Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Gravelle, Karen

Where Are My Birth Parents?

A Guide for Teenage Adoptees

1993

Notes

Guide for teens who decide to search for their birth parents. Through the real stories of other teens and young adult adoptees, addresses: "Why search?", telling parents, the emotional difficulties , the how-to, the re-union and after. Good resources.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Nydam, Ronald J.

Adoptees Come of Age:

Living Within Two Families

1999

Notes

Describes distinct emotional and spiritual challenges and emphasizes importance of ongoing issues of adoption and relinquishment.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Carp, E. Wayne

Family Matters

Secrecy and Disclosure in the History of Adoption

1998

Notes

Scholarly history of adoption in America, starting prior to the existence of adoption records, prior to adoption information being held secret, into the secrecy age, the emergence of adoption rights movement, and the era of more openness. Impressive bibliography.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Saffian, Sarah

Ithaka:

A Daughter's Memoir of Being Found

1998

Notes

A gripping true story of a young woman's quest for meaning of family and belonging.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Green, Tim

A Man and His Mother

1997

Notes

Former football star, now a novelist and commentator, Tim Green's story of his reunion with his birthmother.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Witherspoon, Mary Ruth

So Here I Am But Where Did I Come From?

An Adoptee's Search for Identity

1994

Notes

Author shares the account of her search for her birthparents and offers ways to help others understand the process and what to expect in their own quests.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Schooler, Jayne

The Whole Life Adoption Book

1993

Notes

Deals with issues of attachment, adjustment and identity.  By being prepared, parents can avoid the disillusionment, feelings of inadequacy and resentment that may come from unrealistic expectations. Gives hope and direction to all involved in adoption issues.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Han, Hyun Sook

Understanding My Child's Korean Origins

1995

Notes

Book covers Korean customs, family dynamics, social structure, child rearing, the Korean adoption process, and more. Indispensable guide for adoptive families of Korean children or for anyone considering adopting a child from Korea.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Koh, Frances

Adopted from Asia

How It Feels to Grow Up in America

1993

Notes

Moving, insightful accounts of the issues facing Korean adoptees, especially during adolescence. Issues include: racial prejudice, friends, dates, racial and ethnic identity, self esteem, relationship with adoptive parents, and concerns about birth parents.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Soroskys, A.,

Baran, A. and Panor, R.

The Adoption Triangle:

Sealed or Open Records, How They Affect Adopted Adults, Birth Parents and Adoptive Parents

1984

Notes

Groundbreaking research classic.  Factual, well rounded book that leads to an understanding of adoption as a lifelong process for child, adoptive parents and birth parents.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Stiffler, La Vonne H.

Synchronicity and Reunion:

The Genetic Connection of Adoptees and Birth Parents

1992

Notes

A fascinating exploration of surprising coincidences in union/loss/reunion stories of families separated by adoption.  Explores nature/nurture connections.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Stummer, Helen

Out of the Darkness:

How A Birthmother Found Herself While Searching for her Daughter

Notes

For birthmothers who have put the past behind them or those interested in experience of relinquishment. Contact author hmstummer@earthlink.net

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Wolch-March, Mary J.

A Birth Mother's Day Planner

1996

Notes

Birth Mother's Day grew out of the author's journey after losing her infant daughter to adoption. It's a day to honor and recall the motherhood experience by birthmothers. Book provides all the information needed to plan such a day - the 2nd Sat in May.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Wilkinson, Dr. S and Fox, Nancy

After the Morning Calm

Reflections of Korean Adoptees

2002

Notes

A collection of stories written by Korean adoptees about their adoption experience and the obstacles found along the way to accepting their new life in America. Told with passion and honesty. Includes search for birthparents and issues of the visit to Korea.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Wadia-Ells, Susan (ed)

The Adoption-Reader

Birth Mothers, Adoptive Mothers and Adopted Daughters Tell Their Stories

1995

Notes

Thirty women, including well-known writers and adoption activists, write eloquently about a wide range of adoption experiences.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Schooler, Jayne

Searching for a Past:

The Adopted Adult's Unique Process of Finding an Identity

1995

Notes

Provides insight into adoptees' motivations to search for their birth families.  Gives a better understanding of the search and reunion process.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Jones, Merry Bloch

Birthmothers       

Women Who Have Relinquished Babies for Adoption Tell Their Stories

1993

Notes

70 women share their experiences of giving birth and placing a child for adoption, raising subsequent children, searching and being found.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Dion, Angela

Dear Son:

Letters from a Birthmother

2002

Notes

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Crook, Marion

The Face in the Mirror

Teenagers and Adoption

2000

Notes

Based on numerous interviews with adopted teens and adoptive and birth parents, addresses the reality of teenagers wanting to know where they came from. Offers a frank discussion of the issues surrounding adoption.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Battilana, Joan

Search to My Beginning

An Inspirational Adoption Story Told Through Poetry

Notes

One woman's exciting personal journey to discover her roots. The poetry, illustrations and personal reflections help the reader to understand the emotions an adoptee experiences when searching for birth parents

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Franklin, Lynn and Ferber, Elizabeth

May the Circle Be Unbroken

1998

Notes

An intimate journey into the heart of adoption.  Through this birth mother’s journey to find the child she placed for adoption, the triad members will feel a sense of community with each other.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Armstrong, Campbell

I Hope You Have a Good Life

A True Story of Love, Loss and Redemption

2000

Notes

This book, quoting the words whispered to Eileen's infant daughter as she gave up her baby for adoption is a heartbreaking, remarkable, and uplifting story about a family that has suffered many events but still has the courage to stay together.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Askin, Jayne

Search:

A Handbook for Adoptees and Birthparents

1998

Notes

Detailed step by step process for unearthing adoption information thru sealed records, government data, and reference resources.  Includes listing of on-line

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Hern, Katie and Carlson, Ellen McGarry

Reunion:

A Year in Letters Between a Birthmother and the Child She Gave Up for Adoption

1999

Notes

Beautifully written, authentic exchange between English instructor at a university and gay adoptee, and her birth mother as they get to know each other.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Pavao, Joyce Maguire

The Family of Adoption

1998

Notes

Identifies how adoption issues play out at every step along the way, from the birth parent's situation and decision, to the adoptive parent's motivation, to the child's adaptation at each stage. Appears technical, but is actually a gem of a book.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Strauss, Jean A.

Birthright

The Guide to Search and Reunion for Adopted Adults, Birth Parents, and Adoptive Parents

1994

Notes

Truly a guide for those wishing to search for their biological parents or for the children they relinquished. Using a series of true stories, her own and others', author gives practical hints and advice to make the search fruitful and satisfying.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Mc Colm, Michelle

Adoption Reunions

1993

Notes

An adoptee working with other adoptees and birthparents explores the roots of reunions and how to support the reunion process.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Smith, Jerome

The Realities of Adoption

1997

Notes

Not a how-to book. Written by a social worker/professor and adoptive parent. Covers the history of adoption, the concept of entitlement, the "telling", open adoption, stages of development in the adopted child, trans racial adoption. Lots of insights.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Kane, Beth

Thank You, Son, for Finding Me:

A Birthmother's Story

1999

Notes

A personal story about the reunion of a birthmother and the son who searched for her.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Kinn, Gail

Be My Baby:

Parents and Children Talk About Adoption

Notes

35 first person narratives from adoptive parents, adopted children, adult adoptees, and birthmothers that bring to life the rewards and challenges of adoption.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Dorow, Sara

I Wish for You a Beautiful Life

Letters from the Korean Birth Mothers of AeRon Won

1998

Notes

Collections of letters written by Korean birth mothers to their children. Written while they were staying at a maternity home, they express their sorrow, guilt, regret, but also their best wishes for their children and the adoptive parents. Very emotional.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Lifton, Betty Jean

Journey of the Adopted Self:

A Quest for Wholeness

1994

Notes

The journey to find biological roots can be the journey to self.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Lifton, Betty Jean

Lost and Found

Notes

The adoption experience primarily from adopted adult's point of view.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Garrotto, A.J.

Finding Isabella

2000

Notes

Isabella was placed for adoption when she was only 4 years old. Her life has taken a dramatic turn when her adoptive parents perish in a plane crash. Feeling lost and bewildered, she returns to her native land to search for her birth mother and siblings.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Schaefer, Carol

The Other Mother

A Woman's Love for the Child She Gave Up for Adoption.

1991

Notes

A book in which every birth mother can find herself and her experience from pregnancy through search and reunion.  Author tells her experience in a mid west maternity home, her son, years of loss, search and reunion.  A 1995 TV movie.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Denton, Katherine

Search of a Lifetime

Notes

A birth mother tells of her search for the child she gave up for adoption. Details how she used the Internet to find her lost child and the struggle to open records. Story is emotional and sometimes controversial.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Eldridge, Sherrie

Twenty Life Transforming Choices Adoptees Need to Make

2003

Notes

Many adopted people reach adulthood without ever having dealt adequately with the adoption relinquishment that continues to color their entire relationship to the world. Author, an adoptee, identifies many common characteristics and gives practical help.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Gediman, J.S. and Brown,L.P.

Birth Bond

Reunions Between Birth Parents and Adoptees - What Happens After

1991

Notes

Written from the perspective of the birth parent, book describes the experiences of many different birth parents who were reunited with the child they once placed for adoption. Their experiences and their post-reunion relationships all varied.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Russell, Marlou

Adoption Wisdom

A Guide to the Issues and Feelings of Adoption

1996

Notes

Book examines the many issues of adoption.  Its purpose is to prepare those who are considering adoption; to validate the feelings of adoptive parents, birth parents, and adoptees; and to educate people about the lifelong impact of adoption.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Roles, Patricia,

Saying Goodbye to Baby: Volume I

Birthparent's Guide to Loss & Grief in Adoption

1991

Notes

We have not always recognized the right and need of birthparents to grieve. Until recently, they were told they would forget their child, get on with their lives, and have other children. Written for all birthmothers who share a common bond of unspoken loss.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Cervetti, Kay

To Whom It May Concern

A Search for Truth

2000

Notes

True acct of one woman's emotional search and reunion with her biological parents. The author grew up in the 50's thinking that her adoptive parents hated her birth Mom; only in discovering her origins did she realize that it was fear of losing her, not hate.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Wright, Marguerite A.

I'm Chocolate, You're Vanilla

Raising Healthy Black and Biracial Children in a Race-Conscious World

2000

Notes

Teaches parents and educators of black and biracial children how to reduce racism's impact on a child's development - from preschool through adolescence - and in doing so to raise emotionally healthy children.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Brodzinski, D.,Schecter,M., Marantz, R.

Being Adopted

The Lifelong Search for Self

1992

Notes

A scholarly yet very readable book that uses the voices of adoptees to trace how adoption is experienced at each stage of development from infancy to late adulthood. Covers the important topics of self esteem, identity achievement, and intimacy.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Hancock, Marianne

Looking for Oliver:

A Mother's Search for the Son She Gave Up for Adoption

2003

Notes

Emma, a wife and mother of two teenagers, recalls the stigma and pain of her school girl pregnancy and adoption plan, and she decides to search for her son. This novel provides hope to those affected by adoption.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Verier, Nancy

The Primal Wound

Understanding the Adopted Child

1993

Notes

A book that is forceful and courageous in the way it approaches the subject of adoption. Using pre and perinatal psychology, attachment, bonding, and loss, it illuminates the effects that separation from their birthmother has on adopted children.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Ritenberg, Eva

Adopcion

El Nino Anhelado

2001

Notes

Estes libro arroja una mirada acerca de la importancia del vinculo como vehiculo portador de afecto y alimento, dos nutrientes indispensabbles.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Schooler, Jayne and Norris, Betsie

Journeys After Adoption

Understanding Lifelong Issues

2002

Notes

How those touched by adoption can navigate successfully through the issues of search, reunion, and its aftermath. Book draws upon the experiences of adoptees, adoptive parents, and birthparents, and offers insight into the concerns, joys, and pain.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Carangelo, Lori

The Ultimate Search Book

Worldwide Adoption and Vital Records

1999

Notes

An invaluable "search" book with State by State data to help anyone look for anyone, including persons lost through adoption. No minute detail is omitted; there are even some "innovative" and "bizarre" methods mentioned, but not recommended by the author.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Espejo, Roman

Adoption: Opposing Viewpoints

2002

Notes

A series of scholarly essays written by various experts in the field of adoption. Each essay proposes a particular viewpoint, e.g. "The Internet should be used to recruit families," while the essay following it stresses the opposite.  A great learning tool.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Sherman, Aliza

Everything You Nee to Know About Placing Your Baby for Adoption

2001;

1997

Notes

In simple, up to date terms, author speaks directly to pregnant young people who are in the process of considering their alternatives. All the important adoption issues are wisely covered. A perfect book to give to a pregnant teen thinking about adoption.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Shanley, Mary L.

Making Babies, Making Families

2001

Notes

The centrality of parenting in her life goals led this adoptive parent to take a closer look, from an ethical perspective, at the many modern technologies used to achieve parenthood. Apt discussions of adoptees rights, open records, and of transracial adoption.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

D'Amato, Barbara

White Male Infant

2002

Notes

A fast moving mystery novel about Russian adoption that will curdle your blood.  When Teddy and Claudia's beloved 4-year-old adopted son becomes ill, a medical test reveals that he may have different origins - and the intrigue begins.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Rosenberg, Shelley K.

Adoption and the Jewish Family

Contemporary Perspectives

1998

Notes

Excellent resource discussing adoptive parenting from the perspective of being Jewish. Covers such topics as providing a Jewish home for one's child, encouraging a Jewish identity, open adoption with non Jewish birth parents, creating adoption rituals, etc.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Barrow, Randi

Somebody's Child

Stories from the Private Files of an Adoption Attorney

2002

Notes

Stories of actual adoption placement experiences, some from the birth family's perspective, others from the adoptive parents' perspective, but all told very sensitively and with obvious love by an attorney involved in the placements.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Kennedy, Randall

Interracial Intimacies

Sex, Marriage, Identity, and Adoption

2003

Notes

Entire book is exceptionally wise and interesting, but the three chapters on interracial parenting and adoption, as well as the annotated footnotes to these chapters make the reading of this book a most worthwhile experience.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Kling, Tammy L.

Searching for a Piece of My Soul

How to Find a Missing Family Member or Loved One

1998

Notes

The perfect search resource because fully half of the book is devoted to listing thousands of specific resources (web sites, State access organizations, sample documents, etc.) a searcher can use to find someone. Good practical advice given as well.

Author

Title

Subtitle

Year

Gritter, James L.

Life Givers: Framing the Birth Parent

Experience in Open Adoption

2000

Notes

Author analyzes the many ways that birth parents relate to the experience of an open adoption. He stresses the importance of the birth parent's presence in the child's life and pleads for them to be welcomed, not just tolerated.