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Why I Chose You: 100 Reasons Why Adopting You Made Us a Family by Gregory E Lang, is a small “coffee table book” with pictures and snippets of reasons that families choose to adopt.
Author and photographer, Mr. Lang has a number of books under his belt, so to speak. While not personally involved in the adoption “triad”, he decided that he wanted to recognize those families who have grown through the miracle of adoption. He says: “Raising a child is not a right, but a priceless gift. It matters not from where the gift comes, but simply that it is received. There can be absolutely no question that adopting parents are choosing to open their arms and accept the precious gift that was meant just for them”. (Mary just blogged about the “meant to be” part – some of his written sentiments make me cringe a little.)
Some of the sentiments I agree with, such as “I chose you because I believe every child should have a loving family” or “because being a parent is what I love most”. Others I do not, like “I chose you to help me fulfill my potential” or “because I knew you would love the toys I had collected for you”. (OK, I hope this is just a sound bite to put in a book, not a serious reason why someone would adopt – be real.)
The families in the photos have quite a mix of diversity in the kids – the parents are all caucasian except one – but many, many kids are of multiple backgrounds. In the credits, he thanks WACAP and Families with Children from China in Atlanta, so he was able to hook up with a variety of adoptive families – large, small, single parent, sibling groups, from foster care, other domestic situations and international.
So, my review is mixed – it’s nice to see the pictures, but some of the sentiments are, um, a little insensitive in my view.
