Customer Reviews

Black Baby White Hands: A View from the Crib

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Black Baby White Hands: A View from the Crib by Dr. Jaiya John touched my soul. It is a journey into the world of a child who was a stranger surrounded by well meaning adoptive parents who were unable to reach the depth of his heart and soul. As you read his book, you move through the depth of a range of emotions and emerge with a hope that armed with sensitivity and knowledge, there is a future for the children caught up in the system. Prior to adopting my first child 25 years ago, I read a book about the account of an adoptee. That story enabled me to prepare myself for how my children might feel being adopted. Dr. John's book is the "Transracial Adoption Bible" sorely needed in this arena. As a transracial adoptive parent, adoption worker and trainer, "Black Baby" has become required reading for those families that I work with or train who desire to parent transracially. When I train prospective aodptive parents, all of them indicate that they want the best for their children. If we look at ourselves honestly, we realize we cannot be everything to our child. Jaiya's poignant life journey compels us to shed our color-blind ideas and recognize we live in a race conscious society that will see color and react according to preconceived notions. We cannot protect our children forever; we must give them the tools to survive in this society. For those who have or are considering adopting transracially, once you read "Black Baby", you will have walked in Jaiya's shoes and you cannot help but come away enlightened and armed with the knowledge you need to do right by the children you love so much. Thank you, Jaiya, for sharing your soul. We need you in this field "It takes a whole village to raise a child."

I am a single white mother of an adopted black daughter living in a small, predominately white, southern town. As Jaiya's life journey unfolded across the pages, I heard my daughter's voice speak to me from her crib. The words I heard were my fears that keep me awake at night. By sharing his life, Jaiya brings to light the responsibility that we (as adults who have chosen a transracial family) have to embrace, respect, love and consiously integrate the culture, origin of birth and race of our children. Thank you Jaiya for courageously speaking for our children. May their lives be blessed.

Though sometimes challenging in the flow and chronology of events, Black Baby White Hands sheds light on the possible consequences of transracial adoptions to both parent and child. Even so, the redeeming factor that gives the narrative credence is the LOVE afforded the writer from his adoptive parents from the crib to the present(I think, if the relationship is ongoing). The adpotive parents taught the author how to love; hence, he could readily accept and envelope his biological family. Had he been denied unflinching love as a child, there might have been bitterness and resentment toward the biological parents for their absence in his life. The reader meets an emotional healthy person who successfully evolves from a darkness into the light of love. I better understand now why many object to transracial adoption as a viable option for African American children.

Black Baby White Hands is truly a treasure! Dr. John has so eloquently and generously shared with us his story of being African-American and raised by white parents. Through all the emotions that Dr. John experienced with such intensity due to this (seemingly) unusual family dynamic, what comes through on every page is the unyielding love that he and his family share with one another. Black Baby White Hands has become one of my favorite books. Though at times upsetting, this volume was both poetic and melodic in its telling and I am absolutely thrilled to have found a book that I've embraced so fully! Thank you Dr. John for your generosity!

I wasn't sure when I first picked up the book if it would hold my interest, but it did quite a bit more than that.I can't imagine anyone not getting something out of this book, because it touches everyone if your heart is open and beating. I gained considerable insight on transracial adoption and the plight of the child growing up without really knowing their heritage.
I would consider this book a "must read" by anyone.
The author really keeps you captivated.

As a white adoptive mother of black children I felt privileged to be invited on Jaiya John's journey and I am grateful for its experience for our children's sake. As someone who loves to read I enjoyed an eloquently written memoir that reads like an intricate novel and is a courageous and graceful testimony to the necessity of honoring life's truths. I want to thank the author for his generosity and for so beautifully illustrating that the stories of race and adoption cannot be told in a vacuum.

Dr. Jaiya John is an incredibly talented author who eloquently describes his feelings as a minority child raised in a white environment.He also conveys the importance of validation of those feelings and describes a child's struggle for self identity. There are lessons for all in this impressive testimony of struggle and fullfillment."Black Baby White Hands" has the power to change the way we perceive and validate our children.Kudos to you, Dr. John! I look forward to your next book!

Hands down, Black Baby White Hands, is the most prolific book that I've read on the topic of trans-racial adoption. Without condemning or judging, Jaiya John shares his perspective from a first hand experience. This book will challenge people on all sides of the issue to stop and consider things that they have yet to. And beyond just dealing with the central issue of trans-racial adoption, in recounting his experience, John also touches on other very serious issues. As a Black man who grew up in a small white town, I found my own story being told in parts of this work. No doubt, each reader will step away from this book taking something more than they were expecting. John conveys all of this powerful emotion with the most beautiful of prose, that reveal his poetic roots. This book should be required reading for all of the national policy makers who are currently attempting to decide the fate of our children in the system.

What an incredible book! The journey that Dr John illustrates so beautifully will benefit those of us who have chosen to create cross-cultural families. I am deeply grateful to him for his courage in pouring his heart and soul onto paper and sharing his experiences the world. Being an adoptee and an adoptive parent, I was moved by his story on many levels. The realm of adoption contains so many layers and he has addressed them all so wonderfully. I would recommend this book to those who would consider becoming parents through fostering or adoption. It is an honest portrayal, which calls one to think more deeply on the subject of race and the responsibilities of raising our children with honor and dignity. I also think that professionals within the field of child welfare should be required to read his book!

I found Jaiya John's book to be a very, very enlightening read. Beautifully written with lyrical,colorful, metaphoric descriptions of emotion, human nature, character,culture and geographic envionment. A prolific thesis on the dynamics of transracial adoption...a globally controversial issue! Having discovered his biological "roots", Dr. Jaiya soars!