Adoption Book Review: Cross-Cultural Adoption

How to Answer Questions from Family, Friends, and Community

Cross-Cultural Adoption is a wonderful book. The format is straight forward and it is very easy to read, yet provides an invaluable resource for families that were created through international adoption. I highly recommend this adoption book for all international adoptive parents and their extended families and friends.

Chapter 1: The Questions Kids Ask

Could have easily been called "The Top Questions Children and Adults Ask", this chapter lists and answers each of those often rude and unexpected questions. The authors provide a simple response for young children and a longer more detailed response for older children or adults. A great help for adoptive families.

Chapter 2: Do's and Don'ts for Grown-Ups

This chapter lists tips for adults when trying to forge a relationship with the adopted children and adoptive parents in their lives. Simple tips like "respect privacy" and "treat her like any other kid" may seem like no-brainers, and yet how often have we in the adoption field witnessed adults making simple yet hurtful mistakes like these? Read an excerpt from this chapter here: Cross-Cultural Adoption: The Do's and Don'ts for Grown-Ups.

Chapter 3: Want to Know More About Her Birth Country?

Probably my favorite part of the book, this chapter contains information for ten different countries. Geography and population, history and government, economy, culture and holidays, food, interesting facts, and literature and other books for further reading are a part of each country's profile.

Chapter 4: Resources

The end of Cross-Cultural Adoption contains a reference section with a listing of organizations for more adoption information. An index is also included.

About the Authors

Cross-Cultural Adoption was written by two adoptive mothers, Amy Coughlin and Caryn Abramowitz. Amy is a lawyer, teacher, and writer. She lives in Center City, Philadelphia with her husband, Rich, and their two daughters, Aubrey and Natalie. Caryn is a freelance writer and editor. She is also a lawyer by trade. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband, Andy, and their daughter, Chloe.

Amy and Caryn looked for ways to inform others about their children's culture and their new family. They found that most resources available were too long or complex for today's busy lifestyle. They wanted a tool that would provide the needed information in a quick and easy to digest format.

From the authors:

"Our aim in this book, however, is to provide answers to questions about cross-cultural adoption using positive, kid-friendly adoption language in a quick, question-and-answer format that is designed specifically for busy families."

I think they have accomplished this goal.

More Information

(Published by: LifeLine Press, Washington, D.C., 2004.
ISBN 0-89526-092-1)