Gift Children [Hardcover]

J. Douglas Bates (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 24, 1993

An intimate portrait of race relations in America as seen through the eyes of a white couple and their two adopted black daughters explores the joys and pains of an interracial family. Tour.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This tender memoir about the trials and triumphs that follow an interracial adoption, written by the white father of two adopted black daughters, has much to teach a society wracked with racial tension. In 1970, Bates and his wife Gloria, a Eugene, Ore., couple with two sons, adopted Lynn, a four-year-old black girl, and, two years later, Liska, another black girl. While most members of their extended family came to love the girls, Bates does not flinch from revealing the racism displayed by certain relatives, neighbors, schoolmates and other individuals of both races in their city. Bates ( The Pulitzer Prize ), a former editor for the Seattle Times , writes with directness and candor about the difficulties faced by all members of the family. Their struggles demonstrate that in a family love may overcome racism, but that color remains a dividing issue in our society. Author tour.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Gloria and Douglas Bates, both white, adopted two black girls in the early 1970s as sisters to their two sons. This is the biography/history of the family's time spent on the West Coast, where they attempted to deal with the sociological and psychological problems this arrangement created. Bates, a former newspaper editor and author of The Pulitzer Prize ( LJ 7/91), tells of his attempts to instill black pride in his adopted daughters within their white Oregon environment. He also recounts how the Bates boys bonded with and defended their adopted sisters on matters of race, and why the National Association of Black Social Workers did not approve of this transracial adoption. Readers will learn the coping strategies of a biracial family and the associated joys, latent (and not-so-latent) racism, and a society that just doesn't get it. Expect to be upset, frustrated, relieved, and entertained by this biography of unresolved race relations. For most collections.
- Scott Johnson, Meridian Community Coll. Lib., Miss.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 270 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin; First Edition edition (May 24, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395633141
• ISBN-13: 978-0395633144
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,588,205 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars must read for those adopting older kids, April 11, 2006

By 

Shaun Oconnor (Beaverton, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gift Children (Hardcover)

I first read this in 1994 and was very pleased to stumble upon it again as I am now in the process of adopting an older child. The Bates family adopts two black girls in the 70's, after having two sons biologically. This book is a chronicle of their journey as a family and the issues that crop up along the way.

They deal with their families' reactions, racism in almost all-white Eugene, Oregon, and the ever-present doubts of their daughters. Do the Bates REALLY love them? Why did they adopt them and not some white kids?

For white people considering adopting non-white children and raising them in all-white towns, I really recommend you read this. The Bates come to the conclusion that placing non-white children with whites is probably not the best choice, but it sure can be made easier by living in a community with non-whites for classmates, teachers, etc. But they do advocate for all children having forever homes. If the state cannot find parents of the same race, then by all means, finding a home with parents of any color is the main priority.

This book also does a great job of showing how children adopted after infancy will have issues surrounding loss, trauma and abandonment. The author admits that post-adoption counseling would most likely have benefitted their family.

The tone of the book is overall upbeat. The family weathers issues that famlies of all colors tackle, but they come out with a positive attitude and no regrets on their decision to adopt trans-racially.