Before You were Mine by Susan TeBos and Carissa Woodwyk
Every child has a story. For many adopted children, that story is shrouded in mystery. Before You Were Mine helps adoptive parents collate a Lifebook, a compilation of Scriptures, stories and pictures of the child prior to his adoption.
Sensitive to the unique needs of adopted children, the authors encourage adoptive parents to create—not an adoption scrapbook—but a tool children can use as they think about, grieve, and question their earliest childhood. It can help to foster attachment to adoptive parents and establish open communication.
This guide to creating a Lifebook offers ideas for content, answering adoptees’ typical questions, such as: Are my birth parents still alive? Did they name me? It also suggests where to find some of those answers. But more than anything, it emphasizes a theme: God created you. He loves you. He has a special plan for you and will never leave you.
Throughout the Lifebook compiling process, adoptive parents are encouraged to pray and to enter into their child’s story with empathy. Practical “Homework” assignments help adoptive parents recall the details of their child’s story as well as determine the best timing for sharing some of those details.
I highly recommend adoptive parents not only read Before You Were Mine, but also create the healing Lifebook it describes.
Review by April Jurgensen
Founder/Executive Director
God Found Us You by Lisa Tawn Bergren
“God Found Us You” is a sweet introduction to adoption for the youngest adoptees. Written about a Mama Fox and her adopted baby fox, this carefully crafted tale demonstrates faith in God to bring families together.
The story is really a conversation between Mama Fox and Little Fox. It begins with Mama Fox explaining how much she wanted Little Fox, how she waited and prayed and trusted God to bring Little Fox into her life.
Next, it gently explains that Little Fox’s birth mother did what she believed was best for Little Fox. And finally, it ends with Mama Fox assuring Little Fox that they will be a family forever and ever because God made it so.
I would highly recommend this book to any family with young adoptees! It assures every child that God ordained his or her story.
Review by April Jurgensen
Founder/Executive Director
I Wished for You: An Adoption Story by Marianne Richmond
This gentle telling of a conversation between Mama Bear and her son, Barley, addresses several of the questions tiny adoptees may have.
Mama Bear explains adoption by saying that Barley is her “wish come true.” She shares how much she longed for a child and how great her joy was when she learned that Barley would be hers. “Of all the children in the whole wide world, God picked you for me,” says Mama Bear.
But Barley still wrestles with the fact that he doesn’t look like his family, so Mama Bear assures him that looking alike is not what makes a family. Love is.
This sweet book is a good read for young adoptive families.
Book review by April Jurgensen
Founder/Executive Director
