In Their Siblings' Voices: White Non-Adopted Siblings Talk About Their Experiences Being Raised with Black and Biracial Brothers and Sisters [Hardcover]

Rita J. Simon (Author), Rhonda M. Roorda (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 023114850X | ISBN-13: 978-0231148504 | Publication Date: May 13, 2009

In Their Siblings' Voices shares the stories of twenty white non-adopted siblings who grew up with black or biracial brothers and sisters in the late 1960s and 1970s. Belonging to the same families profiled in Rita J. Simon and Rhonda M. Roorda's In Their Own Voices: Transracial Adoptees Tell Their Stories and In Their Parents' Voices: Reflections on Raising Transracial Adoptees, these siblings offer their perspectives on the multiracial adoption experience, which, for them, played out against the backdrop of two tumultuous, politically charged decades. Simon and Roorda question whether professionals and adoption agencies adequately trained these children in the challenges presented by blended families, and they ask if, after more than thirty years, race still matters. Few books cover both the academic and the human dimensions of this issue. In Their Siblings' Voices helps readers fully grasp the dynamic of living in a multiracial household and its effect on friends, school, and community.

(10/1/09)

Editorial Reviews

Review

In Their Siblings' Voices can guide any parent's education on transracial adoption.

(Adoptive Families )

this is an important book that fills a gap in the adoption literature by providing the voices and experiences of a rarely heard contingent.

(Choice )

(E)xtremely innovative work

(Yvonne P. Haynes Families in Society Online )

Review

This volume is the capstone in a landmark trilogy. There is no other work like it. It is historic, important, and provocative, with many findings that will be the primary source for scholars, as well as anyone interested in this complex subject, for generations to come.

(Frank Wu, former dean, Wayne State University Law School Vol. 91, no. 0)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: Columbia University Press (May 13, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 023114850X
• ISBN-13: 978-0231148504
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,354,099 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Color-conscious, not color-blind, June 10, 2009

By 

John Raible (Lincoln, NE USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In Their Siblings' Voices: White Non-Adopted Siblings Talk About Their Experiences Being Raised with Black and Biracial Brothers and Sisters (Paperback)

I must admit that I was more than a bit skeptical when I first learned that a transracial adoptee (Rhonda Roorda) had co-authored a book (In Their Own Voices) with one of the most well-known and influential transracial adoption researchers out there (Professor Rita Simon). I was skeptical because anyone who has read Dr. Simon's work knows that she is avowedly in favor of the controversial social practice. Before I'd read their first book, then, I wondered if Ms. Roorda herself was pro-transracial adoption, and whether she downplayed race as many transracial adoption researchers tend to do. I was curious, too, to see whether Roorda, as an adult adoptee, would be too lenient in addressing white adoptive parents.

Then when I read the first book, and later, after I had the privilege of meeting Rhonda when we both were invited to address a gathering of adoptive parents, I became convinced that hers was a valid perspective on a complex social phenomenon. It was clear to me that Roorda's perspective could benefit adoptive parents, and therefore needed to be heard (and read) widely. In her writing, as well as in her presentations, Rhonda holds adoptive parents accountable for paying attention to race and racism, insisting that trying to parent following a utopian "color-blind" fantasy puts transracial adoptees in peril, in childhood and into adulthood.

Now, with the publication of the third book (In Their Siblings' Voices) in their trilogy, I am very pleased to witness the continuing development of the authors' perspectives. The third book is clearly Rhonda's; that is, her own adult adoptee voice shines through brilliantly and confidently, as one that passionately yet optimistically attempts to shift the conversation about transracial adoption.

As a reader, delving into the narratives of the white siblings of black adoptees makes for an enlightening experience. As someone who also interviewed white adults who grew up with brothers and sisters adopted from other races and cultures, I can say that the narratives collected here similarly detail the many sides of the transracial adoption experiment. Thankfully, here we are not merely subjected to yet another parental perspective, but rather we get to enjoy reading more balanced insights from individuals whose parents made the decision for them to be thrust into the experiment. As a wonderful contribution to the growing literature on transracial adoption, therefore, I highly recommend this book.
~Dr. John Raible,
transracial adoptee and adoptive parent

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful, Unique, Deep and Important!, April 12, 2010

By 

J. Roorda "Happy One" (Ashland OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In Their Siblings' Voices: White Non-Adopted Siblings Talk About Their Experiences Being Raised with Black and Biracial Brothers and Sisters (Paperback)

As the second in a trilogy, this book is a must read. Not only because it so perfectly follows questions left by the first book, but because, in itself, it is a deeply revealing work filled with unique perspectives that give such important insight into the lives of trans-racial adoptees as seen through their siblings' experiences and how they relate their stories. I came away from this book with a transformed perspective and a more thorough understanding of the challenges and gifts revealed in and through the lives of these individuals, and how that translates to and informs so many of our lives and circumstances.
This is such an important work. Thanks to Rhonda and Rita for your dedication and diligence in getting this, and the others in the trilogy, out to the world. Fantastic work!

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My experiences with Rhonda, November 23, 2009

By 

Ame Ai "Ame" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Their Siblings' Voices: White Non-Adopted Siblings Talk About Their Experiences Being Raised with Black and Biracial Brothers and Sisters (Hardcover)

Rhonda has so much experience interviewing others, but one time I interviewed her. It was so nice to talk to her. I was going through some difficult times that had to do with being a transracial adoptee myself and she, more than anyone else, helped me through it with her kind and understanding words. I was so impressed with her earlier books in the trilogy and was so excited to hear that she would be the first author to delve as deeply into the lives of non-adopted siblings as she did with her other books in the lives of those connected to adoption. I congratulate her for being the first and for having the vision.