Customer Reviews

Risk and Promise: a handbook for parents adopting a child from overseas

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Next June I will have been working in the adoption field for fourty years. I am a Fellow of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys. I believe this book is a MUST for anyone contemplating a foreign adoption and should be considered by anyone adopting a child, foreign or domestic. It contains critical information to be considered in accepting a placement. Too often I have seen adoptive parents make emotional decisions which they later regreted. If one has made the caring decision to adopt a special needs child and rationally evaluated the impact on the family and themselves as adoptive parents, then I encourage the adoption. However, when one is in a foreign environment, exhausted, anxious to get back home, then prospective parents can make poor decisons and rush into an unsuitable placement.

This book discusses the health hazards, what to look for in a child and provides basic information to help in evaluating the placement. Dr. Chasnoff is a champion in helping parents and children. I am very grateful for the articles he has written and the experience and wisdom he has shared with me, my collegues and adoptive parents.

I highly recommend this book. I am recommending my clients buy and read it.

The biggest positives about this book are the sections that detail health concerns and the charts in the back of the book that can help parents pin point height, weight and head circumference development.

My only complaint with this book is shared with many other adoption books and articles-there is a lot of talk about the risk and not much talk about the promise. Although it is imperitive that parents adopt with an awareness of the circumstances their children were born into, there is so much research and personal testimony that indicates children are not doomed for life to deal with serious health and mental issues. This should be brought out more in a positive light.

Overall, I would say that this is one book my husband and I will be bringing with us on our adoption trip because of the detailed health information, so I would recommend it on that basis.

Risk and Promise does a very good job of driving home the critical message that adoptive parents need to find out everything they possibly can about the medical history of their child while they are overseas, and they need to have a thorough exam completed shortly upon returning home. The chapter entitled "Easing the Transition From Orphanage to Home" is upbeat and helpful. Overall, this is a quick and worthwhile read.

This is a great book for those adopting internationally. It is compact enough to carry with you and the info is very organized and easy to read. It is a must for countries like Ukraine where you travel overseas and then select a child to visit. Highly recommended!

I thought this was a very good course. I have adopted before and took a parenting course, but this had so much more data than what I even received. I think it would be great for first time parents to learn what they can expect, and an excellent refresher course for families who are extending their already added on family.

Information provided was excellent. Very in-depth and well-rounded. Provided information on all aspects of adoption. Some of it did not apply to our situation, but the information was still helpful and gave us insight into what we would otherwise never know. It's a pretty easy read, but sometimes it was tough to read, since it doesn't mince words. You get the honest truth.

This book is good for parents who are first time parents and if they do not have a social worker to explain things in detail. It has good charts.