When our son, Michael, joined our family, I was unprepared for the many lessons that I would learn through him. It has been both humbling and inspiring to experience this serendipity. God has created us all so differently, and if we allow our eyes and hearts to be open, we can learn important lessons from one another as we walk together on this side of heaven. - Renia Veldt

More than just one woman's search for information about the biological mother she believed had died in childbirth, this book explores the mind and feelings of an adopted child. Call Me Ella is a heartwarming and uplifting story about a young girl who considered her adoptive parents her "real parents," yet needed to know more. She needed to know her roots. Her heritage. With a burning desire to have someone who "looked like her," she couldn't wait to marry and have children of her own. She had no idea that her twenty-four year search, which did not begin until after both of her parents had passed away, would involve Sopranos-like tales of organized crime, gambling, and infidelity. Kaufman grew up thinking she killed her mother. As a child, when her adoptive mom answered her question, "Where did I come from?" by saying her birth mother died in childbirth, she believed in her heart she killed the woman who gave her life. She kept asking her mom the same question, hoping to get a different answer. Maybe she'd learn her birth mother had been ill, that it wasn't her fault she died. When Kaufman finally got old enough to figure out it took two people, a man and a woman, to have a child, she asked a new question: "What happened to my birth father? Did he die too?" That's when her mom shot her foot through the kitchen wall screaming, "Don't ever ask me that again." It took her years to realize why that question hit a nerve. In New Jersey, when a baby is adopted, their original birth certificate is sealed, making it seem as if the child did not exist before the adoption. Kaufman never even knew her birth mother's last name until she discovered her adoption papers a week before her mom passed away. Unfortunately, when her mom died with her secrets intact, she thought she'd never learn about her ethnic background or medical history. She wasn't ready to give up. She needed to know more. She needed to know the big secret that kept her mom from answering her questions. With determination and the unexpected help from a self-proclaimed "romantic" stranger, she set out to find her roots. Call Me Ella is a memoir of love, family, loss and perseverance. It shows how we can work to achieve our happy endings.

In the late 1960s, at the age of nineteen and living far from home amidst the thriving counterculture of Ottawa, Marilyn Churley got pregnant. Like thousands of other women of the time she kept the event a secret. Faced with few options, she gave the baby up for adoption. Over twenty years later, as the Ontario NDP government's minister responsible for all birth, death, and adoption records, including those of her own child, Churley found herself in a surprising and powerful position ? fully engaged in the long and difficult battle to reform adoption disclosure laws and find her son. Both a personal and political story, Shameless is a powerful memoir about a mother's struggle with loss, love, secrets, and lies ? and an adoption system shrouded in shame.

The Bear Who Waited is a tale for children who have waited to be adopted. It portrays many feelings that children and parents have while awaiting the big event. The main character is a lovable, humorous stuffed bear purchased around the holidays. He thinks he will be a Christmas present but instead, is placed on a window ledge. He sees the seasons change, and questions the purpose of his existence. Eventually the Bear realizes he was purchased for a child who waited to be adopted. This book contains a message to parents, and a message to professionals.

From the first paragraph we are drawn into the mind and world of a trusting young child. Polly was adopted by a couple who already had a child of their own. We watch as her confidence and self-esteem are eroded by an increasingly abusive childhood. As she moves into teenage years and adulthood, Polly does not judge her adoptive parents but conveys her sheer desperation to prove somehow that she is loveable. We follow Polly's search for her birth mother, whom she eventually meets in the USA. She longs for a fairytale ending. But real life isn't quite like that... This heartfelt book about a relationship with two mothers is written in the present tense which gives it an immediacy and makes for a compelling read. "I was emotionally drained reading Polly's story. I was there with her every step. It's cruel that anyone would treat a human being in this way, especially a child. It's a miracle that she did survive." Helen Robinson, former Chief Executive, Lincoln MIND This book and its two related books, "A Mind To Be Free" and "Crossing The Borderline" are available as a single-volume trilogy under the title, "Letting Go," at a lower price than buying all three individually.

When Italian citizen Roberto G. Ferrari embarked on a journey to adopt a young Chinese boy, the twenty-five days the adoptive father spent there offered him a rare insider's vantage of the famously closed country during an intensely intimate time for his family. To process the experience, the adoptive father chronicled those days in China, exploring the country through the deeply personal lens of his son's connection to his homeland. Ferrari also took in China from the perspective of a Westerner attempting to make sense of this burgeoning global power. Both reflective and informative, Ferrari's detailed account of the adoption process takes in modern China as it increasingly opens its doors to the Western world. In doing so, "Away from China" offers invaluable practical guidance on the international adoption process, as well as the author's insight on key locales in the country from the point of view of a seasoned traveler. From the monuments of Taiyuan to Tienanmen Square, "Away from China" considers this fascinating, rapidly changing nation for an adoptive father and his Chinese son.

St. Gerard Campus in St. Augustine, Florida, is a place where every life is of extreme value. The unborn, the young mother, the parents and staff, the adoptive families and the counselors. Since the doors opened in the 1980's, more than 31,000 babies have been born who might not have been. These are the stories of some of those mothers and babies and how we can all make a difference, one person at a time.

Born to a fourteen-year-old girl and an eighteen-year-old high school dropout, the odds of Mark Molzen being in prison, dying young or becoming a drug addict were far more likely than any other outcome. So how did he beat the odds - becoming a successful, highly regarded public relations professional for an $18 billion, Fortune 150 Company? It's all because of the plan God had for him-a plan that started when his understanding of adoption radically changed. Mark Molzen's debut explores the stigma surrounding adoption, delves into what the Bible says about this issue, and examines the inherent power of choosing to accept that adoption is part of God's plan for our lives. Adopted into the United Nations of Adoption, a family consisting of two biological children as well as four adopted children of Native American, Asian American, and African American descent, Molzen's life circumstances changed dramatically the day he was adopted. But his adoption isn't really the story. This life-altering book will teach adopted children, young and old, and their parents that to change how they feel about adoption, they must first understand how God feels about adoption and then choose to accept what that means for their life. And the good news is, the power to do this is already theirs - the power to choose to believe is available to all. Exploring identity, biblical adoption and salvation as well as other adoption issues, Molzen's debut should be viewed as just the beginning, a resounding blast of personal honesty and biblical perspective designed to foment a fundamental wave of change in how adoption is viewed. Written to encourage adopted children and their adoptive parents, Chosen With Purpose: A Story of Adoption and Identity is as enlightening as it is uplifting, demonstrating how the word of God can change everything.

What Readers are Saying "An amazing captivating story. It gives grandparents raising kids the comfort of knowing, you are not alone." -Bill Trammell, a single grandfather from Wisconsin, raising his adopted grandson. "Karen is honest and vulnerable and takes even the worst of what happened and makes something beautiful out of it. A compelling story, from someone who's been there " -Laura Montane Bailey, LMFT, author of Courageous Love "Karen tells her story with integrity in a compelling style, leaving the reader wanting more. Through her challenges, she found the way to empowerment, giving the reader a gift." -Lynne R. Gassel, author of Fifth Child: The Turbulent Path that Led to Raising Our Child's Child "By sharing her moving, poignant journey of raising her three granddaughters, Karen reveals her challenges, commitment, and courage along with her desire to empower other grandparents." -Donne Davis, Founder GaGa Sisterhood, a social network for grandmas I Love You from the Edges is Karen's love story of raising her young granddaughters for several years, letting them capture her heart, her life, and her soul, and then having to give them back - resulting in a painful, yet spiritual journey of love, healing, and reunion. Along with her story, she includes suggestions on the "how's, what's and why's" one should consider when beginning the journey of raising someone else's child. Included is the health and wellness assessment program Karen designed specifically for grandparents and relatives raising children. Using her holistic approach, this assessment focuses on six aspects of wellness: physical, emotional, social, spiritual, mental/intellectual, and environmental. Whether you are a grandparent, great-something, aunt, uncle, or any relative raising someone else's child, this book is for you.