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Reaching Out: The Guide to Writing a Terrific Dear Birthmother Letter
The comprehensive guide to creating a Dear Birthmother letter that genuinely expresses who you are. Writing tips, examples, and the insight of leading adoption professionals have made this book both the accepted standard reference within the adoption community and the beginning of thousands of happy families.
Reaching Out comprehensively details the process of creating a strong and effective outreach letter and it does so in an entertaining, delightful, and pressure-reducing way.
This is the second book most prospective parents should read after whatever adoption process self-education they complete and the first that begins to grapple with their personal experience of the journey to forming an adoptive family. Most will find Mr. Handel s knowledge and approach immensely useful. But the real value of the text perhaps may lay in the positive mental approach to adoption it projects. In the guise of orienting almost parents to the letter-writing task ahead, Reaching Out stealthily challenges and corrects many of the negative preconceptions, stereotypes, fears, and self-consciousness they often bring to the adoption table.
An adoptive parent himself, Mr. Handel also brings his skills as a professional journalist to the task. He establishes a friendly relationship with the reader, maintains a jovial and supportive tone, and injects a good measure of light humor that keep things moving and makes for an enjoyable read.
Reaching Out accomplishes all it sets out to do, and a good measure more.
---reviewed by Carole Lieber Wilkins, M.A., M.F.T. --ASRM Mental Health Professionals Journal
Handel writes clearly, thoughtfully, and with a sense of humor, gently cajoling prospective adoptive parents away from common errors of wording and tone. With loads of examples and step-by-step instructions, Reaching Out will help you present yourself, your partner, your home, and your hopes in the best possible light. Writing that "Dear Birthmother" letter may never be enjoyable, but with Handel's encouragement and advice, you can give it a good shot.
---by Amy Klatzkin, contributing editor, --Adoptive Families Magazine
Reaching Out comprehensively details the process of creating a strong and effective outreach letter and it does so in an entertaining, delightful, and pressure-reducing way.
This is the second book most prospective parents should read after whatever adoption process self-education they complete and the first that begins to grapple with their personal experience of the journey to forming an adoptive family. Most will find Mr. Handel s knowledge and approach immensely useful. But the real value of the text perhaps may lay in the positive mental approach to adoption it projects. In the guise of orienting almost parents to the letter-writing task ahead, Reaching Out stealthily challenges and corrects many of the negative preconceptions, stereotypes, fears, and self-consciousness they often bring to the adoption table.
An adoptive parent himself, Mr. Handel also brings his skills as a professional journalist to the task. He establishes a friendly relationship with the reader, maintains a jovial and supportive tone, and injects a good measure of light humor that keep things moving and makes for an enjoyable read.
Reaching Out accomplishes all it sets out to do, and a good measure more.
---reviewed by Carole Lieber Wilkins, M.A., M.F.T. --ASRM Mental Health Professionals Journal
Handel writes clearly, thoughtfully, and with a sense of humor, gently cajoling prospective adoptive parents away from common errors of wording and tone. With loads of examples and step-by-step instructions, Reaching Out will help you present yourself, your partner, your home, and your hopes in the best possible light. Writing that "Dear Birthmother" letter may never be enjoyable, but with Handel's encouragement and advice, you can give it a good shot.
---by Amy Klatzkin, contributing editor, --Adoptive Families Magazine
184 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 9, 2009
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