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.
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