I don’t know how you are, but when I was in the middle of my search, I could not read enough. I wanted to hear everyone’s stories, both good and bad. Perhaps it was because I was trying to mentally prepare myself for whatever would come.
I had the fortune to meet several “famous” adoptee’s and hear their stories, and was really excited when I found that some of them were already published.
I’d love to share my story in a more detailed manner by publishing my own book some day but for now I am just as content reading.
These are some books I completely recommend to anyone in the triad:
May The Circle Be Unbroken: An Intimate Journey Into the Heart of Adoption By Lynn C Franklin (Birth Mother)
After the Morning Calm: Reflections of Korean Adoptees by Hei Sook Park Wilkinson (Adoptee)
A Man and His Mother : An Adopted Son’s Search by Tim Green (Adoptee)
Gathering the Missing Pieces of An Adopted Life by Kay Moore (Adoptee)
The Missing Piece, by Lee Ezell (Birth Mother)
Being Adopted : The Lifelong Search for Self by David M. Brodzinsky (Adoptee)
Birthbond : Reunions Between Birthparents and Adoptees – What Happens After by Judith S. Gediman
Follow Your Heart by Lori Paris
She Called Me Dad, by Joseph Tosini, (Birth Father)
I Have Roots and Branches: Personal Reflections on Adoption by Flory G. Herman
Outer Search, Inner Journey; An Orphan and Adoptee’s Quest by Peter Dodds
Adoption Healing…a Path to Recovery by Joseph M. Soll (Adoptee)
Journey of the Adopted Self: A Quest for Wholeness(Reprint) by Betty Jean Lifton (Adoptee)
Open Adoption by Ann Kiemel Anderson (Adoptive Mother)
Dear Birthmother by Kathleen Silber and Phylis Speedlin
Birthparent Grief by Brenda Romanchik
Excellent Children’s Books On Adoption
I Love You Like Crazy Cakes by Rose Lewis
Based on the author’s own experience this heartfelt story follows a woman on her journey to adopt a baby from China.
Nikolai, The Only Bear by Barbara Joosse
The White Swan Express: A Story About Adoption by Jean Davies Okimoto
“In China, the moon shines on four baby girls fast asleep in an orphanage. Far away in North America, the sun rises over four homes as the people inside get ready to start a long, exciting journey. With tenderness and humor, this lyrical story tells how they are all brought together, and how they become four happy families on one very special day.”
My Mei Mei by Ed Young
More than anything else in the world, Antonia wants a Mei Mei, little sister, to call her own. But when she and her mother and father fly all the way to China to get her little sister and Antonia finally meets her, she is not at all like Antonia imagined her: She can’t walk. She can’t talk. She just cries and steals attention. But is her Mei Mei all that bad? This charming personal story from Ed Young follows a little girl as she learns what being a big sister is all about, and discovers the real meaning of family.
Our Twitchy by Kes Gray and Mary McQuillan
“Pop,” said Twitchy, “why don’t you and Mom hop like I do?”
Twitchy and his parents live in a burrow and munch on carrots, just like any bunny family. But when Twitchy wonders why he doesn’t look like his parents, the answer surprises him. How can the three of them truly be a family if they’re not really the same? With lots of love (and plenty of carrots) Twitchy’s parents show him that they are indeed a family after all. This sweet, funny adoption story will appeal to children and parents alike.
Over the Moon : An Adoption Story by Karen Katz
“Forever and always we will be your mommy and daddy. Forever and always you will be our child.” The birth mother is gently described as another lady in whose tummy “you grew like a flower,” but who “wasn’t able to take care of you, so Mommy and Daddy came to adopt you and bring you home.”
The Day We Met You by Phoebe Koehler
The Day We Met You explores a couple lovingly preparing their home for an adopted baby. “Adopted children love to hear their homecoming stories over and over, and this is a perfect book to encourage such retellings.”
Did My First Mother Love Me? : A Story for an Adopted Child With a Special Section for Adoptive Parents, by Kathryn Ann Miller.
Morgan’s adoptive mother reassures her that she is loved by reading a letter written by her birthmother. Includes a section: “Talking with your child about adoption.”
Tell Me Again : About the Night I Was Born by Jamie Lee Curtis
Why Was I Adopted? By Carole Livingston
Through Moon and Stars and Night Skies by Ann Turner
A boy who came from far away to be adopted by a couple in this country remembers how unfamiliar and frightening some of the things were in his new home, before he accepted the love to be found there.
Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
A beautiful story of a fostering/adoptive situation where we can see how others can be alike and still respect cultural differences as well. A great story for mixed race families.
Being Adopted by Stephanie Herbert
7-year-old Stephanie shares her adoption in a simple short story. This is one of the most honest adoption stories I’ve read. In her innocent way she focuses not only on the joy of her adoptive parents and the love they have for her, but of the grief and loss of her birth mother.