Books I’ve read to prepare for our adoption of 2 little girls from Colombia:
Adopting after Infertility by Patricia Irwin Johnston: a good book for those researching the adoption process and dealing with the reality and feelings of infertility.
Adoption Parenting: Creating a Toolbox, Building Connections by Jean MacLeod and Sheena Macrae: helpful textbook for brief overview and ideas for dealing with the many aspects of adoption parenting.
Parenting your Internationally Adopted Child: From your First Hours Together through the Teen Years by Patty Cogen: another textbook with ideas for each stage of an adoptee’s childhood and how to parent the chronological age versus the biological age.
The Connected Child: Bring Hope and Healing to your Adoptive Family by Karyn Purvis, David Cross, and Wendy Sunshine (what a great name!): the best adoption book I’ve read so far. It offers very practical strategies for helping your adoptive child attach and learn appropriate responses/interactions for social and family life.
Parenting the Hurt Child: Helping Adoptive Families Heal and Grow by Gregory C. Keck and Regina Kupecky: The second best book I’ve read. It helps you understand the hurt child and gives many practical ideas for helping the entire family attach and heal.
Adopting the Hurt Child: Hope for Families with Special-Needs Kids: A Guide for Parents and Professionals by Gregory C. Keck and Regina Kupecky: another great book about what to expect when adopting a child (they are all hurt in some way or another) and how to help them.
Secret Thoughts of an Adoptive Mother by Jana Wolff: a humorous and honest account of one adoptive mother’s experience.
The Brotherhood of Joseph: A Father’s Memoir of Infertility and Adoption in the 21st Century by Brooks Hansen: Wow! What a unique book written from an oft unheard perspective. Thanks for sharing Brooks! I thoroughly enjoyed your honesty and wit.
Books still on my list to read:
Adoption Journeys: Parents Tell their Stories by Carole S. Turner
Becoming a Family: Promoting Healthy Attachment with your Adopted Child by Lark Eshelman
Our Own: Adopting and Parenting the Older Child by Trish Maskew
Attaching in Adoption: Practical Tools for Today’s Parents by Deborah D. Gray
If you have other good adoption books to recommend or if you would like to know more about the ones I’ve read please leave a comment.
Happy Reading 😉
