This video is a great example of how someone can play a part in helping children find families – without adopting. International adoption is expensive. Stupid expensive. Not everyone is in the position to do it, and not everyone should do it. But a couple from my church decided that they would play a role in another couple’s adoption. They are getting married, and instead of registering, they are asking for donations for my friends Steve and Sarah Carters’ adoption. Wedding Gifts from Nick Benoit on Vimeo. I had a chance to read the new book In On It: What Adoptive Parents Would Like You To Know About Adoption. A Guide for Relatives and Friends. I love it. The author Elizabeth O’Toole describes it better than I can:
One thing I hadn’t realized before becoming a parent through adoption: so much of the adoption process happens on your own. The workshops, the home studies, the hours of paperwork, the difficult decisions to be made: besides my husband, all of these happened almost wholly independent of those to whom I am closest. And I wanted a way to share my adoption with those who cared about me and my family, just as I had so many other important episodes in my life. I wanted a way to bring my friends and relatives in on my adoption.
In On It is the book I wanted to be able to give to my own relatives, friends and colleagues when I was adopting. I knew they would have an important and ongoing role in my life as an adoptive parent and in the lives of my children. I wanted them to have an opportunity to receive some preparation and education around adoption, too. I wanted a resource that I could offer them to have some of their own questions answered and concerns addressed.
I think it’s a great way to help friends and family better support and understand the adoption process. If you have someone in your life who is adopting, you should read it. And finally, Meesun and I have a mutual friend, and he sent me her video last week. She is an adult adoptee who is petitioning Oprah to get a show on the OWN network. She would like to use the platform to bring awareness to the world’s orphans. I love that she is drawing from her own experience and advocating for the "unadopted". She has my vote!
