The Adoption Reunion Handbook [Paperback]

Elizabeth Trinder (Author), Julia Feast (Author), David Howe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 14, 2005

The book describes the experiences that people have had when tracing their birth parents, as well as offering practical advice on how to go about searching and what to expect emotionally. Each section has an advice box which summarizes key points, notes issues to pay particular attention to, or offers draft letters that readers can adapt for their own needs. The appendix contains useful addresses and weblinks, and includes checklists for searching and for the reunion. Chapters include reunion with birth fathers and birth siblings, as well as with birth mothers, the relationship with the adoptive family and dealing with reunions that break down.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A 'how to' guide, especially valuable if you are considering searching for birth relatives." (Practical Family History, December 2008)

"...advice-packed guide to adoption search-and-reunion...essential information and personal perspectives..." (www.adoption-net.co.uk, July 2004)

"...offers vital information..." (Sunday Express,15th August, 2004)

"...an advice packed guide...essential information and personal perspectives for every aspect of the process..." (Bath Chronicle, 27 July 2004)

"...this book is a gem...the authors have done a splendid job...will be hugely helpful..."(www.familyonwards.com, 11 August 2004)

"...4 stars...clearly written...considered and thoughtful text..."(Community Care, August 2004)

"...a user friendly how-to book..." (Eastern Daily Press, 25th August 04)

"...accessibly presented, and full of compassion and insights..." (Care and Health 14 September 2004)

"...a useful guide...one of the most important publications relating to adoption ever to be published..." (Intermix, The Newsletter - Summer 04)

"...The Adoption Reunion Handbook provides an advice-packed guide to adoption search-and-reunion..." (www.adoption-net.co.uk, 23 November 2004)

"...written in a straight-forward, enjoyable style free of jargon...as comprehensive a handbook as one could wish for..." (Adoption & Fostering, Vol 28 (4) 2004)

From the Back Cover

Many adopted people today try to find information about their origins and search for birth family members.

Based on a large-scale research study, the authors Liz Trinder, Julia Feast and David Howe have drawn on the real-life experience of adopted people who have searched for, and had a reunion with, birth relatives. The Adoption Reunion Handbook combines comprehensive and practical step-by-step guidance and advice on:

• how to begin
• what to expect emotionally
• the legal framework
• finding names and addresses
• how to set up a reunion
• making the reunion work long term
• rejection and reunion breakdown
• further help and advice.

This 'how to' guide is essential for everyone involved, particularly those considering searching for information on their birth relatives. It will also be of use to birth parents, adoptive parents, adoption charities, social workers, psychologists and counsellors.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 174 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 14, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470094222
• ISBN-13: 978-0470094228
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,740,786 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perhaps there are better, but this book fills its role well, March 22, 2009

By 

Jessica Weissman "poet and computer programmer" (Silver Spring, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Adoption Reunion Handbook (Paperback)

The excessively negative review needs a counterpoint. This book does what it sets out to do, which is not to represent the point of view of anybody but the adopted person.

Other books may have more equal time and should be read, too, but this one has valuable information and stories and helps one prepare.

5.0 out of 5 stars My go-to reference!, December 10, 2011

By 

Katie DeCosse (Minneapolis, MN United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Adoption Reunion Handbook (Paperback)

I found this to be the most useful book for me as I travel through reunion. It has answered so many questions for me as the adoptee, as to what to expect and understand about all the different people who might be touched when a reunion takes place. I have read many books about reunion and still find this to be the one that answers my questions the best.

9 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Skip this book, there are better, March 16, 2008

By 

Changing River - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Adoption Reunion Handbook (Paperback)

I have read many books about adoption and reunion. This books is written from the adopted person's perspective, which is great, but it sacrifices true sensitivity to others in the triad - the birth mother, birth father and adoptive parents. The first person accounts are often awkward and forced and are not smoothly integrated. Also, the book was written in Great Britain, so the frequent uses of 'keen' and 'brilliant' and other language specific to Great Britain are a little jarring. I have asked our library to remove it from the shelves, as a few comments in the book show a deep lack of sensitivity to the birth parents and I would hate to have a searching adopted person pick up on these thoughtless assumptions.

There are much better reunion books, such as 'Searching for a Past: The Adopted Adult's Unique Process of Finding Identity' by Jayne Schooler, or 'Adoption Reunion Survival Guide: Preparing Yourself for the Search, Reunion and Beyond' by Julie Farrell Bailey and Lynn N. Giddens. Also, the excellent 'The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade' by Ann Fessler will give anyone looking into the issues of adoption a sensitive perspective from the birth mother's point of view. [...]