Meet Dang Guole. Found in a Chinese market in 2001, he was one of
thousands of babies, mostly female, abandoned due to the government's
one-child policy. The boy's path temporarily led to an abusive foster
mother before he was shuttled among other caregivers in his home
country. Across the world, a couple awaited a second adoption delayed by
bureaucracy they had not experienced the first time. Finally agreeing to
accept an older child - a boy, rather than a girl - they had no idea
what lay ahead. After all, he had disabilities unnoted in the
documentation. This is Dang Guole's remarkable journey. Combining
uncommon journalistic and literary techniques, author Lesli Hicks pieces
together his past and present, reimagining how he might fully tell his
story. Her sources were his own expressive reactions, emerging language
skills, and a host of loving teachers. Now the beneficiary of special
education, the once-lost boy at the center of Slow Takes a Long Time
teaches profound lessons about love and appreciation - and the patience
required to achieve both. Thanks to this unique portrait, he and his
message are here to stay, giving voice to special-needs adoptees around
the world who have found the joy of a ""forever"" home. But even people
who are not ""different"" can learn from him.
