Greetings!

We designed this site in order to keep in touch with friends and family who are far away and in order to communicate with other adoptive families from around the world.

When we first started researching this wonderful way to become a family we read everything we could get our hands on. Even though there are a lot of great books out there, nothing was as informative or touching as the blogs we found by adoptees, biological parents, and adoptive families. So we are writing this blog now in hopes of returning the favor. We hope that if you are dear to us you will enjoy keeping up with our adventures. If you are someone out there involved in a part of the adoption triad we hope you will find information and comfort here and provide us with some of your own!

If you would like to get in touch with us we can be reached at: becomingafamily@gmail.com
Feel free to stop by anytime. We're happy to share our family story.

Take care,
Brian and Rosemary

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Book Review

We began seriously talking about adoption almost two years ago.  The first thing we did was start reading adoption books.  Eventually, we found blogs but books were first.  I'm a girl who likes her quantifiable and qualitative research.  It comforts me.  It's really amazing how much information is out there.  So for all you other research addicts and bibliophiles here's a book review of our latest page turner.  

Bri and I are reading this one together, a chapter at a time before bed, because it is so interesting.  I started reading "Parenting Your Internationally Adopted Child" without him but then I kept wanting to discuss ideas from the book and he couldn't join in.  Now, I read aloud while he rubs my feet.  It's a nice little setup that I'm hoping will turn into a tradition. We'll see.  ;-)

We both love this book!  It is written by Dr. Patti Cogen, a child psychologist and an adoptive parent, who is also the founder of the First Year Home Group.   What I appreciate most about this text is that she's very specific about how the international adoption process affects children developmentally (physically, emotionally and socially) and then she gives straightforward ways to work on overcoming it.  The book covers children adopted at every age and also gives coping strategies for parenting these same children all the way through to college.  

Another thing I really like is that the author's tone is always diagnostic and helpful.  She never passes over into that dark, scary place that some adoption-themed books have, which always make me feel like we have no other recourse but to misunderstand our children and create a failed family.  I want someone to tell me the truth about what my kids will face but follow that up with coping strategies and a course of action.  She has great bonding/attachment games and exercises too!

Happy Reading -
Rosemary

1 comments:

JiLL said...

Sounds like a really neat book, i'll have to check it out. My husband and I are adopting from Thailand also. I am currently reading the Primal wound, its ok say far. I'll send you an invite to my blog, it is currently set to private. Its always nice to meet others adopting from Thailand. Since the Thai programs are not a huge program programs from China or Vietnam its a little harder to find others adopting from Thailand. I look forward to following your story.