Earlier this week, I received an assortment of adoption-related books from EMK Press for review. Two were children's books (see sidebar~ reviews forthcoming) and the third was an awesome adoption resource book called Adoption Parenting. This book is a compilation of ideas and writings from over 100 adoptive parents, adoption experts, adoptees, and parenting specialists. It gives ideas for "creating a toolbox" of information and resources for parenting your adopted child. It covers every age and stage from birth through pre-adolesence.
I took this book along with me on a roadtrip today and was very impressed! One thing that really caught my attention was part of the description on the back of the book: "This book is a wealth of information for the family newly arrived home as well as the more experienced one. It's a book you won't read all at once, but will come back to again and again as your child's understanding and awareness of who they are develops and your experience in parenting expands." Chapters in the book include Getting Started, Language, Food, Learning & School (yes, there's even a section on homeschooling!), Race, Challenges (physical & emotional), Support, Journey, and many more. This book covers both the joys and the challenges of adoption parenting. People who have "been there, done that" share their experiences in a candid way. There are suggestions for further books to read and share with your children, as well as lists of websites for further information on many topics.
I was reading sections of it out loud to my mom. My parents adopted 2 little boys from Korea in 1985~ they're now all grown up and both are married (one even has 3 little boys of his own!) Still, there were things in this book that related to them! We enjoyed reading them, and discussing things that we remembered about their adoption~ their initial reactions to things, the language barrier, and how quickly they learned the English language, etc. Of course, there were also things that relate to issues that I am dealing with as an adoptive parent today~ how to answer questions that 7 year olds can come up with, and how to deal with those sleepless nights. Things I had never thought of were brought to my attention in this book~ for example: many abandoned children were abandoned at night, under cover of darkness, possibly creating an underlying fear of the dark, causing sleeping problems.
This book puts me in mind of various health-related and parenting books that I have seen in the past. The difference is that it is ALL about adoption parenting~ all 502 pages devoted to issues to adoptive parents deal with on a day-to-day basic. The book cover states that "it's an indispensable resource that no adoptive family should be without." I couldn't agree more. Now that I have this book in my possession, I know it's one that I will refer to over and over again in the months and years to come. If you are an adoptive parent (or thinking of becoming one), I strongly urge you to consider picking up a copy of this book for your home library. It may very well be the only adoption/parenting book you'll ever need.
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