The Complete Book of International Adoption: A Step by Step Guide to Finding Your Child

Davenport's book claims to provide a step-by-step guide, and she succeeds with humor and honesty. The book offers an overview that I found useful in an initial cover-to-cover reading, and enough specifics in the chapters that as I'm completing the paper chase, I find myself going back to re-read. Some adoption books emphasize the risks so much that they're unreadable, and some gloss over the risks so much that they're unrealistic. Davenport finds the right tone by presenting the experiences of many adoptive families at the end of each chapter, offering a balanced viewpoint of each step in the process. Her suggestions are concrete, her information is accurate, and her resources are useful. All in all, the best book I've found.

This is by far the best book on international adoption out there and I've looked at plenty. Actually, this book is for anyone thinking about any form of adoption because it has a great and succinct discussion and comparison of all forms of adoption. Although the book goes on to a thorough coverage of international adoption, Davenport is clear that all forms of adoption should be considered and there is no one type of adoption that is best for everyone. I love Davenport's thoroughness and her compassion for parents and kids. The book covers everything a prospective parent needs to think about, but Davenport is nonjudgmental about many of the choices parent will have to make. With each choice she urges parents to be honest with themselves and to put the interest of the child first. Because we are at the beginning stages of considering adoption, I found the first couple of chapters most helpful: are we ready to move on to adoption, what type of adoption is best for us, how to choose a country, and how to choose an agency. I especially loved the chapter on choosing a country and the charts at the back of the book on each of the top 17 (?) placing countries. Davenport has a website [...] that keeps these charts up to date. Regardless of which type of adoption we choose, I know that I will use the rest of the book as a reference, especially if we decide on international adoption. Davenport takes your hand and walks you through absolutely every experience you may have from finding the money, to surviving the homestudy, to preparing the paperwork, to waiting for your child, to traveling to meet your child, to the first days together, to the first year home. I liked her lists of questions to ask agencies, references, your child's caregiver, etc. I also loved her section on attachment and how to help foster it. She explained it in a way that I understood and left me feeling hopeful, not scared. The Complete Book of International Adoption is a gem and a must for any parent thinking about adoption.

This was the first book (of many) I bought as I started to research international adoption. It's been so helpful that I've recommended it to two other women in the two months since I first picked it up. It's written with knowledge, compassion and humor. Dawn Davenport presents the ins and outs of international adoption in just enough detail and with a deep sense of humanity. The appendices in the back of the book provide a wealth of information on specific programs by country, as well as guidance on further reading and research for the reader. And the adoption paperwork filing system she has developed is a work of organizational genius! This is a wonderful and thorough introduction to the wild ride of international adoption.

Like many of you, we are in the very beginning stages of the adoption process. This book is truly what it claims to be, a step-by-step guide. When we initially came to the decision to adopt we had no idea where to start or how this whole process works. Now with this book, we not only have the insight and advise from the author but also the stories from the many families that have already adopted and what to expect from their experiences. We now feel educated about this process and have many additional resources to help us through it all thanks to this book.

When my husband and I started our adoption journey, there were a lot of books about international adoption we didn't buy. This is a major statement from two book lovers, but a true one. It seemed that the majority of the books on the adoption bookshelves were either too negative (focusing solely on the challenges of parenting a child through adoption), too shallow (treating Guatemalan adoption the same as Russian adoption) or just too dry (and when you're in the middle of paper-chasing, you need a real page turner to keep you going). So we went against our nature and mined other resources in order to become educated and bolstered throughout the process. Our minds expanded with new information, though our nightstands lacked the expected adoption reading. My nightstand void remained until I received Dawn Davenport's The Complete Book of International Adoption: A Step-by-Step Guide to Finding Your Child (Broadway Books) to review. Having been in the process with either our daughter (now home) or our son (still in Guatemala) for 14 months and being blessed/ cursed with an ever-so-slightly obsessive personality, I consider myself to be well-informed about international adoption. Davenport's book, however, presented me with even more information than over a year of experience, other research, friendships and internet groups have. Furthermore, it was a pleasure to read. The Complete Book of International Adoption: A Step-by-Step Guide to Finding Your Child actually lives up to its title by carrying its reader through the initial considerations of whether or not you should adopt internationally to adjusting to your child's first months home to celebrating his/ her personal history and birth culture. It's a great find, with clear, detailed, and up-to-date information on the international adoption process between the U.S. and 17 other countries: China, Russia, Guatemala, South Korea, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Ethiopia, India, Colombia, Philippines, Haiti, Liberia, Taiwan, Mexico, Poland, Thailand and Vietnam. Davenport covers the emotional and practical aspects of international adoption evenly and seamlessly. Some of my favorite sections dealt with how to find and choose an ethical agency, how to survive the wait, how to travel internationally and still keep your sanity and how to deal with insensitive adoption comments. To broaden her coverage even more, Davenport includes several pages of perspectives from a variety of adoptive parents at the end of each chapter. Best of all, I loved Davenport's voice. From her incredible "My Prayer for All Children" in the beginning of the book to her 50 page-long resource section, she comes across not only as an expert, but as a mom you'd want to sit down and chat with. Her compassion and sense of humor reach out to you and draw you in. Whether you are embarking on your first or fifth international adoption, I highly recommend The Complete Book of International Adoption: A Step-by-Step Guide to Findi