Adopting on Your Own

By Lee Varon and Lee S. Varon

Book Overview

The first guide of its kind, covering all stages of the adoption process Adopting on Your Own addresses the questions and concerns of prospective single parents. Lee Varon, a practicing therapist specializing in adoption counseling and the single mother of two adopted children, helps readers make an evenhanded assessment of whether adoption is right for them, then leads them through the different stages of arranging and financing the adoption. She weighs the advantages of open versus closed and international versus domestic adoption for the single parent, and demystifies potentially daunting steps such as choosing an agency and preparing for the home study. Adopting on Your Own also offers up-to-date information on the latest developments in interracial adoption policy, the legal rights of gays and lesbians to adopt, and the evolving attitudes of agencies and social workers toward single-parent adoptions. Throughout the book, Varon draws on personal anecdotes and the experiences of her clients to offer honest, insightful advice on every step of the adoption process.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374128839
• ISBN13: 9780374128838
• Release Date: October 2000
• Publisher: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux-3pl
• Length: 428 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A very informative and readable guide!

This book was excellent! Lee Varon provides a wealth of information in a clear, well-organized format. She guides the reader through a thoughtful decision-making process that helps you examine your own thoughts, needs, questions, readiness to be a single parent, etc., to determine whether adoption is right for you, and if so, how to go about starting the process. I found it to be just the right balance of practical detailed information, questions and issues to consider, brief stories and examples, and lots of ideas about how to gather further information and follow the path that's right for you. Highly recommended.

A thoughtful, practical single parent adoption guide

Lee Varon competently covers the vast emotional and practical realm of prospective single parent adoption. In a warm, experientiallly-based manner, this adoptive parent offers opportunities for readers to examine areas like "hopes, fears and realities", the positive aspects of single-parenting as well as predictable issues occuring within this kind of family structure. Sections like "The Needs of Adopted Children" allow us to visualize a future in which the parent and child/children find the best of what creating family and love can offer us. As a single parent of two internationally adopted children, I highly recommend this book as essential reading for prospective parents as well as others involved in this important field.

Adopting on Your Own

Varon's book is invaluable for anyone who plans to adopt a child. As the single parent of an adopted child, I wish this book had been available to me when I was going through the process of adoption. The book will help you to make an informed decision on whether or not adopting a child is right for you. As a single parent herself, Varon gives a warm, heartfelt, and practical approach to the ups and downs of single parenting.

Outstanding

I had been considering adoption as a single parent, and wanted as much information as possible (so I thought!) When I started digging, I got a bit more than I bargained for and quite frankly was overwhelmed by all the information available. The title of the book caught my eye and did NOT let me down. Ms. Varon's book was by far the most comprehensive of all the books I have read, which are many. It was to the point and what I call a quick reference book and for someone like me, that's important. Just when I thought I had considered everything..Ms Varon raised another issue. I highly recommend this book for anyone considering single parent adoption.

Adopting on Your Own

Adopting on Your Own is a very cool book!I've only had the book for a couple of weeks. I purchased it after several months of trying to clarify my own thoughts about adopting a child.What the book has done is provide me with a clear view of what's involved. It's helped me tremendously in examining my own motives. There are a lot of factors brought up in the book that I'd left out in my original thinking. There are also a lot of resources and tips on getting through the adoption process that I know will be helpful if I do decide to adopt."Adopting on Your Own" is the most comprehensive single resource I've seen on the subject. It's well worth the money. My copy is getting pretty dog eared already.