The Waiting Child: How the Faith and Love of One Orphan Saved the Life of Another [Hardcover]

Cindy Champnella (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 14, 2003

The inspiring true story of a four-year-old Chinese orphan who convinces her adoptive American family to return to China to rescue the little boy she couldn’t forget

Adopted by an American family at age four, Jaclyn traveled to her new home with a great burden. Her new family had to leave behind a little boy who had been under her charge at the Chinese orphanage where Jaclyn fought the odds against abandonment, institutionalization, and hunger---not for herself, but on behalf of this even smaller child, whom she regarded as her responsibility.

Jaclyn’s saga spans oceans and cultures. The Waiting Child is an extraordinary story of human resilience in the face of profound loss and suffering---and a testament to the ability of a loving heart to prevail over great adversity. Jaclyn’s unshakable determination to bring to her new life the child she had cared for in the institution, the one she believed with all her heart was “her baby,” will change all assumptions made about the human spirit. In the end, this moving story affirms everything that is good and hopeful in life, when, after a two-year effort, the little boy is brought to this country as the adopted son of Jaclyn’s American aunt and uncle.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Advance Praise for The Waiting Child

“If this story doesn’t make your heart ache, you should see a cardiologist. Four-year-old Jaclyn’s extraordinary devotion and determination are a powerful lesson in the meaning of love.” ---Jill Smolowe, author of An Empty Lap: One Couple’s Journey to Parenthood

“The story in The Waiting Child is one of abandonment, heartbreak, longing, hope, and love. It is the reality underlying the lives of millions of older adoptees. This is a compelling and important book for any parent and anyone touched by international adoption. Heartbreaking, searingly painful, but ultimately healing and hopeful.” ---Cindy Gallaher, adoptive parent and founder and president of North Bay Adoptions

“A riveting tale of adoption that paints a picture of life in a Chinese orphanage and of older children in their new families. While this is Jaclyn’s story, it is also much more.” ---Lois Gilman, author of The Adoption Resource Book

About the Author

Cindy Champnella is very active in the adoption community and is a passionate advocate for and speaker on adoption issues. She and her family live in Farmington Hills, Michigan.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (March 14, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312309635
• ISBN-13: 978-0312309633
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #979,377 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Cindy Champnella (www.cindychampnella.com) is the author of The Waiting Child: How the Faith and Love of One Orphan Saved the Life of Another (St. Martin's Press, March 2003). She is an acclaimed speaker who has presented to numerous civic, community and religious groups all over the United States and has appeared on several TV programs including NBC's "The John Walsh Show," dozens of nationally syndicated radio programs including "The Mitch Albom Show" and "The Al Kresta Show" and the internationally syndicated "Voice of America." She has had features published in numerous publications including Ladies Home Journal and Women's Weekly is a feature writer for Adoption Today and a former guest columnist for The Detroit News. She is a keynote speaker at conferences and forums including a recent appearance at Duke University.

In July of 1999, Cindy Champnella embarked on a life-changing event with the adoption of her daughter, Jaclyn. Each day brought new stories about her life back in China and the child Jaclyn called "her baby," a young boy she cared for while at the orphanage. Champnella began to realize that her daughter had determination and courage beyond her years. "Living with Jaclyn was like living with a very short mother who has had her baby wrenched from her arms," Champnella says.

Profoundly affected by Jaclyn's relentless advocacy for another, Champnella began writing emails to friends about the pain this child held within her over the loss of "her baby." Almost overnight a network of those following the story grew, and unbeknownst to Champnella, her emails were reaching people all over the world. Soon her writings were picked up by various publications, and before long, many were clamoring for this story to be told in book form; this is what launched Cindy's writing career.

After returning from the orphanage, Champnella began to realize that her old life was over. "The Chinese have a saying: 'The journey of discovery comes not from seeing new lands, but from seeing with new eyes.' And for me this proved to be true. Suddenly everything in my world looked different," says Champnella.

Determined to change her life, Champnella discovered that her purpose in becoming a child advocate. She turned her volunteer work into her life's focus. In addition to her "day job" as Executive Director of Human Resources for Schoolcraft College, she runs support groups for adoptive families and is a volunteer fund raiser for Warm Blanket Orphan Care. She also brings inspriring messages of hopefulness, even in the darkest circumstances, to various forums.

Champnella is married with three children including two adoptees from China. She has a B.A. from Albion College, an M.A. in business and a M.A. in psychology from Central Michigan University and a PhD. in psychology.She resides in Farmington Hills, MI. All proceeds from her first book were designated for the charity, Half the Sky Foundation. This foundation, which was founded entirely by parents of Chinese adopted children, is intended to benefit children who live in Chinese orphanages. All proceeds from her new book, The Twelve Gifts of Life, are designated for Warm Blanket Orphan Care.

COMING SOON...a new book :

THE TWELVE GIFTS OF LIFE: Finding Extraordinary Meaning in Ordinary Moments
by Cindy Champnella, PhD.

Each our our lives is really a collection of stories--the totality of which has shaped who we are. Maybe what we fear most in life isn't some terrible tragedy befalling us but that our lives will be ordinaary. As Frankl discovered when he studied those who survived the horrors of Auschwitz, the distinguishing difference between those who lived and those who lost hope was a strong belief in the greater meaning of their life.

This is the premise of The Twelve Gifts of Life. It is a collection of true stories that have defined and shaped the author's life and the deeper meaning found in the context of the ordinary. Readers will be inspired by it, touched by its simple yet powerful truths, tearful at its poignancy and refreshed by the candor of its tealling.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Powerful Story, February 26, 2003

By 

"varichard" (Baltimore, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Waiting Child: How the Faith and Love of One Orphan Saved the Life of Another (Hardcover)

The Waiting Child is a wonderful book that anyone who has adopted from China or is in the process of adopting an older child must read. It chronicles the relentless campaign that Jaclyn, adopted at the age of four, launches to bring home her baby, a little boy that she took care of in her social welfare institute. As an adoptive mother with a daughter from China, I found this book to be very powerful. It helped put into prospective the experience that some of China's parentless children have while they are waiting for their forever families. The book includes a lot of information about life in an orphanage, as Jaclyn was old enough to share her memories. In addition, I was deeply moved by how resilient Jaclyn was even though she had experienced a lot of trauma and change in her short lives. While Jaclyn's story has a lot of sorrow, it is a story of great triumph, despite the fact that Jaclyn had experienced serves loss, neglect, and upheaval she prevails. The author, Cindy Champnella, is very candid and honest about some of the challenges that are involved in adopting an older child. She share how Jaclyn felt about being adopted by an American couple, and Cindy's own reservations of adopting a child who would be removed from her culture and language. Jaclyn, like so many children adopted from China, is a survivor who loves life. The Waiting Child is a powerful story.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars story of the human spirit, March 6, 2003

By 

Sarah Wu - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Waiting Child: How the Faith and Love of One Orphan Saved the Life of Another (Hardcover)

I almost don't want to write a review of The Waiting Child because I feel like I could never do the book justice. But I am writing this because I want you to read it. Simply put, this book is a story of the human spirit. In a time where we are constantly reminded of the hatred in this world, we need to hear more about people, especially children, who are motivated by love. Unbelievably, Jaclyn never gave up. Even in the face of almost impossible odds. If you have ever doubted the viability of love changing this world, you will be awed by Jaclyn.
Besides the theme of love and hope, the story of adoption is tremendous. I felt like this was an honest, powerful look at how tough but ultimately, how rewarding, adoption is for a parent and the family. The emotion is openly laid out on the page and you will not be able to forget it.
Having been to China, I can vouch for the accuracy of the description of the country. Although beautiful, many facilities are in bad repair.
Definitely a top ten book on my list.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The story of many older girls adopted from China, February 28, 2003

By 

M. G. Summers "mommygayle" (Austin, TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Waiting Child: How the Faith and Love of One Orphan Saved the Life of Another (Hardcover)

This is a story that has much in common with many older girls' tales who were adopted from China. I read this book straight through to the end. It absolutely corraborates what my daughter, adopted from China at 5, has told us. I found it to be very straight forward and unsoppy considering the content although my husband couldn't help shedding a few tears for Jaclyn's baby. My next move was to order extra copies for friends and relatives. Proceeds from the purchase of this book go to Half the Sky Foundation, an organization that gives aid to orphanages in China. I highly reccommend this true story. It even has a happy ending!