I was blown away! My copy of Adoption Parenting: Creating a Toolbox. Building a Connection from EMK Press arrived this week. I had been anxiously awaiting it, because now I'm a published author! (I have an article there on internationally adopted children in school. My mom is so proud, believing that I always was the author in the family. I must get an order in for her to have her very own copy.)

But beyond that, I didn't know what to expect. I knew the book would be great just by virtue of who the editors were and the collective wisdom they were pulling together from the more than 100 contributors. Jean MacLeod and Sheena Macrae are both adoptive moms whose names are not unfamiliar in adoption circles, especially cyberspace ones. But what I found (and continue to find as I read chapter after chapter) is the adoptive parenting book that generations of us wish we had had from the beginning.

The information contained in the nearly 500 pages is the culmination of several lifetimes of wisdom from so many "experts", most of whom are adoptive parents. The "been there, done that" quality is evident on nearly every page. Meant to be a reference book, this book is a milestone in adoption, especially international adoption, as it covers a most comprehensive spectrum of topics from grief and loss to language acquisition, to sleep issues, to teen years.

I immediately learned several things in articles about sensory integration and language delays. I was incredibly impressed with Deborah Moore's thorough coverage of "Discipline With an Adoption Twist" - a textbook summary of discipline tools every adoptive parent needs.

The editors did a magnificent job of including significant sidebars of examples, narratives and additional information. There are tons of references, lists and websites included. The 19 chapters in the book cover it all:

Getting Started
Sleep
Claiming
Language
Food
Baggage
Discipline
Loss & Grief
Transitions
Siblings
Narratives
Learning
School
Race
Older Child Adoption
Challenges
Support
Therapy
Journey

So, if you're looking for your next addition to your ever-growing adoption book library or just the perfect gift for a soon-to-be adoptive parent -- this book is it! It is this blogger's opinion that this book will be as important to every adoptive parent as What to Expect When You're Expecting is to every pregnant woman.

Adam Pertman, Executive Director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute said it best in the forward to the book:

"In our new, improving world, Adoption Parenting deserves to be front and center. It deserves to be in the hands of parents, would-be parents, adoption practitioners and others (let's start with teachers, doctors and mental health professionals, shall we?) who profoundly affect our families. Its thoughtful, accessible approach is not about wallowing in problems and challenges, but about sharing knowledge, making connections, overcoming obstacles, and doing a better job for the sake of our kids. It our new, improving world, Adoption Parenting is indeed a useful toolbox, but it is far more. It is a celebration of how far we have come, and it is a roadmap toward an increasingly successful future."

Fabulous job Jean, Sheena and Carrie!!! I applaud your profound contribution to the world of adoption!!!!!