Feature

When Grandparents Adopt

Millions of children around the world are currently being raised in “grandfamilies.” In this excerpt from a new guidebook, learn how to make sense of your new role and explain this unique form of kinship adoption to your child. | BY ANDREW ADESMAN, M.D., AND CHRISTINE ADAMEC

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Personal Essays

“Back to Bucaramanga”

We set off on the 3,400-mile journey to meet my daughter’s birth mother in silence, our questions too big to put into words. In Colombia, communicating through an interpreter, but also through smiles, tears, embraces, and shared sensory experiences, all of us began to find answers. | BY SHELLY GILL MURRAY

The Story Behind the Cover Photo: “The Words I’ll Never Forget”

“Looking back on this picture, I see a child who was confused, but yearning for what we all want and need: security, a family, and love. The picture is about hope.” | BY SARAH CZEPIEL

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Parent-to-Parent

“Our Open Adoption Over the Years”

Adoptive moms and dads share how their open adoptions have changed over time — whether they became more or less open, and why.

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Ask AF

• How to Tell My Son That I Can’t Adopt His Biological Sister?

• How to Choose a School for Our Transracially Adopted Child?

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Photo Contests

Summer Fun Photo Contest Winners

Enter the 2018 Adoptive Families Cover Photo Contest!

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Thank You to This Issue’s Sponsors:

Adoption by Shepherd Care
Adoptions from the Heart
Bethany Christian Services
Children’s Connections Inc.
National Background Check

Ellyn J. Bullock, Solberg & Bullock, LLC
Dr. Jane Aronson
Texas Children’s Hospital