The Ugly One in the Middle is Alex Stan Campbell's story of the fifty-year search for two people; His birth mother, and the angelic, sensual woman of his dreams. Kind of romantic, right? But, wait. There's humor, mystery and intrigue. Just before Stan's sixteenth birthday, his Aunt Patsy let it slip that his mom and pop did not conceive him. Quel horror His adoptive mom knew something dark, but she wasn't talking. It didn't matter much...then.Stan's top priorities of the day were drowning his bashfulness in wine and rubbing alcohol. That didn't work. He threw up and fell down a lot.

Guide for the prospective parent considering adoption of a child from a foreign country. Discussion of Reactive Attachment Disorder with treatment options.

This is a sequel to Family Secrets: Letters to My Granddaughters A NOTE FROM GRACE Several years back I enrolled in a writing class called, "Your Dreams and Writing." While taking the class I dreamed I was asked to write a manuscript. When it was finished I took it with me to a park. While sitting on a park bench watching a little girl play with her mom I suddenly saw a title wave coming from afar off. Quickly I placed my manuscript on top of the park pavilion thinking it would be safe there. In the next scene of the dream I was in class and it was time for me to hand in my assignment. I told the teacher I did not have my manuscript because of the tidal wave that had hit the park. Although I had tried to keep it safe atop the pavilion it had been destroyed. About that time the little girl entered the room with my manuscript. I knelt down beside her as she handed it to me. She looked me straight in the eye and said, "You know I lost my mom in that title wave." I replied, "Yes honey, I know you did." And that was the end of the dream. It is possible you hold that manuscript in your hands... rescued by a motherless child and finally published for other children who survived a title wave that took their mother. Grace Ann Neuharth

Back Cover Copy: Mike and Sara were an older, college-educated, small-town Midwestern couple, and devoutly Christian. Dealt simultaneous life-changing blows, he faced the end of his world or a commitment to create a new life. She felt a calling from above, but time would pass until the morning two radio disc jockeys discussed adoption. That day changed their lives and those of three children-the first, abandoned in Vietnam, the second, in foster care, the third, relinquished in another state-all with medical issues and turned away by other prospective adoptive parents. New to the intricacies and bureaucracies of adoption, this family's unshakeable faith in God led them through multiple adoption processes; issues they faced as an older couple with the support of grown children and extended families; a harrowing battle against Tuberous Sclerosis Complex; and a calling to advocate for other special needs children and their families. For both older and younger Americans, this memoir provides both "how to" information about the different forms of adoption from one family's perspective, and a testament of faith in God's plan both for adoptive parents and children. Description: Relatively few adoption memoirs are written by and for couples 40 and older-even as a generation of Americans known as "boomers" embrace adoption. Yet, in today's world with longer life expectancies, more older couples than ever are adopting children. Adam Pertman, executive director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute and author of "Adoption Nation," called boomers' embrace of adoption "a trend that's clearly happening." This candid memoir, punctuated with humor, frustration, endurance, savvy decisions and testaments of Christian faith, is written to inspire older prospective adoptive parents in America that it can be done and what steps to expect while simultaneously engaging middle age and dealing with children's special medical needs. While written by and for those over 40, a younger generation of prospective adoptive parents also will find this memoir informative and inspiring. In this memoir, the author: Provides detailed accounts of the processes his family faced in their decisions to adopt; selection of agencies; rigorous, invasive paperwork and interviews, financing, travel, and dealing with social services and courts; Examines issues which prospective adoptive parents over the age of 40 face from grown children, extended family, friends and strangers, as well as future decisions which affect finances, guardianship, parental age factors, and planning; Explores first encounters with their adoptive children, a foster mother and a birth mother, and what to expect initially; Explains the importance of online support groups; Recounts their vivid experiences adopting Savannah in Vietnam in 2008; Christian, in-state through foster care; and Marlee, multi-state through a private agency; Recalls their experiences being rejected for other adoptive situations and the idiosyncrasies of adoption/social service agencies, and state laws; Recounts their inspiring daughter, Marlee's, near-fatal battle against tuberous sclerosis complex, a hideous, rare disease; how to advocate for a hospitalized child; and understand the workings of a major teaching children's hospital; Describes their developing advocacy for special needs children, and their decision to form a non-profit foundation to assist others who are experiencing what this couple already has endured; Testifies how Marlee taught them the true meaning of Christian faith in the Lord's healing power, bravery, perseverance, determination, and hope.

Anne first wrote and illustrated her story 15 years ago. She had adopted two children. She felt that by telling this step-by-step, thought-provoking realistic account, she could reinforce to her much-loved children that God knew what would be best for the baby being adopted. Compassionately and thoughtfully, Anne shared the concerns and worries of the birth mother. She explained the important role of an orphanage for babies awaiting adoption. When the baby boy was chosen for adoption, she described the excitement and preparations of his mommy and daddy. She also added the love and anticipation of family members and friends by showing the nursery full of heartwarming reminders. Anne followed the baby as he was placed with a foster family who were able to nurture him more individually than caregivers at the orphanage could. When the time came for the baby to travel, she explained the foster parents' bittersweet feelings. The baby's long journey led to the excitement of him being placed into his mommy's arms-and then everyone's realization of what God had known all along. Anne's soft pastels show many aspects of each stage of the infant's story. The cares, worries, concerns, and unknowns appear in both the intuitive text and illustrations. This book is inspirational for prospective adoptive families, adopted children, foster families, and others who have loved and anticipated the arrivals of adoptees joining the families of friends and relatives alike. Anne's intricate, heartfelt details will delight young and old readers.

Based on true events, this 2014 National Indie Excellent Book Award Winner, is an inspirational story, packed with powerful emotions and extreme risks, takes the reader on a gripping ride that stirs the heart and encourages the soul. His charisma, good looks and charm captivates Linda and she falls for the successful VP who wines and dines her, until she winds up pregnant. When he tells her to get an abortion, she searches her soul and looks for other options before making any decision. With her plan set into motion, Linda thinks everything is under control until a horrific catastrophe sends her into a devastating tailspin. How will she find the courage to survive the darkest dawn of her life?

Becoming Dad's Story started out as an anonymous blog written to keep my family updated about the progress my wife and I were making toward adopting a baby. The idea was, if I wrote about the process and kept everyone informed, they would quit calling me every other day and asking how it was going (adopting is nerve wracking enough without that added pressure). I realized through looking back on my blog that I had made a heartfelt chronicle of an amazing time in my life. With the addition of after the fact insight I have added to my original posts. I feel that my story can be of great help and comfort to others who are starting down the road toward adopting a child. This book is equal parts humor and heartbreak, but ultimately triumphant like the adoption process itself.

The Want Ad is a true adoption story which took place during the last years of the Great Depression. It is a story of a father's desperation in taking care of seven children by himself, and his determination that his child should have a better life by letting her be adopted by another couple. This book tracks her journey from the age of four (when she was adopted) to the finding of her nine siblings fifty-one years later. This story is shared with the hope this record might help others begin their journey to be reunited with their family.

A self guided journal for a birthfather to write his family story without interuption, in a safe and non-accucsing enviroment. This journal is a vehicle for birthfathers to communicate with thier biological children placed in adoptive homes. The more a child understands where they have come from, the stronger sense of self they will have. A sense of connection to birthparents will reinforce adoption is the ultimate gift of love and selflessness. The perfect open adoption gift book The Book of Answers, a guided journal for birthfathers to share thier life story is a loving opportunity for adopted children to hear in thier birthfather's life story in the birthfather's voice.The journal addresses so many questions adoptive children may have regarding thier birth parents. By answering general questions the birthfather will have the opportunity to address four major areas of interest: "The Family Basics" ( Family names, health history, traditions), " Are we alike?" (likes and dislikes of food, sports, entertainment), Unique and Personal Expereinces and Opnions (Growing up, people of influence, spiritual beleifs), The Story Behind My Adoption ( Circumstances, people involved, pregancy stories). After the birth father completes what he can of the journal he returns it to the adoptive family as a vehicle in commumnicating with the adoted child, thier biological connection and family stories. This ensures the birth father's story is told in her own voice and will bring comfort to the child through a better understanding of his biological family.

This is the true story of two mothers, one in the United States, the other in Korea, and of the little boy who left the world he knew to make a home with a new family. This powerful account of international adoption and ultimate reunion is told by the adoptive mother, who held her son's birth mother in her mind and heart, never imagining that they would meet.