Welcome Home!: An International and Nontraditional Adoption Reader Book

About the Editors
Contributors
Foreword
Chapter 1. Opening the Door
Why Adopt?
Where Do We Begin?
What Are Our Options?
Other Considerations in Creating a Family
Introducing Personal Stories
Chapter 2. Welcome Home: From the Perspective of Research on International
Adoption
The Northeast-Northwest Collaborative Adoption Projects (N2CAP)
The Questions: The Family Questionnaire
Survey Findings
Summary and Concluding Remarks
Chapter 3. From Couple to Family
How We Got to be a Family of Seventeen
And We Wait and Wait and Wait . . .
The Transatlantic Phone Call
We Get to Go Home
We Very Quickly Become a Family of Five
Addendum by Deborah Johnson
Chapter 4. Coming Home from China
The Potential Parents
Our Experiences en Route to the Adoption
Becoming Gianna
Beginning Life with Gia
Keeping in Touch with the Chinese Culture
Gia s Adoption Story
Chapter 5. The Family I Wanted
Getting Started
At Long Last A Daughter
Our Family Expands
Taking the Plunge Once Again
And Then There Were Four
Suggestions for Those Contemplating a Larger Family
Chapter 6. Our Daughters from China Have Two Mommies
Making The Decision to Adopt
The Adoption Process: A Circuitous Paper Chase
Lia: Our First Daughter
The Decision to Adopt Again: Getting Amy
Adoptions from China Today
Chapter 7. From One Wondrous Second to Countless Memorable Moments:
Adventures In Adoption
Adoption Wonderings
Adoption Disappointments
The Arrival of Zoë
The Arrival of Zachary
Zoë and Zachary Then and Today
My Adoption Insights
Reflections Today
Addendum by Karina Barragar
Addendum by Reese Barragar
Addendum by Samantha Erin Barragar
Addendum by Krista Barragar
Addendum by Mildred Peterson
Chapter 8. Welcome Home Liv, Kim, and Love
Swedish Adoption
Why Did I Adopt a Child?
Experiences en Route to the Adoption
Costs of International Adoption
My Daughter Delivered at Stockholm Airport
My Older Son A Happy Encounter in The Land of Smiles
My Youngest Son A Less Dramatic Start
Who Am I?
Going Back: Searching for Roots
Reflections
Chapter 9. A Perfect Lottery
Preadoption Considerations
The Adoption of Carolina Martha Linnea Kaufman
Jonathan Edgar Erik Joins the Family
Our Three Children
Telling Children About Their Background
The Present
The Adoption Process
Chapter 10. Adopting from Eastern Europe 101
Deciding to Adopt
Finding a Child
Adoption and Heritage
Zoë Today
Chapter 11. Miracle Sisters from Romania
Our Decision to Adopt
Joanna s Half Sister Arrives
Chapter 12. Adventures in Adoption: From Russia to America
The Preadoption Phase
The Adoption Is Finalized
Peter Enters Our Hearts and Our Family
Reflections
Chapter 13. Four Roads Less Traveled but They All Lead Home
Factors Leading to My Adoptions
A Full Circle
The Miracle Baby
Jo Arrives on the Scene
Charles A Fight That Had to Be Won
Brianna A Very Different Story
A Retrospective Glance
Chapter 14. Problems, Perils, and Pleasures of Multicultural and Biracial
Adoption
Reasons for Seeking to Adopt Abroad
Multicultural Issues
Coping with Uncertainties and New Realities
Reflections
Legal Concerns
Postscript
Appendix. Adoption Resources
In the United States
Outside the United States
Bibliography
Index