The act of adopting children, and the processes and politics around it,
have changed drastically in recent decades, mostly for the better.
Still, many prospective adoptive parents remain bewildered or
apprehensive, and those who have adopted find themselves struggling in
ways they hadn't anticipated.
Thicker Than Blood is a comprehensive yet down-to-earth look at
adoptive parenting in the twenty-first century. Author Marion Crook's
family includes two adopted sons; in her experience, adoptive parents
need to acquire skills, knowledge, and a good sense of humor in order to
deal with the emotional upheavals of raising adopted children.
The book looks at all facets of adoption, including its dark history
over the past one hundred years when it was seen as a lower-class option
for desperate parents, or when children were taken from single mothers
against their will. Today, adoption is much more open-minded?LGBT
adoptive parents and adoptive single parents are now commonplace?yet
challenges linger, from adoptive children suffering from PTSD to those
dealing with issues of anger and abandonment. Crook gently takes
adoptive parents through the process of adoption from childhood to
adulthood, helping to demystify the experience with compassion and
reassurance.
Meticulously researched but refreshingly free of academic jargon,
Thicker Than Blood will enlighten and empower adoptive parents and
those who work with adopted children alike.
Marion Crook is the author of twenty-one previous books which
include novels and nonfiction for both adults and young people, on such
subjects as women's health, teen suicide, and body image.
