What White Parents Should Know about Transracial Adoption--The Workbook: Practical Tools, Skills, and Prompts for Affirming Your Adopted Child's Cultural Identity

by Melissa Guida-Richards, Marcella Moslow (Foreword)

A companion to What White Parents Should Know about Transracial Adoption , this practical workbook guides readers to better understand transracial adoption and do the work of anti-racist, trauma-informed parenting.

A must-read for white parents who have transracially adopted or prospective parents considering transracial adoption, this follow-up to What White Parents Should Know about Transracial Adoption offers a wealth of activities, templates, and questions for self-reflection. Melissa Guida-Richards, who learned at the age of 19 that she was adopted from Colombia as an infant, addresses the complexities of transracial adoption with insight, compassion, and the wisdom of lived experience. Through thought-provoking questions and activities, Guida-Richards guides you

Throughout the workbook, Guida-Richards guides you to break free from toxic positivity, understand and drop defenses, engage in difficult conversations, and learn to listen to your child’s experience. Whether you are a potential parent considering a transracial adoption, a parent of an adopted child, or a therapist or advocate working with adoptive families, this practical and engaging workbook will help you “do the work” of furthering anti-racist, child-centered, and trauma-informed parenting.

Genres: Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

Published July 18, 2023

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book, which I was so stoked to receive!

Adoption is a much more complicated topic than people realize, and the best thing a potential adoptive parent can do is self-reflect about their own lives and grow from their struggles so that they can parent their children to the best of their ability. I often recommend Melissa's first book, What White Parents Should Know About Transracial Adoption, to families because of her ability to integrate the history of adoption, her personal history and emotions, and challenging questions to adoptive families seamlessly. While I think that this book goes best when paired with the original book, I still found a lot of value in it and have started integrating some of the questions Melissa poses into my work.

My favorite parts of this workbook involved when Melissa integrated real-world examples and websites that families could consult. Words matter, and by including these examples, Melissa clearly showed why our words should be heavily considered when talking about adoption. I also greatly appreciated the section that involved questions that people should ask their agencies, as I would much prefer that people pursue adoption in the most ethical ways possible instead of simply doing whatever will be fastest/easiest for growing their families. Finally, I hugely appreciated the resource list. I trust Melissa's judgement and have added these resources to my own list so I can learn from more adoptee, former foster youth, and first family voices.

My biggest complaint is that this book is advertised as one that families can consult no matter how they adopted their children. I think that the book holds value for all adoptive families; however, it seems most effective as a resource for those who adopted privately (domestic or international). The reason for this is largely due to the fact that Melissa's worldview is through the lens of a transnational, transcultural adoptee. Again, I think there is still benefit to completing the workbook, but adoptive families should make sure to supplement their education with the voices of former foster youth.

Thank you again to NetGalley, North Atlantic Books, and Melissa Guida-Richards for the ARC copy of this workbook.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent workbook that goes along with the book. This workbook does have stories and reflections from adoptees, and can be a very useful tool if you are navigating transracial adoption, like I am. I'm so grateful that this book and workbook exist so I can educate myself on how I can best support my daughter as she grows.

Thank you Netgalley and North Atlantic Books for this helpful and important ARC!

[Em · Rating 5 out of 5]

In order for adopted children and youth to have the best possible outcomes it is imperative that adoptive families and caregivers create a space for everyone's experience to be expressed, heard, and validated.

In What White Parents Should Know about Transracial Adoption- The Workbook, Melissa Guida-Richards provides her readers with a how to guide on implementing the suggestions and guidance from her book What White Parents Should Know about Transracial Adoption. The author is adopted herself and writes from experience while encouraging adoptive parents to consider all that is lost culturally when transracial adoption takes place. While there is grief for the adoptee to process there is also an important role White parents play towards ensuring their adopted child is honored culturally and racially and knows their roots and cultural background.

There is a section of the book dedicated to adoptee voices where contributors share their own story and how transracial adoption has impacted their identity development, understanding of race, and relationship to their parents. The author does not shy away from amplifying the stressors and negative impact that can occur when White parents are not handing transracial adoption ethically and while she's gotten some pushback for not spotlighting more positive experiences she does a great job of speaking to harsh truths while also providing tools for families. There is also a comprehensive exploration of the history of foster care and adoption that I really appreciated as a reader!

Thank you to the author and publisher for the e-arc copy!

[Mohan Vemulapalli · Rating 5 out of 5]

"What White Parents Should Know about Transracial Adoption--The Workbook" is a concise well written book that potential adoptive parents will find to be immensely useful in evaluating their suitability for adopting a child and formulating a plan to adopt.

Potential readers should be aware that this book is fully a workbook as stated in the title. As such, it may be useful to just read this book, but it's true utility will only be realized by completing the exercises. This book covers a broad range of adoption related topics and includes exercises in each section for potential parents to explore their feeling, opinions and inclinations.

Additionally, the book includes a number of stories and reflections from actual adoptees These sections are useful in and of themselves since they help potential parents understand the issues that adoptees are likely to face. An added feature is that each of these sections is followed by a set of questions that will help potential parents identify their own feelings and views about the topics discussed.

As a final note, this book is aimed at White parents considering transracial adoption. However, this book is likely to be useful to potential parents of many different backgrounds. Additionally many of the questions pertaining to transracial adoptees will also be pertinent to children of a multiracial background whether adopted or not.

Thanks to NetGaley and the publisher, North Atlantic Books, for providing me with a review copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the book that I wish would be required reading for all pre-adoptive and foster parents considering adopting or fostering transracially. My husband and I worked with 2 different agencies in 2 different states to adopt our children. Neither agency had any requirement for any kind of education on race, culture, or transracial adoption. Thankfully, we found resources on our own and have done the work and learning that needed to be done. Still, I wish I would have had this workbook and its companion book What White Parents Should Know about Transracial Adoption: An Adoptee's Perspective on Its History, Nuances, and Practices. This workbook guides parents and prospective parents through questions and activities on topics of race and racism, birthparent beliefs. trauma, and more.

Thanks to North Atlantic Books and NetGalley for a review copy of this book.

[Kelly Pramberger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is THE WORKBOOK companion to the title that was release a couple of years ago. I loved that book as much as this workbook. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC for the purpose of this review. Five stars all the way. This is a complex topic and Melissa writes in an easy to understand way. It made me realize some of the positive adoption language I pride myself on using can actually be harmful to my teen son who was born in Guatemala.

The workbook left me with a lot to reflect on. I will be letting people in my adoption groups know all about it. I was impressed with the coverage of the many ways adoptions happen. Thank you!

[Brontee (bookswithbibi) 🍉 · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a transracial adoptee, reading this was a very interesting experience. Not sure if I can properly articulate my feelings, but appreciate the self-reflection this workbook invites.