About this item

Anchored in a qualitative study of parents who have adopted children identified as being of a different race, this book draws from real-life experiences to raise and respond to questions that arise before, during, and after transracial adoption. Its goal: to help adoptive parents (and child welfare professionals) understand the underlying racial challenges in a transracial adoption so they can help their children cope. The book addresses questions from the obvious - for example, how to respond to comments from family and community members - to the practical - how a Caucasian mother can learn to help her African American daughter groom her hair. Topics include parental understanding of race while growing up, parental understanding of the challenges within the community, and communicating within the adoptive family.