Is Adoption for You: The Information You Need to Make the Right Choice [Paperback]

Christine Adamec (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 11, 1998

"Adoption is the right option for many more types of parents and children than we imagined a few decades ago. However, it is not the right choice for everyone. Is Adoption for You? is a guide to thinking through the issues."--from the Foreword by Jerri Ann Jenista, M.D.

Would adopting a child be a good choice for you? Would you want to adopt an infant or an older child? What about a child from another country? A child of another race? Would you be willing to adopt a child with medical problems? Could you agree to involvement and openness with the birthmother? Would you be better off working with an agency or an attorney? Do you have to be married? How much does it really cost?

Before you decide, make sure you have all the facts. In this warm, straightforward new book, adoption expert--and adoptive parent--Christine Adamec gives you the information you need to make this important decision. From financial considerations to the myriad emotional issues involved, there are numerous questions to explore. Adamec's expert guidance, drawn from personal stories, clinical studies, and academic research, helps you find the answers that are right for you.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

With her Encyclopedia of Adoption (1991) and related works, Adamec has made writing about adoption a cottage industry. Her readable, well-researched new book doesn't assume the reader is intent on adoption; instead, it provides prospective adoptive parents with the information and inspiration for deciding whether to adopt. Adamec poses questions to consider when assessing oneself, one's family, spouse, attorneys, and pediatricians, so that the readers become their own advocates. She discusses transracial and international adoption, single-parent adoption, infertility, and--unusually evenhandedly--the option of remaining childless. Unlike many books on adoption, Adamec's neither gushes about nor warns against it, and it offers practical checklists, articulate reviews of pertinent research, two dense appendixes, and much more. Moreover, her sensitive and realistic understanding of children and their needs and her fascinating critique of the concept of bonding are reasons enough for anyone, whether currently seeking to adopt or not, to use the book as a reference and guide. Jennie Ver Steeg

From the Publisher

This essential resource for anyone considering adoption answers a host of the complex questions asked by potential parents. What are the issues concerning adopting a child of a different race? How is adoptive parenting different from parenting a biological child? What are the implications of adopting an older child or a child with a disability? Christine Adamec, an adoptive mother and nationally recognized adoption expert, answers these questions and more.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 11, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471183121
• ISBN-13: 978-0471183129
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #399,746 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Adoption for Beginners, February 22, 2000

By 

cbgalagher - See all my reviews

This review is from: Is Adoption for You: The Information You Need to Make the Right Choice (Paperback)

I thought this book gave lots of good information showing the pros and cons of adoption. If your thinking about adoption, this is the book for you. The author goes over lots of the myths and misconceptions about adoption. She also gives good resources for getting started. A must read!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A helpful "prequel" if you're unsure about adopting, November 25, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Is Adoption for You: The Information You Need to Make the Right Choice (Paperback)

Most how-to books on adoption offer information and advice on how to adopt babies or older kids, assuming that readers already KNOW that they want to adopt.

But what if you're not really sure? After all, if you're not sure you want to adopt, buying a how-to-adopt book is like a person who's unsure about marriage buying a book on planning their wedding.

Is Adoption For You is a sort of "prequel," written in a friendly and helpful manner that guides you along the way, with advice on how to consider the issues involved, as well as self-tests and insightful information on adoption and adopted kids. For example, is genetics important to you? If you must have a child who looks like you, adoption won't work for you. Are you a clean freak? Children make lots of messes. It's also important to consider what your spouse or partner thinks about adoption too, one of the many key issues covered in this extremely helpful and practical book.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful, practical and non-dogmatic advice, September 5, 2003

By 

Gisela Gasper Fitzgerald (West Lafayette, Indiana, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Is Adoption for You: The Information You Need to Make the Right Choice (Paperback)

When I first read the title of this book I immediately thought: Who, other than my heart, can tell me whether adoption is for me? But the author asks enough questions and brings up enough issues that I see the importance of considering all these points before proceeding. This book pulled the mirror up to my face even about our own adoption 34 years ago! Fortunately, the answer is still yes, it was for us, only I didn't think about all the things the author brings up, such as ten adoption myths which are important to clear up before considering adoption. (I thought about none of them 34 years ago and dove right into adoption!) I'm glad the author mentioned the myth that adopted kids don't attach to adoptive parents. I can assure you that our daughter, adopted at age 4 days in 1969, is deeply attached to us. She has met her birthmother at age 28, and there is no doubt that her attachment to us, her adoptive parents, is unshakable.
I especially like the author's neutrality about open or confidential adoptions. She cautions the prospective adoptive parents to become as informed about the practice of openness or confidentiality as possible and only to choose one or the other after careful consideration of what they feel is right for them, not for what is pushed by anyone.
Gisela Gasper Fitzgerald, author of ADOPTION: An Open, Semi-Open or Closed Practice?