Welcome Home! An International and Nontraditional Adoption Reader - Book Review

WELCOME HOME! An International and Nontraditional Adoption Reader EDITED BY LITA LINZER SCHWARTZ AND FLORENCE W. KASLOW THE HAWORTH CLINICAL PRACTICE PRESS 2003, 262 PAGES, $39.95

In the life of a happily married, heterosexual couple, pregnancy sparks a mixture of emotions: love, excitement, anxiety, hope, fear, and fulfillment. When pregnancy is elusive, however, many choose to take the route of adoption, a process that often is risky and complicated. While any number of books and articles have been written on this topic, Welcome Home! is special in two important ways.

First, a number of adoptive parents--married couples, single mothers or fathers, or homosexual partners, ranging in age from the early 20s to late 70s--contributed a great deal to this journal, as the major chapters are written by individuals who personally have experienced the adoption process. In fact, some have had multiple adoptions. Second, all the cases described, except one, are international (known as "transethnic"), multicultural, and/or biracial.

In the past, little attention has been paid to the sensitivities of parents and how their emotions affect their adopted child, or, for that matter, how the feelings and behaviors of their adopted child affect them. For example, parents can expect their newest family member to question many aspects of his or her surroundings. The parents' response often has significant impact on how quickly the adoptee is able to adapt, if at all.

Adoption will be a positive-and wonderful--experience for many, a treasured event that can crystallize itself in a single, exhilarating moment, when all fears disappear and the sensation of loving warmth steps into their place, at least as described by Pamella Diane Dunne: "It lasted but a second, but it was a second I will never forget--a second that erased any small doubts I may have had about the adoption process, a second that confirmed the wisdom of my decision to adopt, a second that transformed my hopes and dreams and fears into pure visceral, guttural joy, a second that immediately brought tears to my eyes then and even now as I relive it."

This is not to suggest that the journey to adoption always will be an easy, glorious trip. After 14 pages of describing her multiple adoptions, Marianne Cederblad begins her "Reflections" section: "It is obvious from my description of the events around the arrival of my children that international adoptions are not projects for people who want to live their lives in a well-planned and smooth way but rather for the foolhardy. The adoption process has become a bit more bureaucratic and organized now than it was at the start of this enterprise."

Anyone seeking valuable information concerning the entire adoption process will find this book a valuable resource. Lita Linzer Schwartz and Florence W. Kaslow are licensed clinical and academic psychologists very highly regarded in their profession. No other format could express the adoption process more openly and validly than the 23 contributors to this indispensable guide with a "how-to" flavor. An appendix lists "Adoption Resources" for the U.S. and abroad, while the bibliography offers significant additional readings. If you are considering adoption, or you already are an adoptive parent, make sure you place Welcome Home/on your "to read" list--and on your bookshelf.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Society for the Advancement of Education
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group