Book, books and more books

Who would think the Jeff and I would decide to read more then the required reading?!?

When we received our envelope the one thing it included was the list of books. There was a total of seven books we could pick from but our social worker marked four she recommended. One book she required so that was given. The other three we could chose which two we wanted to read. Well being the over achievers we are Jeff and I opted to go with all the ones our social worker recommended!

Jeff's first choice in books to read happens to be the one that is required reading.

The Connected Child

Written by two research psychologists specializing in adoption  this book will help us with 3 things:

1. Build bonds of affection and trust with our future child.

2. Effectively deal with any learning or behavioral disorder.

3. Discipline our child with love without making him or her feel threatened.

My first choice in books to read is

Inside Transracial Adoption

Written by two adoption experts who also happen to be mother of adoptive children of different race and multicultural families. The book is a guide to navigating the challenges that white adoptive parents face when adopting a child of a different race or culture. We will learn that we will not understand all the challenges a child of a different race will face and how to provide a support system for them. We will also learn how to embrace their history and make ours culture just as important.

Now on to the future reading options that we have!

The Open Adoption Experience

Once again written by two adoption experts who have adopted children and help future parents with training and guidance in the open adoption experience. This book will help us understand and navigate the path of open adoption not only before and during the adoption process but also as our child reaches different stages in life. Pretty much this will be a road map to understanding it all!

Raising Adopted Children

Written by one of the authors of The Open Adoption Experience for this book she drew on the latest research in psychology, sociology, and medicine to guide parents through all stages of their child's development. She also writes about the pressing adoption issues of today including open adoption and transracial adoption. There are also answers to many of the most frequently asked questions adoptive parents have such as "When and how should I tell my child they are adopted".

None of these books are small and Jeff and I plan to make sure we take our time to understand each one. The benefit is we will be discussing them with our social worker and we own them now so as we move forward in this journey we will be able to go back and read them!