Adoption Books

Do YOU have a book to recommend?

ORPHAN TRAINS:

ORPHAN TRAIN RIDER, Andrea Warren, Houghton Mifflin, 1996.

ORPHAN TRAINS, Stephen O'Connor, Houghton Mifflin, 2001.

THE ORPHAN TRAINS, Marilyn Irvin Holt, Bison Books, 1992.

WE RODE THE ORPHAN TRAINS, We Rode the Orphan Trains, Andrea Warren, Houghton Mifflin, 2001.

THE ORPHAN TRAINS - PLACING OUT IN AMERICA, Marilyn Irving Holt, University of Nebraska Press: Lincoln & London, 1992.

ADOPTION: ISSUES + SEARCH + REUNION

ADOPTED? A CANADIAN GUIDE FOR ADOPTED ADULTS IN SEARCH OF THEIR ORIGINS, Clare Marcus, Self-Counsel Press, Incorporated: 1979.

ADOPTED CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES, Michael Bohman, Stockholm 1970. Medical Dissertations: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Karolinska Institutet.

ADOPTED CHILDREN — HOW THEY GROW UP: A STUDY OF THEIR ADJUSTMENT AS ADULTS, A.M. McWhinnie

ADOPTING THE HURT CHILD: HOPE FOR FAMILIES WITH SPECIAL-NEEDS KIDS, Gregory Keck and Regina Kupecky, Colorado Springs, CO: Pinon Press, 1995.
An introduction to the psychological issues that face children who have experienced multiple caretakers and their new families.

ADOPTION: A HANDFUL OF HOPE, Suzanne Arms, Berkeley, CA: Celestial Arts, 1990.
A revised edition of the earlier To Love and Let Go, this book revisits, ten years later,
several birthparents and adopting families who have chosen open adoption.

ADOPTION: A HANDFUL OF HOPE, S. Ams
What does adoption mean? Exploration of changing attitudes and long-term affects.

ADOPTIVE KINSHIP: A MODERN INSTITUTION IN NEED OF REFORM, H. David Kirk
University of Waterloo, Butterworths: Toronto, 1981

ADOPTION AND LOSS: THE HIDDEN GRIEF, Evelyn Burns Robinson, Clova Publications
An insight into the emotional and bureaucratic struggle for personal identity. An exploration of both personal experience and academic research.

ADOPTION PAPERS, THE, Jackie Kay. Bloodaxe Books Ltd: Newcastle upon Tyne, 1991
Poetry.

ADOPTION READER, THE, Edited by Susan Wadia-Ells
Birthmothers, adoptive mothers and adopted daughters tell their stories.

ADOPTION STORY, Marguerite Ryan
A true story written by the adoptive mother about an adopted child's birthmother who decides she wants her child back.

ADOPTION TRIANGLE, THE, Baron, Pannor and Sorosky
Studies on the effects of adoption on adoption Triad members.

ADOPTION WITHOUT FEAR, James. L. Gritter, San Antonio: Corona Publishing, 1989.
A series of essays written by birth and adoptive parents who participated in open
adoptions through the same Michigan agency.

BIRTHMOTHERS: WOMEN WHO HAVE RELINQUISHED BABIES FOR ADOPTION, Merry B.Jones
Women who have relinquished babies for adoption tell their stories.

CHILD'S JOURNEY THROUGH PLACEMENT, A, Vera I. Fahlberg, M.D. Indianapolis: Perspectives Press, 1991. Pediatrician and therapist Fahlberg helps both parents and
professionals understand how the experience of being moved impacts on children.

CHILDREN OF OPEN ADOPTION, Kathleen Silber and Patricia Martinez Dorner, San Antonio: Corona, 1989.

CONFESSIONS OF A LOST MOTHER, Elisa Menocal Barton
First book published of bulletin board-internet mailings concerning the adoption triad family.

FACES OF ADOPTION, E. Giddens
Adoption is not a single event but an ongoing life process.

FAMILY BONDS: ADOPTION AND THE POLITICS OF PARENTING, Elizabeth Bartholet, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1993.
The author takes a provocative look at how and why genetic connection is promoted to the detriment of infertility patients and how adoptive relationships are stigmatized. A powerful argument for revamping the system and society's view of adoption.

GONE TO AN AUNT’S: REMEMBERING CANADA’S HOMES FOR UNWED MOTHERS, Anne Petrie
Seven women, including the author, recount their experiences in homes for unwed mothers. These homes were prevalent in the 1950s and 60s, most run by religious organizations. Girls who had gotten “in trouble” were kept out of sight until their time was up and they could return home as if nothing had happened.

GROWING UP ADOPTED: A PORTRAIT OF ADOLESCENTS AND THEIR PARENTS, Peter L. Benson, Ph.D, Anu Sharma Ph.D. and Eugene C. Roehlkepartain, Minneapolis: The Search Institute, 1994.
A large and significantly more inclusive than usual study of children and families joined by adoption between 1975 and 1980, this study challenges many of the
assumptions of earlier less representative studies composed of those in a mental health setting or uncontrolled self volunteers.

HELPING CHILDREN COPE WITH SEPERATION AND LOSS, Claudia Jewett, Boston: Harvard Common Press, 1994.

JOJO… TINY STORY OF FAITH, Faith Miller
A fairy tale, illustrated with oil paintings, based on the author’s actual adoption experience.

JOURNEY OF THE ADOPTED SELF, Betty Jean Lifton. Basic Books: New York, 1994
The complexity of the adoption experience on an adoptee's life.

HEARTCRIES FROM THE ADOPTION TRIANGLE, Sandy Musser & Norm Smith eds. 1986. Jan Pubns.

IN SEARCH OF ORIGINS, John Triseliotis Routledge & Kegan Paul: London, 1973.

LIMITS OF HOPE, THE: AN ADOPTIVE MOTHER’S STORY, Ann Kimble Loux
A book which conveys the disturbing and individual human costs of child abuse and neglect, calling for reforms in the adoption process.

LOST AND FOUND, Betty Jean Lifton, Harper Collins: 1988
An adoptee's emotional journey of search.

MOTHER CAN YOU HEAR ME?, Elizabeth Allen and Dodd Mead, 1983.

MR. FAIRWEATHER AND HIS FAMILY, Margaret Kornitzer, Bodley Head, 1960

ONCE REMOVED: VOICES FROM INSIDE THE ADOPTION TRIANGLE, Sherry Sleighton &
Wendie Remond, McGraw-Hill-Ryerson: 1982.

OPEN ADOPTION BOOK, THE: A GUIDE TO ADOPTION WITHOUT TEARS, Bruce Rappaport, Ph.D., New York: MacMillan, 1992.

OPEN ADOPTION EXPERIENCE, THE: A COMPLETE GUIDE FOR ADOPTIVE AND BIRTH FAMILIES, Sharon Kaplan Roszia and Lois Melina, New York: HarperCollins, 1993.

OPENNESS IN ADOPTION: EXPLORING FAMILY CONNECTIONS, H D Grotevant and Ruth G McRoy, Thousand Oaks: Sage, 1998.

OUT OF THE SHADOWS: BIRTHFATHER STORIES, Mary M. Mason
Explores feelings of birth fathers about search and reunion in adoption

PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ADOPTION AND HEALING, WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND, 1997

PSYCHOLOGY OF ADOPTION, THE, Edited by David. M. Brodzinky & Marshall D. Schechter Oxford University Press: New York, 1990

PRIMAL WOUND: UNDERSTANDING THE ADOPTED CHILD, THE, N. Verrier, M.A.
Revolutionizes the way we think about adoption.

RIGHT OF ADOPTEES TO KNOW THEIR BIOLOGICAL PARENTS, THE: A BIBLIOGRAPHY, Tim J. Watts and Vance Biblios.

RIGHT TO KNOW WHO YOU ARE, THE, Keith C. Griffith, ed (Canada) Katherine
Kimball
All encompassing study by New Zealand adoption reformer.

TO KEERA WITH LOVE, K. Becker
A teen birthmother’s decision to relinquish her child.

SECOND CHOICE: GROWING UP ADOPTED, Robert Anderson, MD
An unusual perspective from a black market male adoptee/psychiatrist telling it from both sides.

SECRET THOUGHTS OF AN ADOPTIVE MOTHER, Jana Wolff, Kansas City: Andrews & McNeel, 1997.
Personal observations about the process of adopting in an open, transracial adoption.

SHADOW TRAIN, Patricia E. Taylor
A birthmothers story. Probably the best book from a birthmother on the market. A journey between relinquishment and reunion.

SHARED FATE: A THEORY AND METHOD OF ADOPTIVE RELATIONSHIPS, H. David Kirk, Brentwood Bay, BC: Ben-Simon Publications, rev 1984.

STRANGER WHO BORE ME: ADOPTEE-BIRTHMOTHER RELATIONSHIPS, THE, Karen March
University of Toronto Press: Toronto, 1995

SOLOMON DECISION, THE, K. Pijanowski
Interview with adoption triad members and professionals. Excellent discussion on secrecy.

STORY OF DAVID, THE: HOW WE CREATED A FAMILY THROUGH OPEN ADOPTION, Dion Howells
A story about open adoption from the Adoptive Parents point of view.

TELL ME NO MORE SECRETS, NO MORE LIES: LIFE AS AN ADOPTEE, Ginni D.
Snodgrass. GS Enterprise.

TOUCHED BY ADOPTION - VOL 2, Blair Matthews
A collection of adoption stories by adoptees, birthparents, adoptive parents and friends of the adoption tri-ad. A great resource.

TRANSRACIAL ADOPTION: CHILDREN AND PARENTS SPEAK OUT, Constance Pohl and Kathy Harris, New York: Franklin Watts, 1992.
An introductory overview of nearly all of the issues people need to consider in order to make a good decision about whether or not to adopt outside their own ethnicity.

TWICE BORN: MEMOIRS OF AN ADOPTED DAUGHTER, Betty Jean Lifton, Penguin: 1977.

WAKE UP LITTLE SUSIE, SINGLE PREGNANCY AND RACE BEFORE ROE VS WADE, Rickie Solinger
Ever wonder why birthmothers are angry? This exposé reveals how politicians & social workers undermined & stripped birthmthers of their self-esteem & dignity — including legislation to sterilize them involuntarily and forcing them to deliver without anesthesia as “punishment.”

WHAT KIND OF LOVE IS THIS?, Sandy Musser and S. Zimmerman, Jan Publications: ed 1982.

WHERE ARE MY BIRTH PARENTS? A GUIDE FOR TEENAGE ADOPTEES, Karen Gravelle and Susan Fischer

WHERE DO BLACK KIDS BELONG? THE POLITICS OF RACE MATCHING IN ADOPTION, Elizabeth Bartholet, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Vol. 139 No. 5, May, 1991.
A review of the results of the research which has examined transracial adoptions with a discussion of how politics has influenced the legal practice of adoption.

WITHIN ME, WITHOUT ME, Sue Wells
A collection of personal stories by birthmothers.

YESTERDAY THEY TOOK MY BABY, Ben Wicks
True stories of adoption full of courage and optimism.

ADOPTION AND RECOVERY: SOLVING THE MYSTERY OF REUNION, Evelyn Burns Robinson, Clova Publications

BIRTHRIGHT: THE GUIDE TO SEARCH AND REUNION FOR ADOPTEES, BIRTHPARENTS AND ADOPTIVE PARENTS, Jean A. S. Strauss

FAINT TRAILS: A GUIDE TO ADULT ADOPTEE-BIRTH PARENT REUNIFICATION SEARCHES, Hal Aigner

FINDING FAMILY, R. Ouston
Male adoptee’s search story: asks what it really means to find family.

ITHAKA, Sarah Saffian
Very good insight to what a birthchild feels upon having been approached by birthparents. A woman’s journey of figuring out who she is and where she fits.

I WOULD HAVE SEARCHED FOREVER, Sandy Musser. 4th ed. Thomas Verica ed. 1985
Jan Pubns.

A LIMB OF YOUR TREE: THE STORY OF AN ADOPTED TWIN’S SEARCH FOR HER ROOTS, Doris D. Smith, Exposition Pr.

THE OTHER MOTHER: A WOMAN’S LOVE FOR THE CHILD SHE GAVE UP FOR ADOPTION, Carol Schafer
A birthmother’s search and reunion with her son

REUNION: THE SEARCH FOR MY BIRTH FAMILY, Madelene Allen
An adoptee’s search; its frustrations, anger and rewards. An Ontario search and reunion story.

SAYING GOODBYE TO A BABY: THE BIRTHPARENT’S GUIDE TO LOSS AND GRIEF IN ADOPTION, Patricia Roles, MSW
Society does not recognize the right and the need of birthparents to grieve. Professionals in the field of adoption have begun to realize and acknowledge that a grief process occurs following relinquishment of an infant.

SEARCH AFTERMATH & ADJUSTMENTS, Sanders and Sitterly
Questions and answers on post-search issues

MY SEARCH FOR CATHERINE ANNE, B. Clark
A birthfather looks for the daughter he never knew about

SEARCHING FOR A PAST: THE ADOPTED ADULT’S UNIQUE PROCESS OF FINDING IDENTITY, Jayne Schooler, Colorado Springs, CO: 1995: Pinon Press.

SECOND CHOICE, R. Anderson
A male adoptee’s attempts to find his birth roots.

SO, HERE I AM! BUT WHERE DID I COME FROM?, Mary Ruth Wotherspoon
Only when her second grandchild was born with big brown eyes did the author begin her search.

TORN FROM THE HEART, L. Jurgens
Poignant birthmother search and reunion story

ADOPTION REUNIONS, M. McColm
The most comprehensive book about reunions so far.

BIRTHBOND, REUNIONS BETWEEN BIRTHPARENTS AND ADOPTEES: WHAT HAPPENS AFTER, Gediman and Brown
Explores post-reunion relationships between adoptees and birth parents.

BLESSINGS, B. Plain
An adoptee’s search for her birthmother affects everyone. Fiction.

FIND A STRANGER, SAY GOODBYE, Lois Lowry
A fictional story about a teenage girl who was adopted as a baby. A realistic depiction of an adoptees search and discovery of her birth family.

MAY THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN, Elizabeth Ferber
Many stories from many people that form a complete picture of the complex experience of reunion.

THE MISSING PIECE, Lee Ezell
Written by a birthmother who conceived a child through rape and gave her up for adoption. Her jouney to the point of being found by her daughter and their reunion.

OUT OF THE SHADOWS: BIRTHFATHER STORIES, Mary M. Mason
Explores feelings of birth fathers about search and reunion in adoption.

REUNION: SEARCH FOR MY BIRTH FAMILY, M. Allen, Stoddart.

REUNIONS BETWEEN ADOPTEES AND BIRTH PARENTS: THE BIRTH PARENTS' EXPERIENCE, Phyllis R. Silverman et al

THE REUNION BOOK, M.J. Rillera
Post-reunion experiences of adoption Triad members.

STORIES OF ADOPTION: LOSS & REUNION, E. Blau
Personal accounts movingly express the emotions of adoption.

SYNCHRONICITY AND REUNION: THE GENETIC CONNECTION OF ADOPTEES & BIRTHPARENTS, LaVonne Stifler, PhD

WANTED: FIRST CHILD, R. Harsin
Intimate account of a teen’s pregnancy and relinquishment and her later search.

I WOULD HAVE SEARCHED FOREVER, S. Musser
A birthmother’s story of search, reunion and reconciliation.

WAITING TO FORGET: A MOTHERHOOD LOST AND FOUND, Margaret Moorman
This book tells the story of coming to terms with the child the author gave up for adoption 30 years ago. New York Times Books review describes it as uniquely enlightening.