A pregnant, upper class nineteen-year-old Philadelphia Main Line debutante is confined, against her will, to a state mental hospital. She spends her pregnancy surrounded by the mentally challenged and the criminally insane. On April 19, 1964, she gives birth to a child, whom she is forced to give up for adoption.
A loving middle-class couple adopts a month-old little girl from Catholic Charities. She is adored and cherished from the very beginning. It is as though she is dropped into the first chapter of a fairy tale-but we all know how fairy tales go.
This is the story of a mother and daughter. Of what it is to give up a child and what it is to be given up. Of what it is to belong, what it is to be a family and what it is to yearn deeply, and to never lose hope-because anything is possible.
In this exquisite memoir, Julie Mannix von Zerneck and Kathy Hatfield recount the stories of their lives. Deliciously strange, surprising and sweetly funny, this tenderly written book takes us on a wild and frightening journey. Written in two distinct and deeply expressive voices, their stories seamlessly meld together in a breathtaking ending.

PRAISE FOR SECRET STORMS:
"The book shifts between sections narrated by mother von Zerneck and daughter Hatfield, and both authors have gripping stories to tell. Readers will delight in their shared narrative, which is as heartwarming as it is engaging. von Zerneck's life alone would be a fascinating read, but combined with Hatfield's search for her mother it becomes compulsive reading."
-Publishers Weekly
"The book is beautifully written and...compelling, to the extent that readers might feel they are sitting with the authors, listening to them tell their tale...more like a novel than a memoir."
-ForeWord Reviews
"Shining through both narratives is goodness and the power of the human spirit. A dually narrated, uplifting tale on overcoming profound adversity."
-Kirkus Reviews
"This story will break your heart, bring on tears of joy, and make you believe in the healing power of love, forgiveness, and family."
-Meredith Rollins, Executive Editor, Redbook Magazine
"A heartbreaking but ultimately life-affirming mother-daughter story that defies fiction. Every plot twist, every emotion touches a chord, even for those of us who have not had to endure such a brutal separation. Read it and weep-and then finally rejoice. An ode to the enduring power of family ties."
-Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey, author of A Woman of Independent Means
"In my writers' workshops, the greatest gospel I can preach is the obvious one-to tell the truth, whatever form it takes. This amazing mother-daughter writing team exemplifies the concept to the max. The plot is Dickensian, rife with villains and struggle, the revealing of it, breathtaking in its simplicity and heartbreaking in its courage. What a story."
-Ernest Thompson, Academy Award-winning writer of On Golden Pond
"What an extraordinary and compelling story, all the more so because it's true-and told so beautifully by its two heroines."
-Alice Maltin, producer & Leonard Maltin, film critic and correspondent for Entertainment Tonight
"This is an uplifting story of hope and personal courage that is sure to resonate with most readers."
-Monsters and Critics

A personal account of infertility, IVF & adoption. 'After three years and a total of nine embryo transfers, Glenn and I are hanging up our saddles ... For many, three years might seem an insufficient effort, but I am tired. My body is tired, my mind is tired and most of all my heart is tired. I still believe that IVF is a modern, medical miracle ... But I no longer believe it will be our miracle.' What happens when the quest for a family seems to bring only tears and despair? As Kylie and her husband Glenn discovered you simply pick yourself up, take a deep breath and carry on. 'As harsh as it seems, the adoption process in Western Australia can only be described as excruciating: intrusive, intense, bureaucratic and judgemental.' Kylie's struggle to conquer the intricacies and inconsistencies of the adoption process push both her and Glenn to the limits of their endurance, and just when all seems lost they are handed a lifeline that sees their hope of becoming parents flicker back to life. 'Is it bad news?' 'No, it is very good news ... we have a baby for you, a little boy.' Honest, perceptive and deeply personal 'From Here to Maternity' is a warm and ultimately joyful story about one couple's determination to overcome infertility and bureaucracy and become a family against all the odds.

A powerful blazingly honest memoir told with humor and panache about a mother and son finding each other again after years of estrangement. A coming-of-age story of outrageous excess, glamour, entitlement and grand delusion, lived above the fray and over the top. A gay man's journey through the joys and perils of his generation, coming out in the early eighties in the shadow of a terrifying of disease that would devastate so many, surviving tremendous loss and culminating in his decision to adopt a child as a single parent.
When Sergei, a psychotherapist who has been living in Paris for the past decade, discovers that his mother is terminally ill, he decides to leave his practice and his life to be by her side, in the hope of healing the bitterness and discord before it is too late. Alternating between a narrative of Dollsie's last months as she battles cancer, interwoven with poignant and hilarious and at times shocking scenes from their outlandishly privileged lives, DAMAGE CONTROL is a story about exile and loss, searching and escape. From the mountain villages of Gstaad, Switzerland, to New York and Miami and Cuba, the narrator revisits the chateaux and chalets of his childhood, exploring the emotional and geographical landscapes of a mother and son whose lives are revealed to be poignant parallels of each other. After avoiding his mother for a lifetime, seeking shelter from her destructiveness and her drinking and her rage, Sergei comes face-to-face with this narcissistic woman confronting mortality for the first time, and through his own experiences as an activist and a therapist and a man who has faced his own mortality at young age, he helps her to come to terms with all her guilt and regrets and fear of dying.
This memoir offers a fascinating and disturbing portrayal of a glamorous woman whose life has been one of great elegance and luxury, along with disillusionment, grandiosity, seduction and self-destruction: her childhood in pre-Castro Cuba, a mythical island paradise; her marriage at the age of eighteen to a dashing young Swiss man and their subsequent exile; her frantic and desperate resolve to create a mythical life of her own and pass on the traditions of aristocracy to her children, all the while leading a double life and suffering feelings of intense longing and frustration and guilt which eventually cause her to destroy and walk away from everything that she has been raised to want and expect out of life.
DAMAGE CONTROL is ultimately a rendering of the cycle of life, saying goodbye to a parent so you can say hello to a child, and finding grace and redemption through a mother's love.

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.

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

If you are an adoptee, have you felt alone in the world with no one to talk to; wondered how other adoptees deal with their emotions; or wondered WHY you were placed for adoption? If you are a birthparent, have you ever wondered how your child might feel towards you; what their life was like growing up; or how you would react if they ever showed up on your doorstep? If you are an adoptive parent, are you puzzled with how to deal with your child's feelings towards adoption but don't know what to say; thought about helping them search for their birth parents; or how you would handle the situation if they contacted their birth mom? If you are someone who knows someone who is adopted, have you ever been curious what it was like to be adopted; you don't know what to say to them about being adopted; or you don't know how to support them if they are searching? If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then this book, The Special Chosen One, is for you. An adopted woman's journey back to her roots. This memoir peers into the mind and emotions of an adoptee who wonders about her birth parents. The torment of being questioned by physicians as to your medical history, when all an adoptee can answer is, "I don't know." The eventual fear of hurting adoptive parents when deciding to search for birth parents. The difficult aspect of searching for records about yourself, but they are sealed forever. This book is helpful to all members of the adoption triad; the adoptee, adoptive parents and birth parents, or anyone thinking of adoption or in the process of adopting. This book brings forth the theme that adoptees are not alone. The author never knew another adoptee until age 24. Her self-imposed feelings of guilt were always associated with being adopted. What the author didn't know until later in life is that other adoptees went through the same emotions. Also included is valuable information and suggestions for adoptees, birth parents and adoptive parents, tips for beginning a search, other books recommended for reading, helpful links, and reading group questions.

Clinical psychologist, Michael Grand, brings a compassionate understanding to all members of the adoption constellation. Drawing upon a lifetime of personal experience, research and clinical practice, he challenges conventional ways of thinking about adoption. The limitations of attachment theory as an explanation of adoption outcome are presented. In its place, he suggests a narrative understanding of adoption. Core themes of identity, grief, mattering and trust, permeate these narratives and shape the experience of members of the constellation. As a passionate advocate for openness, Grand explores the psychological costs of denying identifying information to adopted individuals and their birth kin. Parallels are also drawn to an impending crisis as offspring of assisted reproduction seek answers to their identity questions. The book concludes with a consideration of alternative permanency arrangements and a primer for opening closed adoption records. This book will change how we approach adoption in all of its manifestations. Adoptees, birth and adoptive kin, social workers, clergy, teachers, therapists, and legislators alike will find meaning within these pages.

From 1870 until after World War I, reformers led an effort to place children from orphanages, asylums, and children's homes with farming families. The farmers received free labor in return for providing room and board. Reformers, meanwhile, believed children learned lessons in family life, citizenry, and work habits that institutions simply could not provide. Drawing on institution records, correspondence from children and placement families, and state reports, Megan Birk scrutinizes how the farm system developed--and how the children involved may have become some of America's last indentured laborers. Between 1850 and 1900, up to one-third of farm homes contained children from outside the family. Birk reveals how the nostalgia attached to misplaced perceptions about healthy, family-based labor masked the realities of abuse, overwork, and loveless upbringings endemic in the system. She also considers how rural people cared for their own children while being bombarded with dependents from elsewhere. Finally, Birk traces how the ills associated with rural placement eventually forced reformers to transition to a system of paid foster care, adoptions, and family preservation.

We were all full of expectation as we waited patiently at Melbourne's international airport. I hadn't slept properly for weeks. All of us had been waiting for this moment for months. Our fourth child was soon to arrive ...This is the story of 18-year-old Kartya Wunderle, one of 64 babies flown out of Taiwan in the early 80s. Babies stolen from their mothers or sold by their families and adopted out to unsuspecting overseas parents. At 15, Kartya began to use heroin in an attempt to take away the pain of not knowing who she was and where she came from. Her distraught parents watched their beautiful daughter slowly slip away from them, spiralling towards a tragic and almost inevitable conclusion. Out of desperation and fired by an unconditional love for her daughter, Nola Wunderle resolved to find Kartya's birth mother and change the ending to Kartya's story. An amazing search for one woman in a country of 22 million began. The result was nothing short of miraculous, and made Kartya a national hero in her homeland. Lost Daughter is a moving testament to the power of love and the strength of the human spirit, one that will humble and inspire all who read it.

Everyone has an opinion of fifteen year old Katherine Beagan. To her therapist she's emotionally disturbed, while her vice principal thinks she is a trouble maker. To her classmates she's a runt, while her social worker thinks she's a punk. But when the Portland police call her an arson, her only escape is to pretend to be someone else, and that is when her real trouble begins....

Ukraine Adoption is the story of how the Redman family, against all odds successfully adopted 2 young girls from Ukraine. Follow their journey working with, and against the Ukrainian adoption system and learn how you too can navigate the often murky waters. Adoption is a blessing for both the child and your family - we'll show you how we did it and you can too.

In a family memoir that reads like a detective novel, Rhonda Noonan recounts her thirty-year quest to find the truth of her own background-and what she uncovered will surprise readers as much as it did her. Rhonda was born and adopted in Oklahoma, a state with closed adoption records. And, although she was cherished by her adoptive family, she-like so many adoptees-felt a burning desire to find and make contact with her birth parents. Her three-decade-long search involved institutional stonewalling; the intervention of numerous judges, attorneys, and detectives; mountains of paperwork and court filings, and thousands of dollars in expenses. Tirelessly tracking down lead after lead-and with the otherworldly help of a friend named Lillie-Rhonda finally unearthed her true history. Her father was none other than Randolph Churchill, son of Sir Winston Churchill. The State Department of Human Services and the FBI laid down an intricate cover-up, with Averell Harriman and President Truman on the periphery. The evidence was clear-there was no question in her mind (though her efforts to secure incontrovertible proof in the form of a DNA test were stymied by the Churchill family). Rhonda had gone about finding her heritage just as her paternal grandfather had conducted his military campaigns: relentlessly and with no small amount of courage. Like him, she triumphed. The events leading up to her discovery, as well as the aftermath of the astonishing revelation and her face-to-face confrontation of the Churchills, will leave you in awe of this intrepid heroine of her own life. As full of twists, turns, and suspense as the best fiction, The Fifth and Final Name should prove inspiring to all who yearn to uncover the secrets buried within their own family histories.

March into My Heart is a poignant and inspiring story of family, adoption, and the search for the irreplaceable bond between a mother and daughter. Patty Lazarus was happily married and busy raising two sons. By all accounts she was a very lucky woman. But still, something was missing. Despite her love for her family, she felt a deep longing for the mother-daughter connection she'd always dreamed of. After enduring her mother's tragic illness and untimely death, Patty knew that adding a girl to the family was the only way to ease the pain she felt. She and her husband set out on a four-year, arduous, complicated, and emotional journey through infertility, miscarriages, and adoption ending in a small town in rural Missouri where they would finally meet their new daughter as she came into the world.

Adoptive Parent Intentional Parent: A Formula for Building and Maintaining Your Child's Safety Net is an invaluable tool that adoptive parents will use over and over again. Whether you are in the "waiting stage" or you are two, four, six, or even ten plus years into your adoption...this book will to enable you to reframe your situation with a clear vision, new knowledge, tools that work, and the support of others who have walked the path before you. Every child who has been adopted has suffered a breech in attachment; no adopted child is exempt. In addition to attachment issues, some children also suffer with difficult behavior issues amongst diagnoses such as RAD, FAS, and those that suffer with grief, anxiety, sensory issues and the effects of trauma. The author's breakthrough concept of intentionally creating a safety net to help your child heal fills the books entirety. The four-part formula for Building and Maintaining that safety net is laid out in a detailed and user-friendly fashion. It combines the value of knowing yourself, the power of knowledge, specific tools and techniques that work in everyday life and the keys to maintaining the net over time to create a plan you can put in to motion today.

A story of foster care and adoption; the pitfalls, the realities, the truth from an adoptive parent and former foster parent.

In 1965, Carol Schaefer was 19, a freshman in college and deeply in love. She was also pregnant. When her boyfriend's family opposed their marrying, her parents sequestered her in a Catholic home for unwed mothers a state away, where she was isolated and where secrecy prevailed. She had only to give up her baby for her sin to be forgiven and then all would soon be forgotten she was told. The child, in turn, would be placed with a "good" family, instead of having his life ruined by the stigma of illegitimacy. Carol tried to find the strength to oppose this dogma but her shame had become too deep. "The first time I looked deep into my son's eyes, I felt like a criminal. As I unwrapped his hospital blanket and took in the heady fragrance of a newborn, I feared the nurses or the sisters would come in and slap me for contaminating my own son." Finding no way out, she signed the fateful papers leaving her son in the hands of strangers, but with a vow to her baby she would find him one day. For years, Carol struggled to forget and live the "normal" life promised, not understanding the consequences of the trauma she'd endured. On his eighteenth birthday, she set out to find him, although the law denied access to records. Her search became a spiritual quest to reclaim her own lost self, as she came to understand the emotional and psychological wounds she and other mothers like her had endured. Against all odds she succeeded in finding him and discovered that in many ways they had never really been apart. With her son's encouragement and his adoptive mother's cooperation, she tells their story. REVIEWS: "Strength, sadness, joy, and the power of undeniable love abound in this book." 500 Great Books by Women (A Penguin Books Reader's Guide, 1994) The list of authors goes back to the 11th century. Nominated "One of the best books of 1991." American Library Association. ..". flows as forcefully as the finest fiction. ... This 'ten-hankie-read' never descends into sentimentality but simply reveals the unvarnished truths of the human heart." Wilson Library Bulletin "This wrenching account, covering a range of adoption issues, is a moving testament to the bonding power of motherhood." Publishers Weekly "An astonishing revelation of the emotions that come into play throughout the adoptive process - a must read for all concerned." Kirkus Reviews Literary Guild Alternate Selection. "Inspiring ... a heart tugger." Patricia Holt, San Francisco Chronicle "A chronicle of a time with the starkest of emotions revealed ... Readers quickly understand the trauma that lingers on deep in the hearts of birthmothers every day of their lives." Elliot Bay Booknotes "It should be a must read for anyone who considers adoption the 'easy' answer to an unwanted pregnancy." The Philadelphia Inquirer "As she experiences pain and love, you're on that roller coaster with her, as if the life she lived was yours." St. Petersburg Times "Poignant and powerful, The Other Mother shatters the myth that unwed mothers, unprepared for the sacrifice they make, go on to lead normal and untouched lives." Booklist "Any woman who has gone through any part of her experience, or has been close to somebody who has, will attest to the story's authenticity." The Washington Post "I recommend it with all my heart. Its courage, integrity and love make it a treasure. ... not only for adoptive families and birth families, it is for everyone who longs to know how deep the levels are that connect us, and how precious." Gary Zukav, The Seat of the Soul ..". addresses intimately the experience of a Birthmother as no other book has - or probably ever will. Expertly written." Jone Carlson, Editor People Searching News "Courageous, moving and heartening." Betty Jean Lifton, Journey of the Adopted Self "A wonderful book. From my professional perspective the book is right on target." Reubon Pannor, coauthor, The Adoption Triangle

This is the truly inspirational story of a woman who searched for her parents for forty years. She found a 100 year old artist and free spirit living in Dublin. Could this be her mother? A fascinating and astonishing story to give you goose bumps. If you don't believe in miracles, you will after you read this story.

For nineteen straight years, the all-Hispanic boys' soccer team from Oregon's Woodburn High has made the playoffs. As they prepare to make it twenty, one thing will become clear: Los Perros play the beautiful game with heart, pride, and their lives on the line. Their spirited drive gives a rare sense of hope and unity to a blue-collar farming community that has been transformed by waves of immigrants over recent decades, a town locals call "Little Mexico." Watched over by a south Texas transplant--a surrogate father to half the squad--this band of brothers must learn to come together on the field and look after each other off it.
More than just riveting sports writing, "The Boys from Little Mexico" is about the fight for the future of the next generation--and a hard, true look at boys dismissed as gang-bangers, told to "go home" by lily-white sideline crowds. The wins and losses they notch along the way spin a striking tale about what it takes to capture the American Dream.

Pamela Bartram provides expert knowledge about the effects of development delay, coupled with facts, figures and guidance presented in a straightforward and accessible style. Adopters also describe what it is like to parent affected children, 'telling it like it is', sharing their experiences and offering advice.

This book honors the day your child became part of your family. Because of this event, you too, can celebrate "Adoption Day" as a holiday each year in your family. This story is about circling the globe to make a family complete. It tells of a child's desire for a sibling through his or her own eyes. We offer these books in a variety of sibling possibilities to fit your family.

Adoption is both a gift and a blessing, but it can also come with difficulties. In Chosen By Love, young Chloe experiences ridicule from other kids because she is adopted. Seizing the opportunity, Chloe's mom shares a secret with her that helps Chloe see just how special adoption is and how it points to an even bigger blessing TOM JASKI is an attorney and a pastor of Grace Community of Topsail in Hampstead, NC. Chosen By Love is his first book, birthed through his family's journey through adoption (twice) as well as his own adoption experience. The adoption journey also inspired Tom's wife, Christy, to help found A Sea of Hope, an adoption ministry that promotes adoption and assists families through the process (www.aseaofhope.org). Tom and Christy have four daughters. You can find out more about what Chloe's mom shared with her at www.tomjaski.com. STEPHEN SOU is with Youth With A Mission and a member of Pick A Pocket in Herrnhut, Germany. Stephen is a fine artist and illustrator, traveling around the world to highlight issues of extreme poverty through the arts.

The search for who we are takes on a different dimension for the adopted person. Often shrouded in mystery and secrets, the quest to discover our roots tests our commitment, relationships, and self-worth. Mr. Bannon explores his own innermost thoughts and assumptions, while expressing his gratitude for life itself, to the mother he has never met. This is a letter of love and curiosity, thanks and confusion, wishing and hoping and in the end, a sensitive message to birth mothers and adoptees everywhere.