Customer Reviews

In Their Own Voices: Transracial Adoptees Tell Their Stories (vol. 4)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I really enjoyed this book and it let me see that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Becaue I am adopted in a white home and Birracial the times have been hard however, with this book I feel like I am not the only one in that kind of situation. This book has helped me discover the true me, and also helped me to realize that if I am not true to myself I am only hurting myself. I wish there were more books like this on the market, and I would recommend it to anyone who is adopted or raising a minority child in a white home.

In Their Own Voices is a well-written, powerful, honest and eye opening book about the lives of black and biracial individuals adopted into white families. For many who are for or against this type of adoption, especially in a racially divisive America, this book won't let you come to an easy conclusion about whether interracial adoption is good or bad for the adoptee or community involved. It challenges the reader to put aside his or her opinions and find the answers from listening to the stories of each individual in the book. It is about time there was a book like this. There should be more like it!

This book is important for adoptees, adoptive parents and grandparents, as well as others who are loving and parenting across racial lines. While this is not a "how to" book, it is clear from the adoptees' stories what they believe their adoptive parents did well and what they wish their adoptive parents had done differently. It stresses the difficult issues but also reflects that transracial adoption can and does work. It helps parents to understand the importance of nurturing a relationship between the adoptive family and the adoptees' ethnic communities.

In Their Own Voices is a powerfully uplifting book that address the struggles faced by persons who are interracially adopted. This "tell it like it is" book appears to be the first of its kind to address interracial adoption from the adoptees' point of view. I commend both authors for having the guts to pursue such a project and the conviction to see it through. Floyd

The book is divided into:
1) A brief section on the academic research and political arguments on transracial adoption, written by a social science researcher; and
2) Interviews with women and men, conducted by an adult transracial adoptee; all interviews are with black Americans

As a potential adoptive parent, I found the book informative, particularly in how the interviewees reconciled their identities. Some interviewees have experienced severe identity issues exacerbated by adoption, some of their stresses were similar to challenges that most black people face in the U.S., and some of the interviewees don't seem to have had race or adoption be much of a hurdle in their lives. A common recommendation that interviewees make is that white parents of black children should make sure that their children have black peers--even if those peers are also transracially adopted--and that the children will long to be connected with black culture at some point so connecting them with the culture associated with their racial background from the beginning makes the most sense.

My main criticism is that the interviewer inserts her life and interests into the discussions so much that her leading questions make you wonder what people would have said if the interviewer had been able to be more neutral. There also is not much of a discussion of how the women interviewed seem to have much more in the way of identity issues overall than do the men. Does this mean that black males have an easier time raised by white parents than do females? This contrasts with my understanding that, overall, black women have an easier time being successful in school and later in the job market than do black men, for reasons of culture and discrimination.

This book is a must for any white couple looking to adopt african american or mixed raced children. It is a wonderful complilation of interviews of adult adoptees who were raised in white parent homes. Since every family make up, values, and religious beliefs are different you get a good range of opinions and experiences through the words of the adoptees themselves. Find out what strenthened these individuals and what didn't, maybe through they're experiences you can change the future of your own child.

As a parent that adopted a child who is a miniority (not African American, but Asian) I have gained a lot of insight from an adoptee's perspective. I would recommend this book to an parent considering or currently raiaisng a child of a different race.

This is an good book and probably should be manditory for parents wanting to adopt transracially. That said, it is a tough read and not just because of content. It is much more accademically written than many other adoption books. It is denser and it is long. The interviews focus a great deal on the debate over whether or not minorities should allow white people to adopt minority children. There is much less discussion of any realistic alternatives and there is very little in the way of practical suggestions for making the lives of children who are - like it or not - transracially adopted. So, it could have been better and more practically helpful to parents, but I think perhaps the interviews are more directed at and relevant for adult transracial adoptees who can find connection and mutual understanding in them. And the fact is that if you are considering transracial adoption and you can't handle the attitude of this book, then you almost certainly won't be able to handle living with the attitudes of society about your choice. So, it should still be manditory.
-A.F.

I think this is a MUST read for anyone choosing to proceed down the path of Transracial Adoption. While it might not be what you WANT to hear, I feel strongly that it says what we NEED to hear as painful as that might be. As a white mother of a Ethiopian baby girl, I heed the words of these adoptee's very seriously.

There is only one area in which I feel the author's fell short. For example, many of the bi-racial adoptee's would say that they were not accepted by some/many people in the black community. However, I felt the authors failed to be clear on whether that rejection was based on the fact that the adoptee's were bi-racial or that they had white parents(or perhaps both)- two very different issue's as I see it- both with their own set of responsibilites.

I also wish they would have had a clear profile of each person at the beginning of each chapter. For instance, it would be nice to know up front the race of the adoptee, the race of the parents, the age of the adoptee at interview(without having to do my own story problem to find the answer)etc. I'm also interested in knowing how -if at all- the views of children adopted internationally are different than children adopted domestically.

I will say that when I read the chapter about the girl (I forget her name right now) who was so estranged from the black community because of the lack of effort her white parents put forth on her behalf to keep her tied to her roots - I wept. How utterly tragic for this young woman to be faced with such an identity crisis. We owe these children so much more than just our love and guidence. We owe them their past as well as their future.

This 392 page book begins with an informative study for and against transracial adoption by Rita Simon (the first 27 pages) and the remaining pages consist of the transcribed interviews of 24 transracially adopted men and women.

I am encouraged by the fact that the vast majority of TRAs are grateful for their adopted caucasian parents and the positive influence they made on their lives. There are very valid and insightful points about the need to be informed of the African-American culture and to encourage your trasracially adopted child to partake of it... through cultural events, books, other families, and mentoring situations.

The thread that seems to run throughout the experiences is a need to be in a mulitcultural school/community or a deep desire to do so, if they lacked that as youth, teens especially.

I am SO thankful for this book and it should be a MUST READ for anyone considering transracial adoption.