20 Life-Transforming Choices Adoptees Need to Make, Second Edition

BACK: Now it's your choice. No matter how loving your adoptive home, growing up adopted presents unique challenges--challenges the majority of adoptees don't talk about. Were you adopted as an infant or child? If so, imagine what it would be like to attend a gathering of all adoptees. What would you ask them? Author Sherrie Eldridge says adoptees might ask each other: - Do you ever feel alone? - Do you struggle with fears of rejection? - Do you have a special place in your heart for your birth parents? - Do you know who to trust? - Do you have a good self-image? - Do you feel like you don't belong? - Do you ever think about a reunion with your birth family? Sherrie Eldridge has interviewed more than seventy adoptees, who transparently share their stories in Twenty Life-Transforming Choices Adoptees Need to Make, a book for adoptees and by adoptees. This book is a celebration of adoption based on the fact that adoption can teach some of life's deepest and richest lessons. Upon hearing the stories of others, you will realize you're not alone but are instead in the company of an incredible bunch of people who will inspire you to make life choices that propel you to become all you were created to be. FRONT FLAP: Do any of these thoughts and behaviors describe you? -I wonder if my birth mother thinks about me, especially on my birthday. -I reject others before they can reject me. -I put on a strong front to cover up my lack of self-esteem. -I often feel out of place, even in my adoptive family. -I conform to what others expect of me. If you feel this way, you're not alone. In fact, your feelings are common for many adults who were adopted as infants or children. These are just a few of the unique challenges adoptees face, even those who grew up in an open, loving adoptive home. But take heart! The twenty-life-transforming choices for adoptees discussed in this book can change your life. They'll help you discover answers about issues such as: -Why do I feel angry or ashamed whenever I think about my birth parents? -Why can't I verbalize the painful aspects of adoption? -Where can I gain an unshakable sense of self-esteem? -Why do I often set myself up for rejection and sabotage my best efforts? -Is searching for my birth parents being disloyal to my adoptive parents? -Why was I put on this earth? In these pages, you'll explore the realities of adoption. What you discover will lead you to newfound joy and peace.