The Russian Word for Snow : A True Story of Adoption [Hardcover]

Janis Cooke Newman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 20, 2001

Janis Cooke Newman first saw the baby who would become her son on a videotape. He was 10 months old and naked, lying on a metal changing table while a woman in a white lab coat and a babushka tried to make him smile for the camera.

Four months later, the Newmans traveled to Moscow to get their son. Russia was facing its first democratic election, and the front-runner was an anti-American Communist who they feared would block adoptions.

For nearly a month, the Newmans spent every day at the orphanage with the child they'd named Alex, waiting for his adoption to be approved. As Russia struggled with internal conflict, the metro line they used was bombed, and another night, the man who was to sign their papers was injured in a car-bombing.

Finally, when the Newmans had begun to consider kidnapping, their adoption coordinator, through the fog of a hangover, made the call: Alex was theirs.

Written with a keen sense of humor, The Russian Word for Snow is a clear-eyed look at the experience of making a family through adoption.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Newman, following her mother's death from breast cancer, experienced a change of heart about her long-held determination to remain childless. She and her husband, both in their 40s, embarked on fertilization treatments until they discovered an agency that arranges the adoption of foreign children. Once they saw videotape of a dark-eyed little Russian boy, they were determined that he was their son and began a six-month process of international adoption. The couple traveled to Russia just before the nation's first democratic election and witnessed the uncertainties of life there, and the ebb and flow of anti-American sentiment. Fearful that political turmoil could derail their adoption, Newman and her husband desperately sought to achieve a balance between pressuring and cajoling their intermediaries. In this first-person account, Newman conveys the emotional roller coaster of dealing with the ponderous adoption bureaucracy--bribes expected and gifts required--before securing the release of their son, Alex, whose original name was the Russian word for snow. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"A nail-biting adoption saga with a happy ending."-People Magazine

"The Russian Word for Snow is about the alchemy of desire, courage, grace; about the buried secrets of a foreign land; about a little boy in a Russian crib who tangles his fingers in his new mother's hair. Their story is compelling. It is poetry. It is true. It held me transfixed as I read." -Beth Kephart, author of the 1998 National Book Award finalist A Slant of Sun

"The couple's fight to bring Alex home after months of dashed hopes and bureaucratic snafus vividly illustrates the perils of foreign adoption."--People Magazine

"Newman's story, told with understated grace, reminds us that parenthood is an internal journey not measurable by blood or footsteps; that life with a child is a daily opportunity for mutual redemption in moments both unique and fleeting." --Kate Moses, Salon.com columnist and co-editor of Mothers Who Think

"On one level, this is one woman's story of going to Russia to adopt a little boy and experiencing the wrenching, exuberant passions of falling love with a child. On another level, it's every mother's story--our doubts and our fears about what kind of mother we will make. The writing is compelling, and straight from the heart." --Adair Lara, San Francisco Chronicle columnist and author of Hold Me Close, Let Me Go

"Beautifully written, intimately portrayed, it's an extraordinary tale of the power of a mother's love." --Karin Evans, author of The Lost Daughters of China

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; First Edition edition (March 20, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312252145
• ISBN-13: 978-0312252144
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,818,277 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Writer + Bitter Woman = Disservice to Adoption, May 2, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Russian Word for Snow : A True Story of Adoption (Hardcover)

As an adoptive father of a Russian boy, I had mixed feelings about this book. Ms. Newman has a wonderful way of painting scenes with words; some of those scenes truly touched me and brought back memories of my wife's and my own adoption experience.

However, if you're looking for a "how to" book on Russian adoption, or even a reason to support same, don't look here. Ms. Newman's lack of homework, her obvious disdain for Russia and its people, and her eagerness to leave the country left a very bitter taste in my mouth.

I was horrified to see the crass way in which she refers to the many people she met on her journey. I almost wonder why she bothered to write the book. My 3-star rating = 4 for her writing style, - 1 for the disservice her book (and the attention it has received) does to Russian adoption.

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not a typical adoption story, May 22, 2001

By 

Anne D. Harman (Wheeling, WV United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Russian Word for Snow : A True Story of Adoption (Hardcover)

As a single adoptive mother of a baby girl from Russia I found the author's experience in stark contrast to my own in Russia in the spring of 2000. What the book jacket promised as a story "told with humor and grace" in actuality read like a bitter, close-minded story of two people who weren't open to the experience of their son's homeland and the different and interesting ways of its people. There was only sarcastic humor, based on cultural differences that the author seemed uninterested in tolerating or understanding. There is always grace in the making of a family, but precious little of it in this book. Do not rely on this book to be a guide on Russian adoption. Ms. Newman's experience is not at all common to what I and my adoptive parent friends encountered. Enjoy the book for its vibrant descriptions and for the story of this particular family that had to endure difficulty to find each other. Affiliate yourself with a reputable agency and proceed on a happy and open-minded journey to bring home your child.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I commend the author for being honest..., August 23, 2002

By 

Locococo (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Russian Word for Snow: A True Story of Adoption (Paperback)

but I can't say that I learned too much from this book other than how not to proceed with an international adoption. She seemed to have approached the adoption from a purely emotional standpoint, with very little objectivity. She and her husband were the worst guests in a foreign country that I've read about in awhile, and I truly hope that their son is not suffering the effects of his parents' self-centeredness.

All of that said, I give this book three stars for its great writing style; it really was a good read. Also, this is one of the only books on the market dealing specifically with Russian adoption, and I appreciate the author's attempt to fill some of that void. If you are interested in reading one of the best books I've read on contemporary Russia, post-Soviet era, read The Fire Escape is Locked for Your Safety by Molly Baier. It's an American lawyer's account of her trip across Russia, from the Ukraine to Vladivostok, and includes some hilarious interviews with different Russians.