lwspotts 's review for:

Twenty Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew by Sherrie Eldridge

1.0

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While I do agree that there is valuable information in this book, I'm having a powerful, negative reaction to it. I think the bottom line is that it seem to focus SO MUCH on the negatives of being an adopted child...all the hurt, anger, grief, loss, etc. etc. that the child experiences, and what potential adoptive parents need to do to help the child grieve the loss of their birth parents properly and move on to a better place in their lives. I don't discount this element, but in this case the negatives seem to so overshadow anything positive about adoption that they blot them out to a great degree.

I'm also struggling with the author's assertion that most adoptees feel as she did and does. If that is indeed true, that is a tragedy, and it would really put doubts in a lot of potential adoptive parents' minds about whether or not this was a good thing to do. I think in that respect the author (regardless of her good intentions) perpetrates a huge disservice to those seeking to pursue adoption. This was most certainly her experience, and there is no doubt that others have had very similar experiences, but I have serious doubts that in this day and age, with the resources available, her adoption story is the norm. I would certainly hope and pray that it is not.