Etc.

Schroeder is the former associate vice president of education and training at Planned Parenthood of New York City, where she established the agency’s first professional training institute for social service and school professionals. Before that she was the manager of education and special projects at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, where she coordinated the production of their multiple-award-winning video kit for families with adolescent children entitled, Talking About Sex: A Guide for Families.

Schroeder is a recipient of the Apple Blossom Award, which is a national award that recognizes a Planned Parenthood education or training director who has “risen quickly to the forefront with new ideas, energy, and commitment.” An adjunct professor of human sexuality and health counseling at Montclair State University, Schroeder earned a master’s degree in social work from New York University and is pursuing a doctorate in human sexuality education at Widener University.

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization, was founded in 1920 and works to preserve the individual rights and liberties of all Americans.

Timothy J. Dailey is a senior writer/analyst for cultural studies for the Family Research Council, where he specializes in countering the homosexual agenda and other perceived threats to the institutions of marriage and the family.

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Compiler’s Note: See, particularly, Issue 12. Should Lesbian and Gay Couples Be Allowed to Adopt?
YES: American Civil Liberties Union, from “ACLU Fact Sheet: Overview of Lesbian and Gay Parenting, Adoption, and Foster Care,” American Civil Liberties Union (April 6, 1999)
NO: Timothy J. Dailey, from “Homosexual Parenting: Placing Children at Risk,” Insight (October 30, 2001)
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), an organization that works to preserve the individual rights and liberties of all Americans, points to a growing area of scientific literature that maintains that children who are raised by one or two lesbian or gay parents are just as well off as children who are raised by heterosexual parents. Findings demonstrate, they say, that parents’ sexual orientation has no bearing on their ability to raise a child, or on a child’s own sexual orientation or gender identity—nor does it affect children’s emotional development or educational abilities. Timothy J. Dailey, senior writer/analyst for cultural studies for the Family Research Council, points to studies showing that children do much better in family settings that include both a mother and a father and that the sexual behaviors same-sex parents engage in make them, by definition, inappropriate role models for children. He maintains that the purpose of a marriage is to create children biologically and that since a gay or lesbian couple cannot do this without outside assistance, they do not make suitable parents.

Growing up a girl in this world can be tough. Every day brings with it new decisions, distractions, issues, and changes—and that’s just when things are going well! Sometimes a girl’s best resources are the thoughts and ideas of her peers—the gospel of girls who have been there and done that. In Talking About Family, the team of volunteer girl editors at A Girl’s World Productions, Inc., along with girls from around the world, shares its thoughts on family life. Interactive and filled with compassionate, insightful, and realistic advice, this for-girls, by-girls book will help tweens and pre-teens realize that they’re not alone and that they can take on the world. About the Author: AGirlsWorld.com includes more than 90 volunteer girl editors from around the world who offer contemporary and family-friendly advice for girls. Visit their popular interactive Web site run by A Girl’s World Productions, Inc.

From the Dust Jacket: Beyond the impressive statistics—one out of every five minors is a stepchild—are young people living with the reality of a new parent and perhaps new siblings as well. Here are the voices of their experience.

As in her previous books on alcoholism and adoption, ALA Notable Book author Maxine B. Rosenberg has selected memorable life stories that offer reassurance and practical advice to readers in a similar situation. The nine children and seven adults included in this book speak frankly about how it feels when a parent dies, the confusion that follows divorce and remarriage, the pluses (and minuses) of a stepfamily. For children and adults eager to make their stepfamily work, Talking About Stepfamilies will be an invaluable resource and friendly companion.

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By the Same Author: Being Adopted (1984, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard) and Growing Up Adopted (1989), among others.

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Compiler’s Note: Unlike the “Brady Bunch,” not all stepfamilies are formed as the result of remarriage following a spouse’s demise; sometimes, divorce will free a parent to re-marry, in which case, sometimes, stepchildren can experience issues relating to the absent parent similar to those experienced by adoptees. See, particularly, “Tracy.”

From the Back Cover: In early 2001, Kari Grady Grossman and her husband adopted a little boy from Cambodia, and in turn adopted his country, discovering a personal connection to a little known and long-suffering people. Feeling the need to give back to the beautiful, struggling country of their son’s birth, they decided to have a school built in his honor in the rural countryside. But the building was just the beginning. “Teacher Absent Often” is a frequent phrase uttered by students and their parents to describe the dismal state of Cambodia’s education system. In Teacher Absent Often, Kari weaves fascinating stories of learning to empower one poor, marginalized, illiterate community to sustain a school for their children. She reveals something every developed world do-gooder should know—how to help people in the way they want to be helped, not the way we think they should be helped. To read Teacher Absent Often is to feel the call to action.

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About the Author: Kari Grady Grossman is the Founder of Sustainable Schools International and the author of Bones That Float, A Story of Adopting Cambodia, which won the 2008 “Peacemaker of the Year” Award from the Independent Publishers Association, and was named a Gold Memoir by the Nautilus Awards for “World Changing Books.” Prior to writing her first book, she spent nearly a decade traveling, writing, and producing documentaries that appeared on Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel Online, including coverage from Mount Everest and the Alaskan Iditarod. The author is a 1990 graduate of Syracuse University and lives in Fort Collins, Colorado with her husband and their two adopted children, Grady from Cambodia, and Shanti from India. In 2008, the Colorado Parents’ Day Council named her and her husband “Colorado Parents of the Year.”

Sixteen-year-old “Katie” was half way through her junior year of high school when a condom tears during sex with her boyfriend. Throughout her pregnancy and for several months afterward she kept a journal. This is her story as told in that journal. These are her thoughts as she deals with a difficult twins pregnancy, family issues, and tough choices that affect the future of her babies and herself. This is not a work of fiction; it is a slice of reality. Katie is not one teenager dealing with unplanned pregnancy, she is one of many. She may be the girl next door or the girl in the next block. She may be your daughter or your son’s girlfriend. She may even be you.

What is the problem with teen pregnancy and how should it be addressed? Teen pregnancy rates are declining, but education solutions (abstinence versus birth control) and the legality of abortion are still hotly debated. Meanwhile, teens struggle to make sexual decisions in the face of conflicting media messages.

Contents:

The problem with teen pregnancy

How does it happen?

Coming to terms with parenthood

Adoption and abortion

Approaches to the problem

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About the Author: Patrice Cassedy was born in 1953 in New Haven, Connecticut, and, following her graduation from Rutgers School of Law in 1979, worked as an attorney specializing in consumer credit law and real estate from 1980 to 2000. She has authored several volumes in Lucent Books’ Careers for the Twenty-First Century series, including Law Enforcement (2002), Finance (2003), and Computer Technology (2004). She is married with two children.

From the Dust Jacket: Teenage pregnancy is reaching epidemic proportions in the U.S. Eighty percent of sexually active teenage girls who don’t use birth control get pregnant the very first month they are sexually active. In 1985, 30,000 U.S. girls under the age of fifteen became pregnant.

Teenagers face conflicting messages from television, school, church, family, and friends. Some voices seem to say, “Sex is great, sex is fun—go for it!” Some voices say, “Sex is a sin if you are not married.” Who do you listen to?

This book gives you facts about sexual intercourse and birth control. It explains what it is like to raise a child while still an adolescent, and gives a realistic picture of the physical, financial, health, and career problems facing teen parents. It provides the information you need to make decisions that will affect the rest of your life.

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About the Author: Sonia Bowe-Gutman has been published in the Christian Science Monitor, the Minneapolis Star and Tribune, the Minnesota Daily and Minnesota Women’s Press. She is the author of “Women at Work,” written with financial support from the German Marshall Fund of the United States. She has also researched and written about teenage pregnancy and juvenile prostitution while working toward her M.A. in public affairs from the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota.

From the Back Cover: Society faces new issues and challenges all the time. Some affect the entire planet, but others hit closer to home. Essential Issues explores topics that are of special concern to today’s teens. Examine their root causes. Study the issues from different points of view. Learn what people are doing to solve these problems. Delve in and discover how these Essential Issues are shaping your world today and tomorrow.

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About the Author: Karen Latchana Kenney is an author and editor from Minneapolis, Minnesota. She has written more than 80 educational books about issues such as illegal immigration and domestic violence. Her books have received positive reviews in Booklist, Library Media Connection, and School Library Journal.

Dr. Carl Mazza is the founder and former director of the Young Fathers Program at Louis Wise Services in New York, New York. The Young Fathers Program was one of the first teen fathers programs in NYC. Dr. Mazza has worked with adolescent parents for decades and has written extensively on the subject of teen fathers. He is a frequent lecturer on adolescent parenting and fatherhood.

From the Publisher: Examines the prevalence and causes of teen pregnancy in the United States and presents consequences and solutions.

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About the Author: Judy Berlfein is a free-lance writer from Encinitas, California. She writes frequently on medicine and environmental issues for magazines and newspapers. She has also been a reporter for public radio.

Ms. Berlfein received a master’s degree in physiology and pharmacology from the University of California at San Diego.

What do you know about pregnancy? Why is it hard to be a teenager parent? How can you find out if you are pregnant? What harm can drugs do to an unborn baby? This book examines the issues surrounding teenage pregnancy. Get the facts about the many challenges facing teens when they find out that they will be parents, and the choices that they might have to make. Find out about the stages of pregnancy and the support that health professionals can provide before and after a baby is born. Learn about society’s views on teenage pregnancy by reading about real teenagers who have been pregnant. Finally, learn about the legal issues involved with pregnancy, and find out where help and information can be found. Just the Facts is a powerful, hard-hitting series that presents the real facts about the difficult choices teenagers face. The books examine the myths that surround topics such as drug use, disease, body image, and pregnancy to get at the reality of dangers. Each book in the series presents and defines the issues and offers first-hand accounts to give a true picture of the life of someone who uses the drug or has the condition.

Finally a memory book for children who are adopted. With a high quality padded cover, this book looks like a traditional baby book—it has all the traditional baby book pages—with a new twist—pages for adoption related information! The design of the binding (not a three-ring binder!) allows you to tailor the book to your unique situation—removing pages as needed. Appropriate for traditional or non-traditional families and infant or older children—treasured by all!

From the Dust Jacket: “Sunshine, you’re my baby and I’m your only mother. You must mind the one taking care of you, but she’s not your mama.” Ashley Rhodes-Courter spent nine years of her life in fourteen different foster homes, living by those words. As her mother spirals out of control, Ashley is left clinging to an unpredictable, dissolving relationship, all the while getting pulled deeper and deeper into the foster care system.

Painful memories of being taken away from her home quickly become consumed by real-life horrors, where Ashley is juggled between caseworkers, shuffled from school to school, and forced to endure manipulative, humiliating treatment from a very abusive foster family. In this inspiring, unforgettable memoir, Ashley finds the courage to succeed—and in doing so, discovers the power of her own voice.

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About the Author: Ashley Rhodes-Courter wrote this book as a way to piece together the puzzle of her past and also to thank those who step up for child welfare issues every day. An advocate for adoption and foster care reform, twenty-two-year-old Ashley has been featured in Teen People, Glamour, and USA Today. This memoir began as an essay, also titled “Three Little Words,” which won a writing contest for students, and ran in New York Times Magazine. Ashley lives in Florida and is a recent graduate from Eckerd College.

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By the Same Author: Three More Words (2015).

From the Dust Jacket: ASHLEY RHODES-COURTER REFUSED TO SLIP THROUGH THE CRACKS.

Taken from her mom at age three, Ashley spent most of her childhood living in fourteen different foster homes—some nice, some not, and one that was very abusive. Her indomitable will to survive carried her through her toughest days. Ashley was finally adopted at the age of twelve and went on to become a success story—poised, hardworking, well-adjusted, and an unstoppable advocate for foster children. But what does it really mean to come out on the other side of the foster care system?

For Ashley, her happy ending is really just the beginning. Without a map for the road ahead, she struggles to negotiate a dark past with a bright future because even when you don’t define yourself by your past, the past still very much shapes who you are. Launching into a new phase of her life means learning to depend on people other than herself and opening her heart up to vulnerability ... and, ultimately, to love.

In this inspiring follow-up to the New York Times bestselling memoir Three Little Words, Ashley Rhodes-Courter shows the healing power of love and the amazing strength of the human spirit. When someone experiences a traumatic childhood, the story is never truly over. Ashley has Three More Words to share.

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About the Author: Born in 1985 to a teen mother, Ashley Rhodes-Courter spent almost ten years in the Florida foster care system. A nationally acclaimed public speaker and child welfare advocate, Ashley has been featured on Good Morning America and in USA Today and Glamour. Married with three young children, Ashley has also been the foster mother to more than twenty children to date. She lives in Florida.

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By the Same Author: Three Little Words (2008).

An inspiring story of hope, faith and courage, and brave parenthood. This is a true story of parenting adopted children.

Have you ever felt as though you have known someone forever when you actually just met? Or felt a connection with your child or spouse that has an effortless, timeless quality? Together Again is the true story of such a soul connection between mother and daughter. Their story spans heaven and earth and thousands of miles as the two souls are reunited through the miracle of adoption. About the Author: Laurie Stephens is a writer, a dreamer, and a mom who loves laughter and the spiritual journey known as life. She works in the field on non-profit fundraising and marketing. Originally from Toledo, OH, Laurie currently resides in a suburb of Atlanta, GA, with her two daughters.

From the Dust Jacket: Transracial adoption—the adoption of a child of one race by parents of another race—is a complex, controversial issue. “Every child has the right to a permanent family,” is the credo of the North American Council on Adoptable Children. But some social workers and other adoption specialists, and some black activists, question whether white people can successfully parent black children. Will black children living in white families develop the positive racial identity they need? Will they have suitable African-American role models and education about African-American culture and history? In response, other child advocates ask what is to be done if no black family is available and a white family wants to take the child? How long should a child be kept waiting for a black parent who may never arrive?

In this unusual, forthright book, Constance Pohl and Kathy Harris explore the issue of transracial adoption through the words and experiences of families who have lived it. Drawing from personal interviews with black, biracial, Asian, and Hispanic young people who were adopted into white or biracial families as children, and with their parents, brothers, and sisters; and from research studies of transracial adoptions, the authors create a revealing picture. The experiences of these families—their pain, difficulties, and mistakes, along with their successes, rewards, and joys—provide important answers to questions about the value of transracial adoption.

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About the Author: Constance Pohl, a white parent of a nonwhite adopted son and a white biological daughter, is also a former foster parent. She taught in college and high school for many years and is now a freelance editor of young adult books.

Kathy Harris, MSW, a white adoptive parent of four African-American children, has professional as well as personal experience in transracial adoption. Since receiving a master’s degree in social work, she has been a counselor with an agency for international adoptions, a foster care caseworker, and a pediatric social worker. She is now supervisor of adoption services at Children’s Aid and Adoption Society in New Jersey.

On a cold spring day in Michigan, an abandoned egg hatches. Penelope the gosling emerges on the banks of a small inland lake. Alone and helpless, the fate of this tiny Canada goose hangs in the balance until she’s rescued by a couple out for an evening stroll. Based on a true story, this heartwarming and educational tale captures one very eventful day in a young gosling’s life. Compiler’s Note: Although not the typical story of anthropomorphised animals usually employed to frame an adoption story (see, e.g., Are You My Mother?), this true story seems to me to well illustrate the concept that children are best served when raised by a family whom they most resemble, racially, culturally, etc.).

From the Publisher: Adopting a child for many is a dream come true, but sometimes it can be a hard story when a child is old enough to understand they were brought into the world by someone else. Tummy Mommy Heart Mommy captures in simple language and illustrations the amazing love it takes for both someone to give up their child and someone to want to be able to give that same child a good and happy life. This beautiful story was written by an adoptive Mom with the help of her son and truly comes from the bond they have created and the continuing acknowledgment of the woman who brought them together.

From the Back Cover: Twenty Things Adoptive Kids Wish devotional gives adoptive families encouragement as they seek God to work through the emotions unique to their family. Three hundred and sixty-five inspiring daily devotions are filled with Scripture and authentic insight into the heart of adopted children. Powerful prayer prompts help you navigate through difficult topics such as rejection, the missing faces in their lives, and much more. As you pray together through these tough topics, you will become the greatest prayer warrior for your adopted child and God will knit your hearts together in His love.

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About the Author: Straightforward and insightful, Sherrie Eldridge writes from a passion for adopted children and their parents to be drawn closer. An internationally recognized adoption-advocate speaker, she is the author of more than five books including the best-selling Twenty Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew. An adoptee herself, she understands an adoptee’s perspective and offers insight to deepen parent-child bonds. She is actively involved in adoption advocacy roles and was named a Congressional Angel in Adoption. Sherrie has been married to Bob Eldridge for 50 years. They have two married daughters and six grandchildren, one who joined their family through adoption.

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By the Same Author: Twenty Things Adoptive Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew (1999, Dell Trade Paperback); Twenty Life-Transforming Choices Adoptees Need to Make (2003, Piñon Press); Forever Fingerprints: An Amazing Discovery for Adopted Children (2007, EMK Press); Questions Adoptees Are Asking: About Beginnings, About Birth Family, About Searching, About Finding Peace (2009, NavPress); Twenty Things Adoptive Parents Need to Succeed (2009, Delta); and Under His Wings: Truths to Heal Adopted, Orphaned, and Waiting Children’s Hearts (with Beth Willis Miller; 2012, Jewel Among Jewels Resources), among others.

Twice-Upon-A-Time is a unique adoption resource for young children, 3-8 years, and their families. Conception, birth and curiosity about birth parents are discussed as part of adopted children’s stories. The book encompasses diverse adoption experiences using a text and line drawings that are simple, direct and affirming.

From the Back Cover: Watching a mama eagle teach her eaglets to fly applies to you! God has been likened to an eagle. You are his eaglet and He knows your wounds from losing your first family. He wants to comfort you in a safe place—under his wings.

After you’ve learned to rest beneath His wings, He’ll teach you to fly and then soar through any of life’s storms, with your eye on the goal—knowing Jesus.

This workbook will show you how to:

• Enjoy unshakeable self-esteem

• Conquer anger and rage

• Identify and reverse sabotaging behaviors

• Talk about our first family without feeling guilty

• Know that our struggles aren’t weird, but common

• Embrace our unique life purpose

The time-test material in this workbook will be helpful for:

• Adoptees, Foster Children, Orphans—ages nine upward

• All-Adoptee Support Groups

• Christian Counselors

• Post-Adoption Church Ministries

• Pre-Adoption Training/Foster/Adoption/Orphanage Workers

We are honored that you have chosen this workbook as a tool to help you grow stronger. We look forward to seeing you flying from the nest with a freedom you never dreamed possible!

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About the Author: Sherrie Eldridge is a best-selling author and internationally recognized speaker, specializing in adoption. An adoptee herself, Eldridge was named by Congressman Dan Burton of Indiana as his 2010 Congressional Angel in Adoption. Eldridge has written five books and is experienced in media, such as Moody’s Mid-Day Connection, CBNAsia, Family Life, Fox News Morning Show (Denver) and WOR News-Talk Radio (New York), Eldridge been interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, Parents Magazine, WebTV, and has spoken internationally on behalf of adoptees for the last 18 years.

Beth Willis Miller, M.Ed., creates articles and speaks on a variety of topics to inspire and encourage others. Beth’s expertise as a creative and critical thinking specialist is steeped in years of experience as a writer, presenter, educator and former Florida Department of Education State Consultant for Gifted Education. Seeing others’ lives transformed by the truth of God’s Word is her passion and her purpose. Beth understands the personal struggles others face spiritually, relationally, and emotionally. As an adoptee herself, she has a unique ability to address those who have been rejected and abandoned.

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By the Same Author: Twenty Things Adoptive Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew (1999, Dell Trade Paperback); Twenty Life-Transforming Choices Adoptees Need to Make (2003, Piñon Press); Forever Fingerprints: An Amazing Discovery for Adopted Children (2007, EMK Press); Questions Adoptees Are Asking: About Beginnings, About Birth Family, About Searching, About Finding Peace (2009, NavPress); Twenty Things Adoptive Parents Need to Succeed (2009, Delta); and Twenty Things Adopted Kids Wish: A Daily Devotional for Adoptive and Birth Parents (2015, New Hope Publishers), among others.

This is a “how to” inspirational book for all foster children who can read or can be read to by their foster parents, their therapists, their mentors, etc; to guide them in their emotional and spiritual quest for persons who can make them feel safe and loved, while they temporarily live in foster care or are waiting for adoptive parents. The purpose of this book is to help make foster children aware of what they can do for themselves to attract and stay close to loving and safe people who will guide them and encourage them as they get older and stronger emotionally. This book aims to support and validate the crucial role of foster parents and adoptive parents, and show appreciation for their labor of love and to motivate and inspire them to continue believing that their work is divine. Volunteers, social workers, therapists, guardians ad litem, teachers, counselors, mentors, parents, or anybody who is thinking about how to make a difference in this world by caring for and loving a child who needs a parent substitute, will be inspired as well. This book is especially designed as a guide for therapists who work with children in foster care, as it offers an opening for the discussion of issues relevant and important to the children. The utilization of the spiritual perspective is emphasized, to help children use it as another resource to cope with the intense emotions that the dismantling of their family creates in them. If we are to establish a lasting meaningful relationship with a child based on mutual respect and love, we need to first make the long term commitment and take the time to spend with a child, to give, to listen, to wipe the tears, to spend the money, the energy and the love, and to use the talents we have all been given by our Creator, to make the life of a child meaningful and worthy of Angels!

This is dedicated to all the families that have either adopted their children/child or have children through surrogate mothers. The book is meant to be a guideline to the parents when they are informing their children on how they were conceived. It’s also meant as an awakening in the societies to get rid of the prejudices on adoption and surrogacy.

Imagine growing up like a princess. That’s what Vera Wang’s childhood was like. Vera Wang is now one of the top fashion designers. Women all over the world wear her bridal gowns and clothes. The little princess has transformed herself into a hardworking, successful businesswoman. This is a book about her life.

In this interactive new book, Stacie Cahill shows teenagers and young adults how to overcome the void in life and how to cope with feelings that may cause pain during the growing up years. The reader will become involved in the book by answering a series of questions concerning personal issues and adoption. The questions will guide adoptees as they conquer identity issues that are so common during young adult years. This inspiring book is designed to encourage adoptees by boosting confidence and raising self awareness, both of which are necessary components in the development of a healthy identity. By the Same Author: I Know Who I Am!, My Parents Love Me Too!, and Who Am I?.

From the Back Cover: Being Adopted, I Miss My Foster Parents, and The Visit were written and illustrated by the Herbert children, Stephanie, Stefon, Latisha, and Shaun.

Stefon and Latisha, ages seven and six when the books were written in 1990, are birth siblings who were adopted at ages six and five after being in foster care for three years. Stephanie, who was seven years old when the books were written, was adopted at age six weeks. All of the Herbert children have borth siblings. Only Stefon and Latisha have periodic contact with three of their siblings.

The children each chose the subject matter of their individual book and the feelings they wanted to express. Shaun, the oldest Herbert child, helped his brother and sisters draw the illustrations when they had difficulty showing action or proper body proportions.

Friends, teachers, and even strangers often ask children questions, both personal and general, about adoption. Empower your child. The W.I.S.E. Up Powerbook gives your children (and you!) the tools to cope with these sometimes uncomfortable comments from others. They learn to (W)alk away, say (I)t’s private, (S)hare something, or (E)ducate. Whether these questions come from benign curiosity, ignorance, or intended insults, this workbook will enable your children to choose the course of action that is right for them.

From School Library Journal: Jordan has documented this writer’s life from his birth in 1937 to the 1990s. She discusses his early life in West Virginia and later in Harlem in a family that struggled to make ends meet. She writes about Myers’ speech impediment and the teacher who encouraged him to read aloud something he had written. Using only words that he could pronounce easily, Myers wrote poetry that he was able to share successfully. Later, he was able to translate his writing ability into an award-winning career. A number of quotes by Myers are incorporated into the text. Average-quality black-and-white photographs illustrate the volume. This is a biography that will interest readers of this popular author’s work. —Lynn W. Zimmerman, Southeast Middle School, Greensboro, NC. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc. About the Author: Denise M. Jordan started writing for young people after she completed her masters’ degree in nursing. She has also written Muhammad Ali: Meet the Champion and Julian Bond: Civil Rights Activist and Chairman of the NAACP for Enslow Publishers, Inc. Compiler’s Note: Myers also tells his own story in Bad Boy: A Memoir, published in 2002.