2010 Adoption Book and Film Discussion GroupFeatured Books and Films

Adopted
directed by Barb Lee, co-produced with Nancy Kim Parsons
We Can Do Better
directed by Barb Lee, written by Catherine Wigginton Greene, co-produced with Catherine Wigginton Greene and Nancy Kim Parsons
Filmmakers Barb Lee and Nancy Kim Parsons (Korean adoptees themselves) present us with the gripping story of two adoptive families at opposite ends of the adoption experience: Jacqi and John in the process of meeting their adopted baby and Jen, a Korean adoptee, facing her parents terminal illness. Jen Fero, the adopted adult who courageously allows viewers into her family as she explores her own experience of adoption with her parents and brother, is the hero of the film, very articulate, she helps us understand the complexity of adoption. Adopted is distributed as a two-DVD set with We Can Do Better, a companion film designed for training purposes that intersperses the firsthand experiences of parents and adopted adults with child welfare professionals talking about some of the challenges inherent to transracial and transnational adoption. Each of the five sections is between 20 and 35 minutes long, and conveniently divided into topics for trainers and parents: Intentions, Parenting the Adopted Child, The Multiracial Family, Identity for the Transracial Adoptee and Tough Questions. Beth Hall, Pact's Director, and Lisa Marie Rollins, Pact's former Adoption Education Specialist, appear as speakers in We Can Do Better. We admit our bias, but we really believe this two-part video is a valuable and important contribution to the field. It's not always easy viewing, but it's an honest and poignant look at the many layers of adoption, and the ways that we can do better.

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Caucasia
by Danzy Senna
$14.00
Explores the internal cultural tug of war of a multiracial family. When their family breaks up, Birdie's Black father and sister move to Brazil to find racial equality, while Birdie and her white mother take on new identities and move to a small New Hampshire town where Birdie passes for white. Birdie tries to fit in but struggles to find a way to make both her white and black heritage to count. Her search for her sister leads to a search for her own identity.

Pact says: This is a well written book about the struggle for racial identity that multiracial youth face, particularly highlighting the differences between growing up with a strong African American influence versus living in a predominantly white environment.
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Daddy & Papa
Directed by Johnny Symons
$19.95
This film explores the growing phenomenon of gay fatherhood in the ever-changing landscape of the American family. This intimate and compelling film delves into challenges such as surrogacy, foster care, interracial adoption, gay marriage and divorce, and the battle for full legal status as parents. The message of Symons' frank and frequently poignant documentary is that hard work, love, and commitment - not gender or sexual orientation - are what constitute a good home for a child.

Pact says: Daddy & Papa is a thoughtful and frequently entertaining reminder of this simple truth that avoids a saccharine approach to either race or adoption.
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Las Hijas
Directed by Maria Quiroga
$24.00
A documentary about three young women who were adopted from Colombia as infants. Raised in the New York City/New Jersey area by white parents, they seek to establish their sense of identity first as children and then as adults. It is nice to hear from Latina's who might be perceived by white people as being able to "pass" because of their own clarity about their needs to understand their own adoption history and heritage before they can be fully comfortable in their own skin.

Pact says: This is a great film that will give viewers an insider view to the candid experiences of three different women who begin their search for self in isolation but eventually find one another and a whole community of belonging.
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Lucky Girl
by Mei-Long Hopgood
$23.95
Mei-Ling Hopgood has written a wonderful memoir, Lucky Girl, about her reunion with her birth family in Taiwan. With her clear prose and journalist's eye for detail, she creates a compelling story of how the relationship begins and how it develops over the years through visits and letters.

Pact says: One of the strongest aspects of Lucky Girl is the way Hopgood captures the complexity of reunion. As their relationships develop beyond first impressions, she learns some of the secrets and painful events that have shaped her birth family and the lives of her siblings. This evolution is inevitable and takes her readers along on a rollercoaster ride of joy and sorrow, disillusionment and acceptance.
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Parents Wanted
by George Harrar
$6.95
Andy is twelve years old and was removed from his parents several years before. He meets a couple at his 5th adoption party who he chooses to adopt him and they do. Parents Wanted chronicles Andy's experience as he moves in with Laurie and Jeff and eventually becomes their son. It includes very telling passages as he copes with loyalty issues regarding his birth parents, ADD, shame about being adopted and his fear that he will be rejected and lose another family and have to return to the group home.

Pact says: What is wonderful about this book is that it is written from a twelve-year-old's voice giving kids and parents alike a window into how a kid who has been through several placements and group homes views the world and the actions of the adults who are SUPPOSED to be caring for him. Really insightful.
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