"A brave and honest account that would be a wonderful resource not only for couples that are considering adopting children, but also their friends and family members to help them to understand their emotional roller coaster." - Adrian Jones
" A refreshing and honest account of the up's and down's of adoption. Very thought provoking. It is unusual to read a book where the husband and wife separately retell their story of why and how they came to the the courageous decision to adopt. I have read various adoption books about the process so found it very refreshing to hear it from a different perspective. I particularly enjoyed hearing the Nan's viewpoint " - Lisa
This book is a must-read for anyone considering adoption, and their friends and family.
It's the real life story of Jane and David adopting two related children. It takes you on their journey from trying IVF, to the agony of infertility and endometriosis. It takes you through their whole adoption journey in detail, which is helpful for those who'd like an insight into what it's actually like preparing to adopt children.
It's an heartfelt account, describing the whirlwind of emotions and the toll it took on them as parents. It gives you the truth about what social workers expect of you, what can go wrong when trying to adopt, and how to parent an adopted child.
Overall it's a story of positivity, inspiration, and the joy adoption can bring. Written from the separate viewpoints of a Mum, Dad, Grandmother, and also the children-it will give you a rare insight into the experiences of the whole family...which is useful to show to those people, so they can understand what you will be going through. Most adoption books are written from only the women's point of view, so it is really useful to show David's chapters to Men trying to adopt.
Authentic and easy to read, their journey shows what it's really like preparing to be approved by the Adoption Panel, being 'matched' with a child, 'Introductions', and getting the Adoption Order to legally adopt your child in the UK.
The book also includes case studies of other families who adopted. Some adopted due to infertility...others were single women with a strong urge to have children.
Adopting a baby or child for life is not a quick or easy endeavour-but it can be enormously rewarding.This adoption book helps you realise that you are not alone.
Extract
We had a few days to prepare-we had to buy a cot, tell the family, squeal and dance around the lounge.
We started visiting the foster carers house and taking Summer out to the park. Then they brought her over to our house for a visit, and eventually, she stayed overnight. After two weeks we were all exhausted from the travel and emotion. We also hadn't been told that her routine was getting up at 4 a.m. every day.
She didn't sleep very well, and of course, it was very stressful on her as this was her second big move, and the first she could remember. Her foster family were her family, so she was confused and upset.
The foster family had looked after her for ten months and really struggled to let go emotionally. Had they been younger, they would have no doubt adopted Summer themselves.
We were still involved with the social workers-she would visit every few days to check we were doing okay. It was no doubt to help us, and they did give us some good advice, but it felt like an intrusion and an added pressure to demonstrate we were "coping". We got the hang of the logistics, but Summer cried a lot and continued sleeping poorly. We started going to toddler groups and everyone assumed I'd given birth. Summer attached to me really quickly but rejected David. He chatted to one of the other adopting Dads, who suggested David could...
