Here is the list of the books I have been reading in order to understand adoption and Thailand better. I only list the ones I found helpful or worth listing, because some of the books seemed too outdated or unethical to me.
<Adoption – Own Stories>
“Seidentochter” (2007) by Anneli Schinkel
Language: German
The young author, a Korean adopted by a German couple, tells her story about going back to Korea to find her birth mother. She appears on a famous TV program where the adopted children seek for their birth parents. She is one of the lucky one to be reunited with her birth family including her two biological sisters. The author soon finds out that her Omma (mother) suffers from cancer and that she does have much time left. It was an emotional roller coaster reading this book, and every time I opened this book, I just could not stop my tears. This was one of the best books I have read and I will read it to our child. I also explained about this book to my friend in Japan, and I could never finish my sentences, because I became busy fighting back my tears. It’s just too bad that this book is available only in German.
“Tochter Indira” (2005) by Bettina Schulz
Language: German
When we started with the adoption process, I rent this book from the library in our adoption agency Ouvres tes Mains SOS Adoption. The author is a German journalist who goes to India in hope of adopting an Indian child. Different from our adoption process, she visited a number of orphanages by herself. Like in the film “Holy Lora”, she is faced with corruption in the system, moral questions, and difficulty in finding the one. From the beginning to the end, I agreed with the feeling of the author through her adoption process: overcoming with the depression after infertility, watching helplessly the psychological pain the children in the orphanages are going through, controlling anger over selfish and profit-oriented doctors and government officials, and being confronted by racism in your own country. This book faced me with the reality of intercultural adoption for the first time. This book is an absolute must for those considering an international adoption.
“An Adoption Diary” (2006) by Maria James
Language: English
This is a story about an inter-country adoption by a British couple. The author is an adoptive mother who documents every step of their adoption process including detailed scenes from social worker’s home study. We know that a wishing couple has an extremely less chance of the inter-country adoption in Switzerland, because there are just too many couples wishing to adopt for a small number of children given for adoption. The situation seems similar in England, and I was surprised to know that the home study took place more than 5 times, as opposed to only twice in Switzerland. But I think home study is an essential part of the adoption process for the social workers to detect a hint of unnaturalness and prevent any crime against minors. I noticed this author tends to write hyperbolically but maybe because I was used to the calmness of the German authors.
<Adoption>
“Survival-Tipps für Adoptiveltern“ (2008) by Christel Rech-Simon and Fritz B. Simon
Language: German
Right after purchasing this book, we met our social worker at an adoption forum and she told us that she is also reading the same book. So this must be popular for both adoptive parents and social workers. This was one of the hardest books I read in German, so honestly speaking, I am not really sure if I understood all the contents. The psychotherapist and her husband, who are also adoptive parents themselves, write about the various difficult situations adoptive parents may encounter and how to respond to them. My friend, who also wishes to adopt, told me that I should move on and read normal books about upbringing children and not to worry myself with all the problems that may arise or not arise during our adoption. Nevertheless, I am glad that I read the book, because I now understand the psychological stress of adopted children in depth and where certain reactions, emotional feelings and expressions derive from.
http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/3896706543/ref=sib_rdr_dp
“Auslandsadoption” (2003) by Herbert Riedle and Barbara Gillig-Riedle
Language: German
We bought this book when we started to think about the adoption. There are useful information about the motive of adoption, the process of adoption (in Germany), things to consider when adopting from abroad, medical information, travel tips, etc. I read this book back in 2006 and read again with a new set of eyes in 2009. Some information were unfortunately outdated, but I could pick up more useful information than before. I’d definitely keep this book until our adoption is legalized.
<Thailand>
“Monsoon Country” (1990) by Pira Sudham
Language: English
During our volunteering in the Issan region in Thailand, this book by Thai author from the same region were recommended by many volunteers. The story is about an Issan boy who grows up in a poor farming village who later gets a scholarship to study in London. The author must have reflected his life with the main character, because the author himself was granted a scholarship to study English literature in England. It was a heartbreaking story about a boy who observes the struggling farmers suppressed by the rich, drug dealers, police officials, and politicians and his journey in Europe as a foreigner. I personally did not like the author’s strange writing style but it provided me with insider’s view of the region and country.
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Two Books for New Parents « ¿Dónde está la discoteca? // July 6, 2009 at 10:45 pm |
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