Adoption Nation

“A treasure. It is the most complete book on adoption—ever—by one of the most eloquent, knowledgeable experts in the field.” —Sharon Roszia, co-author of The Open Adoption Experience and program manager of the Kinship Center With compassion for adopted individuals and adoptive and birth parents alike, Adam Pertman explores the history and human impact of adoption, explodes the corrosive myths surrounding it, and tells compelling stories about its participants as they grapple with issues relating to race, identity, equality, discrimination, personal history, and connections with all their families. For the first edition of this groundbreaking examination of adoption and its impact on us all, Pertman won awards from many organizations, including the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists, the Dave Thomas Center for Adoption Law, the American Adoption Congress, the Century Foundation, Holt International, and the US Congress. In this updated edition, Pertman reveals how changing attitudes and laws are transforming adoption—and thereby American society—in the twenty-first century. “Groundbreaking . . . courageous, penetrating, engaging, and deeply personal. —David Brodzinksy, Ph.D., co-author of Being Adopted: The Lifelong Search for Self “Creative, insightful, and a must-read.” —Ruth McRoy, Ph.D., co-author of Openness in Adoption: Exploring Family Connections “Pertman combines journalistic research and personal anecdotes in this stimulating overview of the trends and cultural ramifications of adoption.” —Publishers Weekly “A valuable experience for anyone, especially the adoptive parent.” —Kirkus Reviews

This revised edition of Pertman's award-winning book features updated information on every aspect of adoption and its changing role in American society. Pertman, a Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist and father of two adopted children, offers an unflinching study of adoption policy and processes.

The passage of Measure 58 in Oregon in 1998 was a milestone in adoption reform. E. Wayne Carp here reveals the efforts of the radical adoptee rights organization Bastard Nation to pass this milestone initiative.

As seen on "The Today Show" and in People magazine: An adoptive father and award-winning journalist reports on the metamorphosis of adoption from a secretive, shameful procedure to an integral part of American family life.

120,000 U.S. children who are ready to be adopted are hoping you'll pick up this book. Have you ever thought you'd adopt a child(ren), but finding out it costs thousands of dollars kicked that idea to the curb? Most people believe that all children in foster care return to their biological families. Many do not know that 50% of children in foster care need an adoptive family and that adopting children through foster care costs $0 - $2,500. Countless times friends and friends of friends have reached out asking about foster care adoption and how we adopted our children through foster care. My intent is to help you evaluate your own heart and simplify the process of foster care adoption so you can help a child who is hoping you will find them. While I cannot promise you that the process will be easy, I can tell you that going down this path has been completely worth it for my family.

In the last fifty years, transnational adoption—specifically, the adoption of Asian children—has exploded in popularity as an alternative path to family making. Despite the cultural acceptance of this practice, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the factors that allowed Asian international adoption to flourish. In Global Families, Catherine Ceniza Choy unearths the little-known historical origins of Asian international adoption in the United States. Beginning with the post-World War II presence of the U.S. military in Asia, she reveals how mixed-race children born of Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese women and U.S. servicemen comprised one of the earliest groups of adoptive children. Based on extensive archival research, Global Families moves beyond one-dimensional portrayals of Asian international adoption as either a progressive form of U.S. multiculturalism or as an exploitative form of cultural and economic imperialism. Rather, Choy acknowledges the complexity of the phenomenon, illuminating both its radical possibilities of a world united across national, cultural, and racial divides through family formation and its strong potential for reinforcing the very racial and cultural hierarchies it sought to challenge.

Family-making in America is in a state of flux—the ways people compose their families is changing, including those who choose to adopt. Broken Links, Enduring Ties is a groundbreaking comparative investigation of transnational and interracial adoptions in America. Linda Seligmann uncovers the impact of these adoptions over the last twenty years on the ideologies and cultural assumptions that Americans hold about families and how they are constituted. Seligmann explores whether or not new kinds of families and communities are emerging as a result of these adoptions, providing a compelling narrative on how adoptive families thrive and struggle to create lasting ties. Seligmann observed and interviewed numerous adoptive parents and children, non-adoptive families, religious figures, teachers and administrators, and adoption brokers. The book uncovers that adoption—once wholly stigmatized—is now often embraced either as a romanticized mission of rescue or, conversely, as simply one among multiple ways to make a family.

Adoption is rapidly metamorphosing into a radically new process that is changing America. It is accelerating our transformation into a more multicultural and multiethnic society, even as it helps redefine our understanding of "family," with the exponential growth of alternative lifestyles, from single to transracial to gay. Provides valuable insights into the pleasures and perils of adoption. Lays out the ways in which policymakers should revise our laws to improve the process of adoption, stop treating members of the "adoption triad" as 2nd-class citizens, and remove the obstacles that keep the children who most need permanent homes from getting them. Filled with dramatic real-life stories.