Hola: An Adoption Adventure [Paperback]

Shaina Maidel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 17, 2005

Hola: An Adoption Adventure is a chronicle of one woman's adventures as she struggles with fear while trying to adopt her infant daughter in a politically stressed third world country. Ultimately, Shaina finds that blind courage and faith are her best tools for survival. Hola is replete with information about the adoption process and it's possible pitfalls. It offers a picture of Honduras physically, culturally and politically. At the age of forty-two Shaina, a single, politically naive Jewish woman, decides she would like to raise a child. She begins her search for a healthy infant with a public adoption agency, is recommended to a private religious agency and eventually finds herself exploring "foreign" adoptions. Her quest leads her into Honduras and a Kafkaesque series of events guaranteed to keep the pages turning. Hola includes an illegal lawyer wanted by his government, a kidnapping attempt, a non-supportive adoption agency and a certain amount of the author's own paranoia. It's filled with action, adventure, suspense, some fantasy and comes complete with a happy ending. This is a true story.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Shaina Maidel was born and raised in the clamor and clutter of New York City, attended a pristine college in up-state New York and spent the next several years tasting the flavor of various spots on the U.S. map. She finally settled in a typical mid-west town where she resides today. Shaina believes each person has a life defining moment. For Shaina, Hannah's adoption was such a moment. It coalesced her past, centered her present and led her into an un-imagined, exciting and fulfilling future. Shaina spent many years as a teacher of pre-school children, many more as a teacher of public school children and an added number of years as a social worker in the public schools. Hannah's adoption forced her into an early retirement to begin her fourth and most challenging career - that of parent. Parenting, she says, has helped her define who she is and how she wants to be in the world. It has given her the joy of guiding a young person through the shoals of childhood ills, into the muddy waters of youthful peer problems, through the raging of teen torments; all the while watching Hannah blossom into the beautiful young woman she's become.

Product Details

• Paperback: 228 pages
• Publisher: AuthorHouse (August 17, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1420844687
• ISBN-13: 978-1420844689
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,611,716 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Not So Good, December 2, 2010

By 

Elena - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Hola: An Adoption Adventure (Paperback)

I was interested in this book because I am Honduran. But I found that the author did not give an accurate picture of the country. She was completely unprepared to make the trip, didn't know any Spanish, and was constantly on edge. Her goal was to adopt a child and go back to the United States and live happily ever after. She wrote the book as if going to Honduras was a horror story, and her style of writing was painstakingly bad. I would not recommend this book to anyone who wants to visit Honduras or is interested in adopting a child from Honduras because you will get a really ignorant picture of how the country is. Don't waste your time or money on this book, it's just not worth it.