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

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?

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.

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.

From the age of 11, Ivan's life bounced between residential treatment centers, psychiatric facilities, and group homes in Alaska and Montana. During those years he was separated from everyone he knew. Just before his 15th birthday, Ivan was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma, a form of bone cancer. Alone in the world and now facing the fight of his life he was moved to yet another state, Washington, for cancer treatment. With the help of his caseworker he was reunited with his older brother whom he had not seen in many years. After cancer treatment Ivan was in need of a foster placement while his brother looked for housing and a way to support the two of them. Emotionally shut down and nearly nonverbal Ivan entered his new foster home. Out of the pain emerged a young man who was not the broken, disturbed teen he was portrayed by the records to be. A teen with a zest for life and love to share was waiting for a chance to belong.

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.

Wyatt Harris was born with one arm in mainline China. Because of the one-child policy and figuring he would be of little value to the family, he was abandoned as an infant to an orphanage, where he was adopted by an American family at the age of three. The Second Chance is Wyatt's story of his childhood in the US, and later his search to find his biological parents in China.
After finding his biological parents and siblings in a tiny village, he realizes how lucky he was to have been abandoned 20 years before. With his newfound respect for life, he decides to give orphans another chance as well, and starts Second Chances, a non-profit foundation assisting orphans in Taiwan and China. In October of 2012, the first orphan student from Taiwan was brought to the United States to study at a school in Oregon for one year, all funded through Second Chances.
"The Second Chance" is the story of the author's epic journey to discover his past and secure his future.

Crime . . . Poverty . . Racism. George rose above it all. His journey through Foster Care was at times difficult, at times touching and at times very funny. His story will inspire anyone working with young people. Especially those in Foster and Adoptive Care, from Foster Parents to Youth, Social Workers and Foster Care Agencies. While his story begin with crime, poverty and racism, it ends with love, belonging and hope. Love . . . Belonging . . . Hope

Lily is being adopted Follow her on an emotional journey from foster care to her new home. "You are getting a new family." Mrs. Wellington's voice didn't sound very happy. Lily's heart began to race. She touched her small hand to her face, to her cheek, and began to pinch at it. She flinched when she felt the burn. It meant she wasn't dreaming. Of course she wasn't dreaming. Her dreams were never this good. "What are they like?" Lily asked. She had tried to imagine what her mommy and daddy would be like. And what they would look like.

A heartfelt true story of a birth mother's emotional journey surrounding the choice of adoption for her two children. It is an in depth account of the ongoing struggle involved in keeping the secret, and the impacts those choices had on family members and future relationships. It is a story of truth and acceptance coming full circle. A must read for anyone involved in the adoption process including those in counseling, or any child or adult who grapples with trying to understand why they were adopted.

Quick to use, comprehensive and portable, this is a handy pocket book drawing together all current legislation and procedures relating to adoption in England. Small enough to carry around in a handbag or briefcase, it provides instant access to information whenever needed. It covers the law, regulations, rules and guidance relating to adoption in easily digested bite-size chunks. It also includes the recent 2013 government changes to adoption legislation.

Since 1982, the Independent Adoption Center has successfully placed over 4,000 newborns with families across the United States. Each family that is created through open adoption has its' own unique story. Preparation time, wait time, the length of the match between adoptive and birthparents, the hospital experience, and ongoing contact between the birth and adoptive families are different for everyone. In an effort to educate the general population and prospective birth and adoptive parents, we have compiled TRUE STORIES OF OPEN ADOPTION from past clients and staff members who agreed to share their stories of how their families came to be. The reader will be touched by these moving stories while learning about the depth of these distinctive relationships.

76 Days on Mars follows the journey of an American couple and their adoption quest in Ukraine. After 2 failed adoptions in the US and 2 more in Ukraine Paula and Michael Redman share the ups and downs of Ukrainian adoption and how to work within their system. If you are planning to adopt this book is a must read. It will save you time, money, frustration and smooth out your personal journey

"Child of Sorrow" is based on a true story of one 17-year-old girl's struggle to survive an unplanned pregnancy in a time when abortion was not a legal option. Like many in 1959, she was secreted away to a home for unwed mothers and forced to surrender her baby for adoption. Most who endured such a heart-rending experience were scarred by it for life, and their future relationships suffered as a result. This book is dedicated to all of them.

Tracy Davis lived in a children's home with several older children who paid no attention to her. All she ever wanted was a real family to call her own. She found that family in the Waynes. This is a very heart-warming story that will bring tears to the readers' eyes. "A Home for Tracy" teaches children the values of patience, faith, and consideration for others. This book can easily be read by eight-year-olds and up, and may be read to younger children as well.