The Joy of Adoption (A Book Review)

 A few months ago, I received an email requesting that I complete a book review for Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Joy of Adoption.  Since we were in Poland at the time the book arrived at our home, I did not read it until recently and am just getting to write down my thoughts.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Joy of Adoption by Amy Newmark and LeAnn Thieman is a collection of short stories about various adoptive families and is an updated version of Chicken Soup for the Adoptive Soul. It has a little over one-hundred accounts of adoptees, moms, and dads whose lives were forever changed by adoption.  Some traveled across the ocean and others stayed close to home: the pieces that put together the puzzle of these families is different, but they each tell of story of hope after the hardship that brought them together.

Included in the stories that caught my attention are those babies who were rescued from Vietnam in 1975 in what is known as Operation Babylift.  In just a few short weeks, it is estimated that 3,000 children were flown to safety in various countries, including the United States. Though the time in history as well as the operation itself was full of controversy, this book allows you a glimpse into the lives of those who were involved.

I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in adoption and enjoys an easy-to-read book.  Five minutes will allow the average reader to complete a chapter and put it down until there is time to come back to it. This is not an instruction manual for dealing with the challenges of the adoption process or adoption itself.  Rather, its pages allow us a chance to peek into the stories that brought others together as a family and is encouragement for all those in the adoptive community.

Three Months Later

Three months ago today, a little girl said goodbye to the family who had cared for her for the previous twenty months and got into a van to start life with people she had met only two days earlier.  As much as is possible for a three year old, she had been prepared for being adopted, but there was still much about the changes that were taking place that she did not fully grasp.  There were no tears when she left: she was excited to be going on this new adventure, but that only lasted for a few hours when reality set in and grieving began.

All the struggles are not behind us yet, but they are markedly better than they were three months ago.  The adjustment of a new family member has been easy and natural for some of us but difficult and not at all natural for others. Still, every day we are becoming more of this unit we call "family".

Gotcha Day

playing in puddles after a recent rainstorm