FCC is extremely pleased to announce to its members the imminent publication of a wonderful new book called When You Were Born In China, A Memory Book for Children Adopted from China. Written by Sara Dorow and illustrated with beautiful, personal photographs by Stephen Wunrow and a number of FCC parents, When You Were Born in China describes for our children, with both sensitivity and honesty, the circumstances of their adoptions in China, including how and why children are placed for adoption and what their lives were like in Chinese orphanages before coming to the United States.
Brian Boyd, publisher of the best-selling When You Were Born in Korea, has taken every care to create a book that will assist all FCC families in talking with their children about some of the difficult issues surrounding their adoption. In so doing, he has done an extraordinary service to all of us and our children. All FCC parents will want to own a copy.
Brian has generously offered to allow FCC chapters to sell the book directly to their members so that profits may be used to benefit local FCC activities. Please contact him BBoyd@worldnet.att.net for further information on bulk sales to your chapter.
Individual FCC members who wish to purchase the book are strongly encouraged to support those local chapters who will be offering it; there is also the option of ordering it directly from Brian by sending a check for $18.50 ($16 for the book, plus $2.50 shipping) to Yeong & Yeong Book Company, 1368 Michelle Drive, St. Paul, MN 55123 and CLEARLY MARKING the order with "FCC". Brian will share the proceeds of any FCC orders with a national FCC-sponsored cause.
When You Were Born in China: A Memory Book for Children Adopted from China by Sara Dorow, with photographs by Stephen Wunrow
ISBN: 0-9638472-1-XThis book is a moving photo-essay that provides a child's eye look at Chinese adoptions, helping to explain some of the "whys" and "hows" that have brought these children to their new families.
With sensitive text and touching photography, "When You Were Born in China" brings the whole process of Chinese International Adoption to a personal scale. The book speaks directly to the adopted child, assuring her that hers is a special story, one that started in an ancient and amazing country. The text then suggests that maybe the reader has a few questions about her story, how she was born in China, who might have known her then, and how she came to be adopted. It then provides a brief overview of some of the factors that may have contributed to her story, such as China's population control policies, and the cultural desire to have a son. It goes on to tell the story of what might have happened to the reader: life in an orphanage or a foster home, perhaps, and then the formal adoption process leading up to meeting her new mom or dad for the first time, and finally the flight home.
This book will be invaluable to adoptive parents who are looking for just the right words to help their child understand some of the factors that brought them together. It sensitively addresses the difficult issue of why birthparents felt they could not care for their child, and it provides some context for the whole process. The book will be enjoyed by school-agers and adults, and can be read or paraphrased to younger children as a wonderful way to integrate these topics into their daily lives.
Chinese adoptions are by far the most active International Adoption Programs, currently surpassing Korea and South America is numbers of children placed. Thousands of Chinese children needing families have been matched with families needing children, and predictions are that the number of placements will continue to increase over the coming years. Chinese-adoptive parents are also very well organized, many belonging to local chapters of Families with Children from China. On the Internet, there are a number of Chinese-adoption Web sites, and a Mailing List; there are also a great many newsletters.
There are many families who are awaiting their adoption referrals who will be interested in this book as well, for the insight it provides into the life of their soon-to-be child.
There are virtually no books like this available at this time. When Yeong & Yeong Book Company published the similar title "When You Were Born in Korea", it was an immediate success, as it met a need for Korean-adoptive parents to fill in that part of their child's story. Over 8,000 copies of that book have been sold.
Sara Dorow is an International Adoption Specialist for a major adoption agency. She is fluent in Chinese and Korean, and has a special focus on matching Special Needs children with families. Ms. Dorow has lived in Asia for over twenty years, but will soon be in graduate school in Minnesota.
Stephen Wunrow is a professional photographer in St. Paul, Minnesota, and a proud father of three, two of whom were adopted from Korea. His photographs were also featured in "When You Were Born in Korea".
When You Were Born in China is available directly from the publisher for $16.00 plus $2.50 shipping and handling (please enclose an additional $1.00 shipping and handling for orders of more than one copy). Checks only, please; we are not able to take credit cards at this time. The book will also be available soon from Adoptive Families of America and other organizations and catalogs that specialize in adoption related books, and Families with Children from China will be featuring the book as a fund-raiser. At the present time, we do not anticipate that the book will be available in bookstores. Those of you ordering from outside the United States, please submit a check or money order in U.S. dollars, and include additional postage if needed.
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