Columbia University Press; 2007
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A follow-up to a powerful collection of adult adoptee musings describes life as the first generation of multicultural families.
Parents who adopt across racial lines quickly realize that transracial parenting is, at the onset, ordinary parenting. But as time passes, and their children experience what it is to be conspicuously adopted, and to be a person of color in America, parents must become racially aware in a new way. In In Their Own Voices, contributors articulated their daily struggles and accomplishments as adult transracial adoptees. In this sequel, In Their Parents Voices: Reflections on Raising Transracial Adoptees, by Rita J. Simon and Rhonda Roorda, we meet their parents.
The format of this book may have as much impact on the readers response as the content. It begins with updates on several of the adoptees from In Their Own Voices. The body of the book consists of raw dialogue, transcribed from interviews the authors conducted with the parents. Eavesdropping on conversations that are sometimes painful, sometimes inspiring, requires the reader to do the work of teasing out themes and drawing conclusions.
In the final chapter, the authors outline 10 guidelines for parents. From my own experience as an adoptive parent, and from years of working in the field, I know that my favorite”Develop an ongoing multiethnic personal support network to help you”is also the most challenging. An eight-year-old once said to me, “No one who looks like me is worth my parents friendship.” And it seems that many of the families interviewed are still struggling to make this guideline a reality, as well.
Feedback from adult adoptees is scarce in adoption literature; parents viewpoints are much more readily available. Much of whats said in In Their Parents Voices is worthwhile, but the books true value lies in the chance to meet the parents of the remarkable young adults profiled in its predecessor.
Reviewed by Judy Stigger, director of the Russia program at The Cradle and (white) adoptive mom of two adults who self-identify as biracial.