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Adoption Law: Turkey, U.S.. The Law Library of Congress. 2013. 21p. (Kindle eBook) Library of Congress.
In the US, the particulars of procedure relating to adoption are left to the states, whereas in Turkey adoption is governed by national law, namely the Civil Code and an adoption statute known as the Statute on Execution of Interventions Regarding Adoption. Both countries require consent from the biological parents, with certain exceptions. In the US, state laws provide various ways in which the biological parents can waive or forfeit the right to consent. In Turkey, the law provides that consent is not required if the biological parents’ care is not adequate. Both countries require certain adoptee children to consent. In Turkey the child’s consent is required if he or she has the capacity to act on his or her own behalf. In the US, each state specifies an age at which a child’s consent is required, typically between ten and fourteen years. In the US, an adoption must be found to be in the best interests of the child. Similarly, Turkish law requires the adoption be for the benefit of the child upon review of all circumstances of the case. In both Turkey and the US, a probationary period must elapse before an adoption is final. In Turkey the probationary period lasts for one year. In the US, the probationary period lasts between three months to one year, depending on state law. In both countries, during the probationary period, child welfare professionals are provided the opportunity to determine whether the adoption would benefit the child. In both countries, following the probationary period, a court proceeding is necessary to finalize the adoption. Courts in both countries rely on findings by the social services agencies on whether the placement is warranted. In both countries, adoption results in the child obtaining all rights enjoyed by biological children, including the right of inheritance. Both countries are party to the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption.
Adoption Lifebook: A Bridge to Your Child’s Beginnings. Cindy Probst, MEd, MSW, LCSW. 2002. 88p. (A Workbook for International Adoptive Families) (Reissued in 2007) Boston Adoption Press.
From the Publisher: Adoption Lifebook: A Bridge to Your Child’s Beginnings is a new, easy-to-read workbook for international adoptive parents and waiting parents who wish to document their children’s early lives for them, in the form of a lifebook. Through exercises and text, readers become more comfortable telling children the truth about their beginnings while emphasizing their strengths and resilience. Adoption specialist Cindy Probst guides parents through such topics as talking with children about their birth parents and orphanage or foster care experience, answering “why was I adopted?” questions, and using empowering adoption language. Adoption Lifebook: A Bridge to Your Child’s Beginnings is an invaluable resource for helping children feel good about who they are. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of Adoption Lifebook: A Bridge to Your Child’s Beginnings will be donated to international orphanage projects.

About the Author: Cindy Probst, MEd, MSW, LCSW believes that the stories of children’s beginnings belong to them. She has a particular talent for framing difficult truths in ways that empower children, and for teaching their parents to do the same. Cindy works with parents to help them share their children’s stories with them in ways that nourish the spirit while also honoring the truth. Cindy, an adoption specialist at Concord Family and Youth Services in Massachusetts, is also an adoptive parent.
Adoption Nation: How the Adoption Revolution is Transforming America. Adam Pertman. 2006. 350p. (Families With Children From China Edition) Basic Books.
From the Publisher: A revised version of Adam Pertman’s groundbreaking book, with new essays and updated information on key issues. The updated edition coincides with the Chinese New Year (the Year of the Dog), and it contains new material highlighting the experiences and contributions of a rapidly growing community of families across the United States; indeed, as this book is released, the 50,000th child is being adopted from China into an American family. This remarkable community has been especially active in integrating Chinese culture into family life and has actively sought—based on the experiences of earlier Asian adoptees—to learn what aspects of parenting in a transracial family were successful, and where greater sensitivity and different approaches were needed. Because of its activism, visibility and sheer size, our community has played a major role in the revolutionary transformation of adoption in the United States during the past decade.
Adoption of Children in Scotland. Peter GB McNeill. 1982. 208p. (2010. 4th ed. 494p.; 1998. 3rd ed. 270p.; 1986. 2nd ed. 218p.) W Green (UK).
From the Publisher: The third edition of Adoption of Children in Scotland takes account of the fundamental changes brought about by the provisions on adoption contained in the Children (Scotland) Act 1995. One of the most significant amendments made to the Adoption (Scotland) Act 1978 by the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, is that the welfare of the child is now the “paramount consideration” and that welfare is to be considered “throughout his life.” The 1995 Act also revises the position and role of the natural parent, the step-parent and the curator ad litem as well as that of the children’s hearing. The author thoroughly examines the implications of these changes in a practical style. This book contains a full text copy of the Adoption (Scotland) Act 1978, as amended, and the rules of court, as well as numerous styles of writs, interlocutors and reports, making this an invaluable tool for all those whose remit involves children and the law.

The Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 modernises, improves and extends the system of adoption in Scotland. In response to this important new Act, Peter McNeill and Morag Jack have prepared a 4th edition of the Adoption of Children in Scotland, taking into account the following key developments:

• The classes of persons who may adopt including Joint adoption by unmarried couples;

• The introduction of new permanence orders for children who cannot live with their families;

• The repeal of freeing orders.

As well as analysing the provisions of the 2007 Act, the authors provide guidance on the application of the new court procedure rules in both the Court of Session and the sheriff court. The new timetable for adoption procedure is designed to obviate delays.
Adoption of Oriental Children by American White Families: An Interdisciplinary Symposium. International Social Service. 1960. 66p. (An edited transcript of a Symposium held under the auspices of International Social Service, on May 1, 1959) CWLA.
From Social Work, Vol. 6, No. 2, April 1961 (“Book Review”): Intercountry adoptions are still new enough to be constantly scrutinized from the point of view of both practice and result. Of particular interest is the placement of children of a racial background different from that of their adoptive parents. When the refugee situation in Hong Kong became so desperate that the lives of the many abandoned or orphaned Chinese children were at stake, the International Social Service increased its efforts to End adoptive homes for these children with families in the United States. Surprisingly, more Caucasian families than Chinese seemed eager to adopt these children. Because ISS found itself working increasingly with these interracial placements, the agency invited five eminent scientists to meet with the ISS staff and a small group of caseworkers from other agencies to consider together the implications of such placements and to seek better understanding of the complex considerations that must go into the social evaluations of these adoptive arrangements. Mrs. Henrietta Gordon, Director of Publications for the Child Welfare League of America, was the summarizer for the symposium and also assumed the task of editing the recorded proceedings for publication. One cannot help but feel a touch of sadness when one realizes that this publication came off the press just a day or two before her sudden death. The reviewer believes that the contents of this publication are rather unique in social work literature and will be helpful to anyone working in the adoption held or with racially mixed children and families. Questions of the distinction of Oriental traits. parental identification. the genetic results of intermarriage, awareness of cultural heritage and pride, acceptance in the community, conflicts within the child, and many others are explored. While the symposium does not presume to have all the answers, the proceedings provide enough scientific confirmation of the soundness of placements of Oriental children with Caucasian families to make valid a continuation of the practice. The last paragraph of Mrs. Gordon’s summary is well worth quoting here: “When we become a human family in which the superficial differences are insignificant, when in fact, we can accept each other as human beings with similar hopes and aspirations, then the adoption of a child into any family will create fewer risks than it does today.”

—Susan Pettis (International Social Service, New York. N.Y.)
The Adoption Option. Angela Elwell Hunt. Foreword by Jerry Falwell. 1989. 152p. Victor Books.
From the Publisher: Adoption is for parents looking to begin or to build their families. It is for children in search of a forever home. Adoption is for sharing ... life, love, and dreams.

Angela Elwell Hunt presents a unique book, one that is both personal story and guidebook. She describes her own odyssey in adopting two international children, weaving this with practical information on issues faced in adoption. She explores the very real hopes, fears, and doubts that surround prospective parents, while simultaneously taking the reader through the adoption process from A-Z. The book is packed full of resource information on adoption. If you’re a parent-to-be, concerned relative, infertile couple, or interested Christian who wants to discover more about the topic, then The Adoption Option is for you.

About the Author: Angela Elwell Hunt has published more than seventy titles for adults and children, in fiction and nonfiction. She is best known for the classic story, The Tale of Three Trees.
Adoption Romanian Style. Janet Winkel. 2007. 185p. PublishAmerica.
In August of 1990, while relaxing in bed and watching 20/20, I learned about the horrible conditions and poor care that Romanian orphans receive. My husband and I were so moved by this program that we felt the Lord wanted us to do something. We prayed earnestly. Despite being in our late forties and thinking about retiring, the difficulties of the culture shock, the language barrier, the bad conditions, and the Gulf war, we decided that I would go to this third-world country and try to adopt two children. This is the five and a half week account of my stay in Romania and the things that I saw, heard and went through while I experienced Adoption Romanian Style.
Adoptionland: From Orphans to Activists. Janine Myung Ja, Michael Allen Potter & Allen Vance, eds. 2014. 222p. Against Child Trafficking USA.
From the Back Cover:

Intercountry Perspectives from Families Separated by Adoption from
Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Haiti, India, Ireland, Lebanon,
Norway, Romania, Scotland, South Korea, Sweden, UK, and the US.

Did you know most children who are adopted internationally are not actually
orphans, but have been given the label in order to be shipped overseas?

If you were adopted, if you have lost a child to adoption, if you are a member of
a family that has been separated by adoption, or if you have worked on behalf of
the victims who have been trafficked for adoption, you are not alone. This
collection is for you and will validate your adoption experience.

For more than sixty years, facilitators have promoted
their own versions of the adoption story.

Now it is our turn.

In the past, adopted people have accepted incomplete paperwork,
dismissed our origins, and accepted our second-class citizenry.

Not anymore.

A global human rights movement is now in motion that values people over profit
and family preservation over adoption separation. With this new collection,
we are proud to present some of the loudest and softest voices in this
international campaign for social Justice.

Contributors: Casper Andersen, Lily Arthur, Trace DeMeyer, Peter Dodds, Arun Dohle, Darelle Duncan, Erica Gehringer, Jeffrey Hancock, Bob Honecker, Cameron Horn, Tobias Hubinette, Sunny Jo Johnsen, Kristina Laine, Lakshmi, Tinan Leroy, Georgiana A. Macavei, Marion McMillan, Khara Nine, Colette Noonan, Cryptic Omega, Vanessa Pearce, Michael Allen Potter, Paul Redmond, Lucy Sheen, Joe Soll, Vance Twins and Daniel Ibn Zayd.
Adoptive Parent Intentional Parent: A Formula for Building and Maintaining Your Child’s Safety Net. Stacy Manning. 2013. 268p. Hope Connections.
Adoptive Parent Intentional Parent: A Formula for Building and Maintaining Your Child’s Safety Net is an invaluable tool that adoptive parents will use over and over again. Whether you are in the “waiting stage” or you are two, four, six, or even ten plus years into your adoption ... this book will to enable you to reframe your situation with a clear vision, new knowledge, tools that work, and the support of others who have walked the path before you. Every child who has been adopted has suffered a breech in attachment; no adopted child is exempt. In addition to attachment issues, some children also suffer with difficult behavior issues amongst diagnoses such as RAD, FAS, and those that suffer with grief, anxiety, sensory issues and the effects of trauma. The author’s breakthrough concept of intentionally creating a safety net to help your child heal fills the book’s entirety. The four-part formula for building and maintaining that safety net is laid out in a detailed and user-friendly fashion. It combines the value of knowing yourself, the power of knowledge, specific tools and techniques that work in everyday life and the keys to maintaining the net over time to create a plan you can put into motion today.
The Adventure: The Quest for My Romanian Babies. George Klein. 2007. 192p. Hamilton Books.
Born from Professor George C. Klein’s adoption of two Romanian babies in 1990, this work is a personal and analytical autobiography. Compiling data from the 1989 Romanian revolution, the oppression that led to the overthrow of Communism, and his personal experiences in Romania, The Adventure is primarily a description of the torturous process he and his wife endured in order to adopt two babies from a Romanian orphanage. It is also an examination of Romanian society from an institutional, national, and global perspective. The author analyzes individual issues such as forced pregnancies, neglect in orphanages, and economic deprivation. Professor Klein examines how the Romanian Communist Party held power in that era and explores the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe. His adept study discusses the various socio-economic and political factors that led to the collapse of Communism, and, ultimately, to the successful adoption of his Romanian children. About the Author: George C. Klein, Ph.D., is a professor of Sociology/Anthropology at Oakton Community College in Des Plaines, IL.
After Sorrow Comes Joy. Cherie Clark. 2000. 290p. Lawrence & Thomas Publishing House.
From the Publisher: This book, planned to be the first of a trilogy, starts with her early life in Peru, Indiana, and leads the reader quickly through her awakening concern for war-torn Viet Nam, resulting in the decision to adopt three children of mixed race from that country. Eventually, as a nurse, Cherie decides to go to Viet Nam, along with her husband and seven small children, to open a home for abandoned and orphaned children. The book is a moving and dynamic account of her ceaseless struggle to nourish and find adoptive homes for hundreds of children, while living within the hell that followed the American withdrawal from Viet Nam. The story culminates in April 1975 when, through Operation Babylift, Cherie is safely airlifted out with her children, only to return to help others escape on the last planeload of babies to be rescued from Viet Nam.

The final two chapters give a glimpse of what is to come in the rest of the trilogy. Following her departure from Viet Nam, a restless Cherie went to Calcutta and met with Mother Teresa, who invited her to come and work with her. Determined to carry on her work with orphans, Cherie returned to India with her own young children in 1976. There they lived in some of the poorest slums as she opened dispensaries and clinics and rescued thousands of babies and children from orphanages, prisons, and the back streets of Calcutta. In the process she helped nearly ten thousand children find adoptive homes in America and throughout the world.

In 1988 Cherie accepted an invitation to join a delegation to become one of the first Westerners to travel to Viet Nam, by then an entirely communist country. Returning to Saigon after an absence of twelve years, Cherie felt she was returning home. Picking up from where she had been forced to leave off years before, she began working with Vietnamese officials and plunged headlong into the task of helping the poor, the unwanted and the orphaned. This book has 130 dramatic pictures to take you through the journey. This is a story that will inspire you as well as bring you to tears. It is one of those books that simply cannot be put down.

About the Author: Cherie Clark is a courageous, giving woman who embodies a love that transcends color, race, religion and politics. She is fiercely determined to give all children a chance in life that fate has seemingly cheated them out of. Cherie founded the International Mission of Hope, now a thriving and respected organization, funded solely by donations, which is involved in feeding and caring for children and elderly people, helping with disaster relief and reforestation, and facilitating the adoption of some 250 children every year. Cherie’s group has also built a rural health care clinic in My Lai. She and most of her family currently live in Hanoi and operate child care centers throughout Viet Nam.
Alive and Kicking!. Rolf Benirschke, with Mike Yorkey. 1996. 297p. (Great Comebacks) Rolf Benirschke Enterprises.
From the Back Cover: He was an up-and-coming placekicker for the San Diego Chargers, earning a reputation as one of the most accurate kickers in NFL history. But then a little-understood intestinal illness turned Rolf Benirschke’s life upside down.

Alive & Kicking is the remarkable account of a young man who battled back against insurmountable odds. Despite four major abdominal surgeries that left him near death and wearing an ostomy pouch, he surprised his medical doctors and his Charger teammates by returning to the NFL for seven more seasons.

This is a story of fear and faith, of courage and the love of family members. But most of all, it is a story about the indomitable spirit that lives in all of us. If you are looking for encouragement—especially if you have Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis or are struggling with ostomy surgery—Alive & Kicking is just the book for you.

About the Author: Rolf Benirschke is a former placekicker for the San Diego Chargers, having played in the National Football League for ten seasons from 1977-1986. He retired with sixteen team records and as the third most-accurate kicker in NFL history. Today, he is in the financial services business with Eastman Benirschke Financial Group, and he is a sought-after inspirational speaker around the country as well.

Rolf remains active in the community and serves as a National Trustee of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) and as a spokesman for ConvaTec, a Bristol-Myers Squibb company. He is also a long-time supporter of the United Ostomy Association, the United Way, and the San Diego Zoo.

Rolf and his wife, Mary, are the proud parents of four children, two of whom they adopted from Russia: Erik, Kari, Timmy, and Ryan. They live in the San Diego area.

Mike Yorkey attended La Jolla High School with Rolf, and served as an editor of Focus on the Family magazine for eleven years. Most recently, he is the author or co-author of seventeen books. He and his wife, Nicole, reside in Encinitas, California, with their two children, Patrick and Andrea.
Almost Home: Helping Kids Move from Homelessness to Hope. Kevin Ryan & Tina Kelley. Foreword by Cory Booker. 2012. 230p. John Wily & Sons.
From the Back Cover: Almost Home tells the remarkable true stories of six young people as they struggle to find home, stopping along the way at Covenant House, the largest charity serving homeless, trafficked, and runaway youth in the Americas. This book offers a glimpse into the lives of the 1.6 million young people in North America who run away or are kicked out of their homes each year, grappling with issues such as family violence, prostitution, teen parenthood, rejection based on sexual orientation, and aging out of foster care without a family. Full of hope, compassion, and practical suggestions on how to fight youth homelessness, Almost Home shows us how to help young people attain the bright futures they deserve.

About the Author: Kevin Ryan is President of Covenant House International, which reaches 56,000 at-risk and street youth in more than twenty cities across six countries. Ryan is one of the country’s most respected child advocates and his work has been covered by the New York Times and the Washington Post. He has appeared on Today, Good Morning America, 60 Minutes, Anderson Cooper 360, and other national media.

Tina Kelley was a staff writer for the New York Times for ten years and shared in a Pulitzer Prize for the paper’s coverage of the September 11 attacks. She wrote 121 “Portraits of Grief” profiles of the victims and is the author of two books of poetry, The Gospel of Galore and Precise.
The Alternate Path. Deirdra Barron. 2006. 166p. PublishAmerica.
The Alternate Path is the story of one family’s adoption of two preschool Russian orphans. The true story begins with a description of the adoption process, then the book presents the issues encountered in adopting older children from another country. It is both humorous and touching. The problems encountered are not what is expected, and solutions come from everyday living and loving. Adoptions have become such a large part of family creation, yet little is written about the process and the challenges. One family’s real-life struggles provide an insight into what adoption can be and how a family can grow together.
America’s First Family of Adoptions: Pivas Portant People. Richard Piva. 2013. 262p. CreateSpace.
In extraordinary times men and women are called to do things that seem super human and beyond the extremes of the normal everyday life. This has been a look at “America’s First Family of Adoptions” in the United States of America. This brave couple Art and Loretta Piva charted a brand new course for all Americans by starting a new quest to adopt a child from a foreign country whom they could call their “OWN.” It is an example of how two people can truly make a difference in two boy’s lives that will forever be written in the annals of history as one of the most important adoptions of all time. These two people worked tirelessly long and hard to bring a richly rewarding experience to an otherwise not so well off couple of boys who’s lives at birth were tragically and hideously brought forth in a “HELL” that few humans could or should ever have to see in this life.
The American Family. Karen Duda, ed. 2003. 182p. (The Reference Shelf, Vol 75, No 2) HH Wilson.
From the Publisher: The books in this series contain reprints of articles, excerpts from books, addresses on current issues, and studies of social trends in the United States and other countries. There are six separately bound numbers in each volume, all of which are usually published in the same calendar year. Numbers one through five are each devoted to a single subject, providing background information and discussion from various points of view and concluding with a subject index and comprehensive bibliography that lists books, pamphlets, and abstracts of additional articles on the subject. The final number of each volume is a collection of recent speeches, and it contains a cumulative speaker index. Books in the series may be purchased individually or on subscription.

Compiler’s Note: See, particularly, “The Adoption Maze” by Kim Clark and Nancy Shute, from U.S. News & World Report [Mar 12, 2001] (pp. 5-11) and “The Battle to Be a Parent” by Richard Tate, from The Advocate [Jan 30, 2001] (pp. 143-149).
Amie: The True Story of Adoption in Asia. Paul Mooney. 1991. 192p. Times Books International.
Angels and Idols. Regie Hamm. 2010. 268p. Tate Publishing & Enterprises, LLC.
Regie Hamm’s life has all the twists, turns, and drama of a Hollywood movie. Only this isn’t Hollywood, and the cast isn’t actors. As a hit artist, producer, and songwriter, Regie was familiar with the drama of the press, the endless nights in the studio, and the uncertainty of his next paycheck. But nothing would prepare him for the drama of a rural Chinese hospital, the endless nights of raising an insomniac baby, or the uncertainty of her condition. There was nothing he could do except stand by and helplessly watch his life and career spin out of control. Regie’s story is one of a man and his family who overcame enormous obstacles. It is a journey that put him in the company of Angels and Idols—a journey that would test not only his physical resources but also his faith. Join author Regie Hamm as he recounts his rise, his fall, and his ultimate surrender to God’s will.
Anything But Easy: A Memoir of a Special-Needs Adoption from China. Marie Spiess. 2010. 133p. CreateSpace.
From the Back Cover: The mantra that “every child deserves to live with a family, to love and be loved” guided Marie Spiess and her family to make the decision to adopt a child with special needs from China.

With fate on their side, the Spiess family was offered the chance of a lifetime—they were given an opportunity to make Zhuge Juanzi, a little girl born with a cleft lip and palate half way around the world, their daughter and sister. At just eleven months younger than the family’s youngest son, she helped make an otherwise perfect family extraordinary. Such grace, however, did not come easy. In this brutally candid memoir of adoption, a mother reflects on the journey of adopting a child with special needs. Spiess answers questions, offers guidance, and ultimately tells readers to hold on and expect the unexpected. For families considering the adoption of a child with special needs, here’s an insider’s account—and a loving reflection of what it took to fulfill one mother’s dream.

About the Author: Marie Spiess is a surgical physician assistant living in rural Michigan. She is a mother of three children, through birth and adoption. She enjoys spending time with her busy family and is also a member of Families with Children from China. Anything But Easy is her first book.
“Are Those Kids Yours?”: American Families with Children Adopted from Other Countries. Cheri Register. 1990. 240p. The Free Press.
From the Dust Jacket: The question “Are those kids yours?” has a familiar ring to parents who have adopted children from South Korea, India, Colombia, the Philippines, and other countries. As natural and normal as it feels to them to be together, such families are often asked to explain their obvious difference. In rich personal stories drawn from her own experience as the mother of two Korean born daughters and from interviews with other parents and with adopted children from six to thirty, Cheri Register both affirms the normality of internationally adoptive families and highlights the special challenges they do indeed face.

The book addresses many central questions about international adoption: why children are in need of adoption outside the country of their birth, why parents choose to adopt from other countries, how parents and children of very different origins become a “real” family, how parents explain the cultural circumstances of their children’s births and how the children perceive this, how families foster ethnic identity, how they deal with racism, and how living as a multicultural family affects their view of the world.

While answering “Are those kids yours?” with a firm “yes,” the book also probes the deeper implications of the question. International adoption is a controversial matter in countries from which children are coming to the United States, but adoptive families have had little voice as yet in the debate. With honest, thoughtful analysis honed by personal experience, Register addresses the ethical issues inevitably raised by adoption across lines of culture, race, and social class: Are parents in the wealthier nations entitled to raise children left homeless in other parts of the world by poverty or social stigma? Is placement in another country an appropriate solution for children whose parents cannot raise them? Do adoptive parents have a responsibility to their children’s birth countries or to other disadvantaged children and their families? Viewing international adoption in the context of child welfare and the “stewardship of children,” Register encourages readers to give these questions serious consideration and to approach them with knowledge, compassion, and cultural sensitivity.

Insightful, comprehensive, and eloquent, “Are Those Kids Yours?” is a unique resource for parents raising internationally adopted children and for those who are contemplating intercountry adoption as well as for the children as they grow up, their extended families and friends, and adoption and mental health professionals.

About the Author: Cheri Register, Ph.D., lives in Minneapolis with her two Korean-born daughters Grace and Maria. A writer, lecturer, and educational consultant, she is the author of Living with Chronic Illness: Days of Patience and Passion (1987, Free Press).

By the Same Author: Beyond Good Intentions: A Mother Reflects on Raising Internationally Adopted Children (2005, Yeong & Yeong Book Co.), among others.
Area Code 212: New York Days, New York Nights. Tama Janowitz. 2004. 368p. St Martin’s Press.
From the Dust Jacket: Welcome to the wonderful world of Tama Janowitz, one of New York’s wittiest social chroniclers. Area Code 212 is filled with idiosyncratic delights and oddities, including her hilarious account of Andy Warhol’s 1980s blind date club; her brief moment of celebrity as an elderly teenage extra in a ZZ Top video; the day she tested mentally retarded on an IQ test; and many other revealing tales of New York life, including its parties, its restaurants, and its fashion. Janowitz gives us her unique lowdown on her 1990s conversion from Manhattan to Brooklyn, on observing the Twin Towers come down from her apartment roof, on hairless dogs and ferrets, babies, the outer boroughs, big-hair days and bad-hair days.

Above all, the humor and insights of Area Code 212 will not only appeal to all of those who live in New York City, but also to those from around the country who have a fascination with what it is like to thrive in the urban mecca.

Self-deprecating, funny, and touching, Area Code 212 is an irresistible collection of essays.

About the Author: Tama Janowitz exploded onto the literary scene in 1986 with her bestselling book, Slaves of New York. Her most recent novel is Peyton Amberg. Janowitz’s work has appeared in many publications, including The New Yorker, Vogue, the New York Times Op-Ed page, and elsewhere. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter.

Compiler’s Note: “Bringing Home Baby,” in which the author describes her and her husband’s trip to China to adopt their daughter, originally appeared in the October 1996 issue of Vogue, and was subsequently collected in Wanting a Child (1998, Farrar Straus & Giroux) and Family Wanted (2005, Granta Books).
Assessment of the School-Aged Child and Adolescent. Margaret R Colyar. 2011. 288p. FA Davis Co.
From the Back Cover: Well-child assessment and screening techniques in one easy-to-carry volume!

Rely on this easy-to-use reference to provide all of the guidance you need to perform age-specific assessments and screenings for children from preschool through adolescence, including special populations.

Begin with a review of basic assessment techniques, then focus on the specific techniques, assessment strategies, and advanced procedures for each body system and age group.

■ Review basic assessment techniques.

■ Learn well-child assessment and health promotion by both body system and specific age group.

■ Discover techniques for assessing normal and abnormal findings.

■ Refer to the behavioral assessment to understand the early warning signs of violence, suicide, and deteriorating mental conditions.

■ Use the nutritional assessment to evaluate students’ eating habits.

■ Count on a consistent format that features an introduction, chapter objectives, history, review of systems, referral guidelines, and anticipatory guidance.

Perform effective assessments and screenings for school-age children with this exceptional quick-reference!

Compiler’s Note: See, particularly, Chapter 19: Special Needs of the International Adoptee (pp. 247-255).
At Any Cost: Overcoming Every Obstacle to Bring Our Children Home. Mike & Hayley Jones. 2015. 223p. Worthy Books.
From the Back Cover: In At Any Cost, for the first time Mike and Hayley Jones share their remarkable, chaotic, intercontinental story of adopting eight siblings from Sierra Leone. Facing doubts from within, character assaults from without, and a mind-numbing bureaucratic jungle, the Joneses and their two young biological sons embarked on a 34-month heart-wrenching odyssey that gave birth to “The Jones Dozen.”

At Any Cost is the story of a couple who not only believe God calls each of us to trust Him more than we ever thought possible, but are living proof of God’s immeasurable grace and unfathomable love. Join Mike and Hayley on their inspiring journey of faith and obedience to the call God placed on their lives. You might just discover where God is leading you next.
At First a Dream: An Adoption Journey. Vic Goguen, with Jan & Jim Pacenka. 2005. 202p. iUniverse.com.
A solitary figure stands stoop-shouldered at the entrance to a closed China Air terminal at JFK, and he feels a creeping vulnerability that is foreign to him at age fifty-three. Peering through the rain and fog at the ghostly glow of streetlights on deserted airport roads, he wonders what in heaven’s name he is doing there ... alone ... in the middle of the night ... six thousand dollars strapped to his leg ... and agonizingly unsure he’ll be able to get to Cambodia in time. At First A Dream chronicles the frustrating, emotional roller coaster that led Jan and Jim Pacenka to pursue an adoption, all the way to Phnom Penh. The book highlights key events leading to their life-altering decision, and captures the drama of Jim’s five-day intercontinental steeplechase to Cambodia, a Murphy’s Law scramble to beat an adoption moratorium stopwatch triggered by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. At First A Dream is a story about a journey, both figurative and literal—a journey embraced by a man and a woman wanting to share their lives with a child of the universe. It is a story of love, courage, and above all else, perseverance. About the Author: Vic Goguen is a lifelong friend of Jim and Jan Pacenka. He holds a B.S.Ed. degree in Social Studies, an M.A.Ed. in Counseling and Psychology, and a C.A.G.S in Rehabilitation Counseling. At First A Dream is his first nonfiction book. He and his wife Carol make their home in Leominster, MA.
At Home in Love: A Love Letter to Gracie. John F Bonnell. 2010. 136p. Xulon Press.
At Home in Love is a love letter to Gracie about how her parents who desired to have children but could not, adopted her from China. More importantly it is also the story about how God adopted us. Like Gracie’s parents desired to have a child, so God the Father wants us to be His children. He promised us that He would not leave us as orphans but He sent His Son Jesus to us to show us how to be adopted into God’s family. This is also a love letter instructing us how to grow in our relationship with God the Father; to not let unbelief, fear, or orphan thinking allow us to be robbed of God’s love for us but instead believe that God the Father loves us and cares about us so that we will be At Home in Love, His love.
Away from China. Robert G Ferrari. 2013. 150p. CreateSpace.
When Italian citizen Roberto G. Ferrari embarked on a journey to adopt a young Chinese boy, the twenty-five days the adoptive father spent there offered him a rare insider’s vantage of the famously closed country during an intensely intimate time for his family. To process the experience, the adoptive father chronicled those days in China, exploring the country through the deeply personal lens of his son’s connection to his homeland. Ferrari also took in China from the perspective of a Westerner attempting to make sense of this burgeoning global power. Both reflective and informative, Ferrari’s detailed account of the adoption process takes in modern China as it increasingly opens its doors to the Western world. In doing so, Away from China offers invaluable practical guidance on the international adoption process, as well as the author’s insight on key locales in the country from the point of view of a seasoned traveler. From the monuments of Taiyuan to Tienanmen Square, Away from China considers this fascinating, rapidly changing nation for an adoptive father and his Chinese son. About the Author: Roberto G. Ferrari is an economist who has worked for multinational companies for approximately twenty years. He has a master’s degree in economics, and also studied arts and history, with a focus on modern history, at the University of London. Previously, he was a lecturer on economics at an Italian university. He has traveled extensively for business, and has a particular interest in non-Western cultures. The author lives with his wife, his daughter, and his son in Milan, Italy.
The Baby Boat: A Memoir of Adoption. Patty Dann. 1998. 260p. Hyperion.
From the Dust Jacket: I’d wanted a baby since I was eight years old. Sometimes it was tiny whispers behind my ears and sometimes it was a longing like a wound.

On our first date, my husband asked in his charming Dutch accent, “Do you want to get children?”

“Get children?” At first I did not understand, but quickly realized he meant “have a baby.” I was then thirty-six years old and had never wed. I could feel the arsenal of eggs I’d been born with beginning to fray.

And so begins the poignant chronicle of Patty Dann’s journey to adopt an infant from Eastern Europe, a moving memoir that recounts with wry humor the hurdles she and her husband encountered at every step of their odyssey—from the tedious preparation of paperwork and the seemingly endless waiting, through the heartbreaking loss of the infant girl who might have been their adoptive daughter, to their giddily joyous flight home to New York City from Lithuania with their pink-cheeked son in their arms.

Reminiscent of Anne Lamott’s Operating Instructions, The Baby Boat combines an eloquent style with equal parts humor and emotion in an absorbing narrative that reads like a novel.

More than just a tale of one couple’s struggle to adopt a child, The Baby Boat is an affecting, poignant love story that will speak to every parent—and would-be parent.

About the Author: The author of the acclaimed Mermaids (which The New York Times hailed as a “radiant debut”), Patty Dann teaches fiction workshops and memoir classes ay Sarah Lawrence College and Manhattan’s West Side Y. She lives in Manhattan with her husband and two-year-old son, who is now a citizen of the United States.
A Baby from Bogota: A Mother’s Personal, Emotional Story About Foreign Adoption. Lois A Herman. 1979. 200p. Canterbury Press.
Baby in a Box. LeRoy and Jane Ramsey. 2004. 331p. Xulon Press.
From the Back Cover: This is a story about a baby abandoned on the streets of Nanchang, China, and God’s faithfulness in seeing her adopted by an American family. There were many trials and tribulations before this came to pass. Chinese/American relations were tenuous at the time, and China was instituting a new adoption law. The baby—Mei Mei—remained a nonentity until we were forced to put her in an orphanage in Nanchang, where an estimated 90 percent of the babies died.

About the Author: LeRoy and Jane Ramsey grew up in Texas, never imagining they would some day be walking on the Great Wall of China with their three children. But God had a plan. In His loving kindness, He gradually led them into a deeper walk with Him, which resulted in their moving to the People’s Republic of China in 1985. They were in their late 30s when they began this exciting adventure. It continues.
Baby, We Were Meant for Each Other: In Praise of Adoption. Scott Simon. 2010. 178p. Random House.
From the Dust Jacket: In this warm, funny, and wise new book, NPR’s award-winning and beloved Scott Simon tells the story of how he and his wife found true love with two tiny strangers from the other side of the world. It’s a book of unforgettable moments: when Scott and Caroline get their first thumb-size pictures of their daughters, when the small girls are placed in their arms, and all the laughs and tumbles along the road as they become a real family.

Woven into the tale of Scott, Caroline, and the two little girls who changed their lives are the stories of other adoptive families. Some are famous and some are not, but each family’s saga captures facets of the miracle of adoption.

Baby, We Were Meant for Each Other is a love story that doesn’t gloss over the rough spots. There are anxieties and tears along with hugs and smiles and the unparalleled joy of this blessed and special way of making a family. Here is a book that families who have adopted—or are considering adoption—will want to read for inspiration. But everyone can enjoy this story because, as Scott Simon writes, adoption can also help us understand what really makes families, and how and why we fall in love.

About the Author: Scott Simon is the host of NPR’s Weekend Edition with Scott Simon. He has reported stories from all fifty states and every continent, and has won every major award in broadcasting. He also hosts shows for PBS and appears on BBC TV. He is the author of the novels Pretty Birds and Windy City, the memoir Home and Away, and the history Jackie Robinson and the Integration of Baseball.
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