In July 2017, China announced updated requirements regarding the composition of the prospective adoptive family and the timing of applications.
“The Red Thread of Fate”
More than a decade ago, I was hopefully working my way toward an adoption from China. After a tragedy derailed my plans, I wound my way to family in an entirely different way.
“Breaking New Ground”
In the days leading up to a second adoption, a mother worries: Are we about to turn our lives upside down? How will our daughter handle losing her position at the center of our attention? Will I be able to make room in my heart for another child?
New Brief: Chinese Birth Parent Search Manual to Be Released
Two adult adoptees are working on the first edition of a Chinese Birth Parent Search Manual, to be released at the end of 2016.
News Brief: CCCWA Announces New Program for China’s Former Shared List
China’s central adoption authority, CCCWA, has announced a new program to advocate for waiting children on the country’s former “Shared List.”
[Book Review] Wuhu Diary
No adoptive parent should miss Wuhu Diary. This dramatic and personal narrative by Emily Prager describes a two-month trip to Wuhu, with her five-year-old daughter LuLu, to discover anything they could about LuLu’s origins.
[Book Review] The Red Blanket
On the crowded shelf of children’s books about adoption from China, don’t overlook The Red Blanket, a book by Eliza Thomas, with irresistible illustrations by Joe Cepeda.
Letting Her Go: Chinese Birth Parent Search and Reunions
The first study on this topic provides fascinating insights about adoptees’ and parents’ motivations to search, search methods used, the initial reunion, and ongoing contact.
“I Was Afraid to Adopt. I Was Afraid Not to Adopt.”
“It’s hard to believe how reluctant I once was to adopt. In hindsight, I can see how much I needed this all along.” — Dennis Kneale
A Nation’s Buried Pain
Kay Ann Johnson spent more than 20 years listening to the anguished accounts of Chinese people who relinquished, adopted, and hid out-of-plan or over quota children in the face of the country’s One-Child Policy. In China’s Hidden Children, she shares their stories.
A ‘Lost’ Daughter Speaks, and All of China Listens
I went to China to find the birth mother who left me on a street corner. Instead, I became the focus of a nation’s buried pain.
Ask AF: Feeling Bad About Being Different
Answers to your parenting questions.
[Book Review] The Year She Left Us
Kathryn Ma’s ambitious debut novel about a Chinese girl adopted by a Chinese-American family tackles race, identity, and “luck.”
Two Adoptees on Going “Home” to China, Again
After a birth country visit to China that was too much, too soon for my seven-year-old daughter, she and a friend returned on their own terms as teens. The trip helped them imagine what their lives might have been and explore their Chinese-American identities.
Celebrating Chinese New Year
Learn how to celebrate Chinese New Year and welcome the year of the Monkey with your family on February 8, 2016.
“Lost Daughter”
When we got our referral, we accepted it with joy. Soon after, however, we realized something wasn’t right.
[Book Review] Red Thread Sisters
A brief review of Red Thread Sisters, an engaging novel your middle-schooler will enjoy.
Parent-to-Parent: Deciding to Adopt
When did you know adoption was in your future? AF readers reflect.
“Visiting Our Daughter’s Orphanage”
One of the cold realities of adopting an older child from China is that she comes with a lot of questions, many of which you can’t answer.
China Ends One-Child Policy, Adoptees React
China’s devastating one-child policy has finally ended. What does it mean for adoptees?