The International Adoption Handbook: How to Make Foreign Adoption Work for You [Paperback]

Myra Alperson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 1997

Foreign adoption is an often tricky, sometimes treacherous venture that is steadily gaining in popularity. Myra Alperson realizes that families pursuing this avenue of adoption need all the help they can get-and she fits it all into this handy guide.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

With generous doses of bureaucracy and paperwork, the international adoption process exacerbates the trepidation that accompanies any adoption. Alperson covers all aspects of the international adoption experience, from "Making the Choice" to "Answering Your Child's Questions about Being Adopted," as the first and last chapter titles state. A single mother, she herself adopted a Chinese-born girl "in 1996 after a long process that . . . began sometime in the late 1980s," and her advice and counsel are heartfelt, simply stated, and specific; for example, her enjoinder at one point to "request two copies of the I-600A [an Immigration and Naturalization Service form], just in case" --the kind of detail that can come as a godsend to harried international adopters. A generous appendix includes an annotated directory of adoption organizations and an annotated bibliography. Mike Tribby

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks (April 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805045791
• ISBN-13: 978-0805045796
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,259,123 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If your even considering -- This will help!, September 30, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The International Adoption Handbook: How to Make Foreign Adoption Work for You (Paperback)

This is an excellent book. If you're only THINKING about International Adoption, this is a must. Even just for the resource chapter. There is so much information, and so many wonderful tips. Adoption is no easy process. I've found it handy to highlight really good stuff and pass on to family members so they know what they're in for! Good luck.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Casualty of an ever-changing world, September 5, 2003

By 

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

This review is from: The International Adoption Handbook: How to Make Foreign Adoption Work for You (Paperback)

This book is one of the many casualties of the Web where ever changing country guidelines can be found with a click of the mouse. In Alperson's defense, a print publication of this nature is by definition static and outdated before it even hits the market. Still, this book makes for good reading and provides good advice. It is definitely worth reading, but double check the figures and requirements on the Web and elsewhere.

Gisela Gasper Fitzgerald, author of ADOPTION: An Open, Semi-Open or Closed Practice?

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Outdated - But Useful for the Basics, February 11, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The International Adoption Handbook: How to Make Foreign Adoption Work for You (Paperback)

I took this book out of the library, and boy was I glad I didn't buy it before getting a good look at it! The information is woefully outdated (ie: Alperson claims that filing the all-important INS I-600A form costs only $168 - it now costs $405! She doesn't even acknowledge that all the important INS forms are now easily downloaded off the IRS website with concise instructions - a lifesaver!). While her basic information is good, there is nothing here that you can't find online. Our exhaustive pre-adoption research found that the most reliable and up-to-date info is on the web - ever-changing country guidelines, INS procedures and politics place the international adoption process in a constant state of flux. There is no way a print publication can possibly keep up with the changes. Since there is such an emotional toll with adoption, I feel that it is best to seek out only the most current info - that way you won't get your hopes up based on outdated material. Also, by using the web, you can read the stories of individual families and contact them directly to learn first-hand of their adoption experiences. I really learned how to negotiate the process from families who had recently completed adoptions in the country we had selected. They gave me the real inside information, and even helped us to choose the agency that was right for us. If I had gone on Alperson's circa 1997 advice, I would have taken many wrong turns.

While Alperson's book contains some good, solid info on the aspects of international adoption that are constants - save yourself the money and avoid being confused by old data by checking out the web. If you are intent on having a "hard copy" of adoption information, be aware that this book contains serious misinformation regarding country regulations and INS procedures that may set you back.