Hi - I'm Max, and I'm adopted. You may not know this but many famous and inspirational people were adopted too. Adopted Like Me introduces you to great musicians like Bo Diddley, politicians like Nelson Mandela, and stars like Marilyn Monroe. Meet these along with inventors, athletes, and a princess skilled in judo and fencing - all of them adopted like me. Read about these adoptees and you'll see that you can grow up to be just about anything you want to be! Fully illustrated in color, this book is for children aged 8+ who have been adopted, their parents, teachers and siblings.

The challenging teen years can be even more difficult for adopted teenagers, many of whom have unanswered questions that may result in fear, anger, and low self-esteem. These feelings may be compounded by the isolation they feel because most friends and family members cannot fully relate to their situation. Adopted: The Ultimate Teen Guide enables young adults to explore their feelings as they read about the personal experiences of other adopted teens. Through these stories, adopted teens can learn how others have resolved some of their adoption issues and gain powerful insights from those who have experienced some of the same frustrations, struggles, and concerns. This book addresses various issues such as: finding out you’ve been adopted fitting in searching for birth parents meeting birth parents international adoption transracial adoption what defines a family This revised edition also features discussion questions at the end of each chapter that help teens and loved ones acknowledge and verbalize their concerns. With up-to-date statistics, as well as insights from experienced adoption professionals who offer practical advice, this edition of Adopted: The Ultimate Teen Guide is a valuable resource for adopted teens as well as their families and friends.

All adopted teens have questions-questions about their adoptive family, about their birth parents, and about how adoption has affected and will continue to affect their lives. But not every adopted teen knows how to approach these questions or how to handle the intense emotions and high stress often associated with them. This guide has answers. Based on true stories, extensive research, and Danea Gorbett's own in addition to her background in psychology and education, Adopted Teens Only delivers: Suggestions for bringing up sensitive topics with all types of adoptive parents Insight on what your adoptive parents might be going through True stories of birth mothers Practical information on whether and how to search for birth parents Seasoned advice on what to expect and how to prepare for reuniting with a birth parent. Gorbett offers confirmation that what you feel, think, wonder, and worry about as an adopted teen is normal and important, and she helps you acknowledge and celebrate the unique gifts and many advantages of growing up adopted. Comforting, empowering, and ultimately practical, Adopted Teens Only is the indispensable survival guide for adopted adolescents and anyone who loves them.

While most mental health and behavioral health professionals have encountered adoption triad members—birth parents, adoptive parents, and adopted persons—in their clinical practice, the vast majority have had no formal or informal training on adoption issues. The Handbook of Adoption: Implications for Researchers, Practitioners, and Families is the first book to specifically address the many dimensions of adoption-related issues which can and do affect adoption triad members, specifically in the United States. Key Features: Includes contributions from nationally known experts: Prominent authors who are directly involved in adoption-related research and practice provide insight from personal and professional experience. Theory and real-life examples come together in the "Treatment Issues" and in the "Training and Education" sections of each chapter. Reviews the major theoretical, historical, and research issues of adoption: The book begins by addressing the historical and theoretical issues surrounding adoption, thus providing the reader with a comprehensive review of the adoption landscape from past to present and setting the stage for topics addressed in the remainder of the book. Reflects upon many issues affecting adoption triad members: The contributing authors address issues pertaining to transracial adoption; special issues in adoption such as foster care, single parents, and special needs; training and education issues; assessment and treatment issues; and much more. Intended Audience: This extensive resource is designed for researchers, practitioners, students and families interested in learning more about and working with adoption triad members. It will be particularly relevant in counselor education programs, departments of social work and policy, and marriage and family counseling programs which emphasize developing clinical skills with a variety of clients.

23: Voices of Adopted Youth is a powerful glimpse of adopted youth’s thoughts on how adoption has impacted their lives. Through their own voices, twenty-three youths share heartfelt and profound stories about relationships with parents and birth parents and how, ultimately, these affect their sense of identity, self-image, relationships with siblings and friends, and expectations of self and others. They acknowledge the uniqueness of adoption and emphasize the importance of knowing who they were born to and their right to explore that option. Despite experiences of confusion, anger, frustration, and sadness, these youth were all grateful to have been adopted into their families. Each youth voice authentically displays raw wisdom, insight, and passion and provides the reader with an enhanced understanding of the adoptee experience, parenting an adopted child, and parenting in general.

This exploration of the experiences of adopting parents and children offers unusual insight into adoption's complexity and its profound impact on family life. Based on the author's research in Germany, where she lived and taught, The Adopted Child has a great deal to say about child rearing and identity, as well as offering insights into similarities and differences in family life and adoption in Germany and the United States.Hoffmann-Reim takes the reader through the decision to adopt, the adoption placement procedure, and the transition from "applicant" to "mother and father." She explores differences between emotions experienced in adopting a baby, a toddler, and an older child, and how these emotions can affect relations with the world outside the nuclear family. A central concern is secrecy and disclosure with regard to the adopted child's origins.Based on case studies and extensive interviews, The Adopted Child has fascinated American readers as it did those in Germany. Professionals as well as those interested in adoption and family life in general will find it significant. Sociologists will find it solidly grounded in concepts and traditions from a diversity of related disciplines. And anyone interested in Germans and German society will find the materials revealing, and the author's interpretation insightful and wise.

A literary scholar who is an adult adoptee delves into one of the enduring themes of literature--the child raised by other parents

Based on a hugely successful US model, the Seven Core Issues in Adoption is the first conceptual framework of its kind to offer a unifying lens that was inclusive of all individuals touched by the adoption experience. The Seven Core Issues are Loss, Rejection, Shame/Guilt, Grief, Identity, Intimacy, and Mastery/Control. The book expands the model to be inclusive of adoption and all forms of permanency: adoption, foster care, kinship care, donor insemination and surrogacy. Attachment and trauma are integrated with the Seven Core Issues model to address and normalize the additional tasks individuals and families will encounter. The book views the Seven Core Issues from a range of perspectives including: multi-racial, LGBTQ, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, African-American, International, openness, search and reunion, and others. This essential guide introduces each Core Issue, its impact on individuals, offering techniques for growth and healing.

To not know your family story is a huge loss of your sense of self. It has the potential to undermine your well-being and your relationships across a lifetime. Adopted is the powerful and honest account of two of the thousands of children affected by closed adoption in New Zealand, from 1950 to the mid 1970s. Jo Willis and Brigitta Baker both sought and found their respective birth parents at different stages of their lives and have become advocates for other adopted New Zealanders. They share the complexity of that journey, the emotional challenges they faced, and the ongoing impacts of their adoptions, with candor and courage. Closed adoption also exacts a physical and emotional toll on birth parents, partners, and children. Their stories are also told in this compelling book.

A powerful and honest account based on three decades of true-life experience Award-winning The Branches We Cherish weaves together thought-provoking, joyous, and poignant reflections of four birth parents, birth grandmothers, adoptive parents, and two adopted children. In 1992, Linda and David long to have a child. They decide to adopt a baby and learn they can only do so under an open arrangement where the biological parents and the adoptive family know each other's identities, and choose to remain in contact after the adoption is finalized ... possibly for life! There are no ready answers to their many questions: What happens in the first year? Twenty years later? What does visitation between birth and adoptive families look like? Will it be awkward to raise a child with the birth parents in the picture? How do adopted children feel about this open arrangement? In the early 90's there is little guidance for long-term relationships between adoptive and birth families, so Linda and David have to learn as they go. Diving in with open hearts and open minds, they build relationships based on mutual trust, respect, deep gratitude for one another, and most importantly, unconditional love for a child. They learn just how important having the children's birth parents and families in their lives is for everyone's emotional health—including their own. Discover the challenges of open adoption and the extraordinary gratification available to all members of the adoption constellation when they are willing and able to cultivate and maintain these lifetime relationships.