My daughters have caramel brown skin, dark brown eyes, and tightly curled black hair. They are African by birth, American by citizenship, but have always self-identified as Habesha (the Amharic word for Ethiopian).
Families Share: How We Help Our Kids Connect to Their Birth Culture
How AF readers help their kids learn about their heritage
[Book Review] The English American
Alison Larkin’s semi-autobiographical novel centers on an adoptee — raised in England, but born in America. Read the review, here.
Celebrating Diversity: Great Reads Featuring Multiracial Families
Children’s books featuring kids and adults of diverse backgrounds and ethnicity serve two purposes: They show kids that families “come in all sizes and colors,” and they are self-affirming for children of multiracial families. Here are some of our favorites, age by age.
[Book Review] Wanting a Daughter, Needing a Son
The questions that linger in the mind of most any adopted child are “Why?” “Why couldn’t they keep me?” “Why did I have to leave the place where I was born?”
[Book Review] Adoption Lifebook: A Bridge To Your Child’s Beginnings
In this essential addition to the literature on adoption lifebooks, Cindy Probst provides a structured, child-centered approach to the task of writing down what happened in the earliest days of a child’s life.
[Book Review] Mommy Far, Mommy Near
Mommy Far, Mommy Near-An Adoption Story, by Carol Antoinette Peacock, is exceptional. I really loved the fact that the story is told by a child to other children-the book’s readers.
[Book Review] Ten Thousand Sorrows
A Koren adoptee reviews Ten Thousand Sorrows. The memoir was written by a women of similar age and circumstances, but she didn’t feel the connection to the book she expected.
[Book Review] Halmoni’s Day
Halmoni’s Day is not an adoption book, but the ideas of shared heritage and cultural pride will ring true for adoptive families.
[Book Review] The Lost Daughters of China
The Lost Daughters of China, by Karin Evans, is an eloquent account of an individual’s journey to adoptive parenthood amidst the “search for a missing past” many Chinese adoptees encounter.
[Book Review] The Lucky Gourd Shop
In The Lucky Gourd Shop, an adoptive mother imagines her son’s birth mother’s life.
Is Your Family Ready for a Homeland Journey?
Heritage trips help children discover their past-and inspire who they’ll become. Help your child prepare for the journey with these expert-tested tips.
Raising a Bilingual Child
Here’s a practical guide to help your child connect to his language heritage.
How Do We Define Belonging?
Ethnic identity includes ancestry, but it is shaped by experience.
“Support by the Book Club”
A book club to read about our children’s birth cultures became a support group, a forum to discuss the similar parenting issues we were facing.
AF Reviews: Long Wait for Home
A film portraying the lives of birth parents in China.
“Right At Home”
Heritage trips help children discover their past — and influence who they become. Here, one adoptee describes his journey back to his birth country of Colombia.
“A Last-Minute Birth Mother Reunion”
Heritage trips help children discover their past — and influence who they become. Here, one family describes their journey back to their child’s birth country of Korea.
Off to Culture Camp?
Here’s what to consider before this summer’s session begins.
Latina — And Loving It!
Straddling two cultures, this powerhouse Hispanic-American woman takes on the world — and wins!