As international adoptive parents, we're all well aware that our children are growing up differently than they would in their countries of birth. They're learning a different language, dressing differently, becoming accustomed to foods they well might otherwise never have come across in a lifetime, and learning to turn their noses up at things that might have been considered tasty treats ... ... more

The first section of the interview with Kari Grady Grossman, author of "Bones That Float, A Story of Adopting Cambodia is here. The second part is here.

SHB: Project 20 years ahead ... what will life be like for the average... more

The first section of the interview with Kari Grady Grossman, author of "Bones That Float, A Story of Adopting Cambodia is here.

SHB: Are there any actions people can take to encourage the reopening of Cambodian adoptions for Americans?

KGG:

My understanding is that this is now in the hands of the Cambodian... more

I've mentioned and reviewed Kari Grady Grossman's book "Bones That Float, A Story of Adopting Cambodia", and recently had the opportunity to interview the author in the course of an international blog book tour.

As this was coming about, a story broke from Cambodia... more

This continues on from the last post. During Gay's house building trip to Cambodia last year, she spent some time at AOA, my kids' former orphanage, on our behalf, dropping off gifts and recent pictures of our kids for nannies.... more

Word has it that Guatemala ratified the Hague yesterday. Here's a link to the story that's circulating.

And, just in case anyone missed the announcement from USCIS last week (5.17.07) with the update on processing times for Guatemalan adoptions, here's the link.

We're looking at recent international adoption-related news today ....

Very frightening, this report from CNN highlights a study out of the Asian-American studies program at Cal State Fullerton that has found that Asian-American women between the ages of 15 and 24 have the highest rate of suicide of any women in any race or ethnic group between those ages, and that suicide is the second-leading cause of death for Asian-American women in that age range.

... more

Time to clean up the desk again, so today' s post will be bits and pieces of news I've been collecting to pass along, starting with an announcement from Ethica about an up-coming conference, co-sponsored by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, to be held in Washington DC in October. The topic is "Adoption Ethics and Accountability". For more info, see Ethica's... more

An article I came across today prompted a look at international adoption from the Pacific island nation of Tonga. The story of a California woman who decided to adopt as she blew out the fifty candles on her birthday cake, like all adoption stories, is inspiring and has that usual tinge of something meant to be that so often figures into the follow-up that can be happy ever after.

It also, however, poses some questions and brings up, in me at least,... more

"Bones That Float: A Story of Adopting Cambodia" is more than a book; it's a movement!" says Kari Grady Grossman, the book's author. Determined to make a difference for the positive, Kari turned down a publishing deal with Beacon Press and opened her own company ... fixing the date of publication to coincide with the anniversary of the day the Khmer Rouge began the forced evacuation of Phnom Penh ... to assure that every penny possible made... more