Hi, I am the curator of the Adoption Books for Adults collective. So glad you're here! I'll be leading an online book club discussion group prompted by the research that went into the nine book collection. I've been investigating international adoption for many years. As you know, when it comes to recruiting families for overseas adoption and influencing governments to release children, the Evangelical Orphan Movement (EOM) has had the monopoly, the influence, and the upper hand since its inception, organized by the demand side of the industry more than four hundred years ago. This is a topic that has been avoided by the guardians of the practice, but vitally important if we want to protect parents from unnecessarily losing their children.
Why Adoption Books for Adults? And, why now? These books add two cents to the social and political discussion on adoption especially intended for those of us who might be able to relate to the additional burdens many adopted people have had to face throughout the years. Why now? If we don't stop and have a dialogue about all concerns within the realm of the practice, history will continue to repeat itself. Nothing changes. There are still parents waiting for the return of their children.
Today, we need previous orphans, adoptees, activists, and allies to balance the voice within the political arena and to influence governments with real adoption experiences—not the fantasy wishful hopes, dreams, and desires of paying applicants. We would love for you to join the book club discussion, which will acknowledge the crisis of adoption trafficking like no other group has. The best defense against child trafficking is to be informed and aware of all issues surrounding the topic.
Introducing one of the books that will be featured in the Adoption Discussion Book Club hosted by Adoption Truth & Transparency Worldwide Network:
Adoptopia: A Deep Dive into the Life and Times of Adoptive Father, the Reverend Jim Jones, points out the unethical activities of the Evangelical Orphan Movement and other dogmatic fundamentalist groups who have infiltrated governments for centuries in the name of God. One investigative journalist refers to this evangelical movement of children as "Orphan Fever." It is also referred to as "The Savior Complex."
If you are staunchly pro-adoption (at all costs—even when children are being kidnapped for the international adoption market), or if you're a supporter of the Evangelical Orphan Movement (EOM), you might not find value in this investigative research. Please feel free to ignore this message. Adoptopia gives a shocking bird's eye view and an investigative critique on the EOM in a section called Adoptionized, which identifies all that could and has gone wrong spearheaded "in the name of God," "God's will" or "God's plan." It was even difficult for me to believe that such tragedies could occur.
You might be interested to know that the crux of the Jonestown massacre in 1978, was caused by a child custody battle between a birth father and the wanting adopter, Rev. Jim Jones, pastor of his infamous church called (various versions of the) Peoples Temple of the Disciples Of Christ. So when you hear someone say "don't drink the Kool-Aid," you might be surprised to learn that perhaps that phrase really did refer to being willfully deaf against adoptees before us who spoke against authoritative and self-congratulatory leaders in the political field of adoption.
We suggest being informed as much as possible on the hidden and ousted sides of adoption. Know the history of the practice, which is examined in the forthcoming book Adoption: What You Should Know. For a deeper dive into how the savior complex or orphan fever can go from bad to worse, pick up the book Adoptopia. You will then have at least two tools of knowledge from which to protect and defend local and global families from being targeted and exploited by a multi-billion industry. These books were compiled by and for people separated by adoption and other people who suspect that they could have been the victims, including my adoptive father, who was told that his infant daughter was stillborn, but without proof of seeing the body or receiving the death certificate in the early 1960s.
The next step is to be informed. Information plus action can be a healing remedy. If you want more information on what it might be like to be trafficked for intercountry adoption, visit Adoptopia.com. Tinan Leroy, adopted from Haiti to France in 1979, and a contributor of Adoptionland: From Orphans to Activists. Sadly, as some of you might already know, Tinan died suddenly from heart failure soon after Adoptionland was published. At that time he also spoke at the United Nations in an effort to inform governments on the crisis of adoption trafficking. He told me just before his death that one of the many problems he had faced was that no one believed that adoption trafficking existed in France. I told him the same about the United States. After his death, I made it my mission to educate the public of this issue, which is fiercely resisted by the Evangelical Orphan Movement.
Join the adoption book club discussion group hosted by Adoption Truth & Transparency Worldwide Network (ATTWN) on Facebook. All ATTWN members will receive early notices on discounted Pre-Release, Limited-Edition and Advance Review Copies of "Adoption Books for Adults" intended to empower our community.
If you are not on Facebook but would like to stay informed on all sides of adoption, we suggest the collective "Adoption Books for Adults," gathered by Rev. Janine Myung Ja, Ph.D.. This collective is focused on research, experiences, and politics. For her own personal experiences and philosophy, she writes under the pen name of Janine Vance.
Were you separated because of adoption? Have you been subjected to name-callings, such as anti-adoption, anti-Christian, or even called antiChrist, when you speak about certain concerns you have about adoption? Were you demeaned and demoralized when you were genuinely honest about your experiences? Have you always wanted to write a book on your life story, but not sure how to handle the misunderstandings, verbal abuse, rejection, and even hateful comments from people who can sometimes be willfully ignorant?
Did you know you can publish your story using a pen name? This has been a common practice among writers throughout history who were subjected to certain authorities. Janine, author of numerous books, has a suggestion that can help you protect your identity. She understands the discrimination and even the immediate kneejerk reactions the public has against "adoptees" or "birthparents" who speak truth to power, which can threaten the safety of you and even your family.
In the effort to balance the discussion on adoption, Janine believes very much that real experiences from families separated by adoption should no longer be ousted from the conversation. If you've always wanted to write your book, almost finished, or stuck somewhere in the middle, Janine can read your project and give you coaching rooted in more than twenty years experience from finishing numerous types of books: memoirs, philosophy, research, anthologies, political, and screenplays. Janine has also served as a ghostwriter for several authors. Want a finished book authored by you? Book a private interview with the Vance Twins. They do all the hard work. You reap the rewards.
These are Featured Books from the "Adoption Books for Adults" Collective
Join the Book Club Discussion Group Hosted by Adoption Truth & Transparency Worldwide Network
Not on FB, but Like to Read? Join the ARC Street Team: #1) Grab a book. #2) Read the book. #3) Send your thoughts to admin@adoptiontruth.org
Books @ Amazon by Adoption Truth & Transparency