My favorite adoption book of all time is probably Real Parents, Real Children: Parenting the Adopted Child, by counselor (and parent and sibling of adopted children) Holly Van Gulden and writer Lisa Bartels-Rabb. I read it first before we adopted our first daughter and have returned to it many times since. The book begins and ends with discussion of adoption topics such as grief and loss, identity development, self-esteem, preparing for placement, postplacement adjustment, school issues and the adopted child. There is also a discussion which presents clinical information about bonding and attachment in everyday language. The unique part of … Continue reading →