Carried in Our Hearts: The Gift of Adoption: Inspiring Stories of Families Created Across Continents

A New York pediatrician specializing in adoptive medicine, and the founder of Worldwide Orphans Foundation, Aronson is a crusader for international adoption, gathering here myriad stories of her efforts over the years to bring surprisingly untraditional families together across the world, including her own tale of adopting as a single parent in 2000. Aronson groups the stories around themes: from the decision to adopt, including factors such as the advanced age of the mother or the determination to help orphans in need; the journeys abroad to places in China, Russia, Ethiopia, and Vietnam, many of which are gloomy and rundown; the first emotionally overwhelming meetings with the orphans before any developmental issues with the children were revealed; and the rocky adjustments to life back in the U.S. In presenting these candid stories, fashioned by the various parents and even an older sibling and an adoptee herself, Aronson does not sugarcoat the details, describing the arduous bureaucracy involved and the fact that some orphans have suffered such abuse that they cannot make the transition to American homes, as well as Aronson’s fervent belief that international adoption should be “the last resort for an orphan” when all other attempts at keeping the original family together have failed. Overall, there is a wealth of information—and hope—here for people looking at possibilities for international adoption, and there is certainly no better advocate on the long journey than the upbeat, passionate Aronson. Agent, David Kuhn, Kuhn Projects. (Apr.)