In 2017 (the dark ages) we asked our social media audience for the books that most shaped them with regard to adoption… The response was overwhelming!

Here are 11 books that stood out in the conversation—

1. Adopted for Life (Russell Moore)

Dr. Moore’s book is a practical manifesto for Christians to adopt children and to help equip other Christian families to do the same. He shows that adoption is not just about couples who want children-or who want more children. It is about an entire culture that sees adoption as part of the Great Commission mandate and as a sign of the gospel itself.

2. Born Broken: An Adoptive Journey (Kristin Berry)

Kristin Berry tells her family’s story honestly, and does not shy away from the challenges she and her family has faced, including isolation and depression. This story is written with her son’s blessings, in the hopes that others will learn about and understand what it is like to live with FASD.

3. God Found Us You (Lisa Tawn Bergren)

This picture book celebrates adoption in a way that children can understand and enjoy. As little fox gets ready for bed, Mama Fox tells him the miraculous story of his special arrival. This heartwarming and tender tale captures the immensity of looking at God through a young child’s eyes and the profoundness of the blessings that adoption brings to both parent and child.

4. Kisses from Katie (Katie Davis)

This is the New York Times bestselling account of a courageous eighteen-year-old from Nashville who gave up every comfort and convenience to become the adoptive mother to thirteen girls in Uganda.

5. Nurturing Adoptions (Deborah Gray)

Adopted children who have suffered trauma and neglect have structural brain change, as well as specific developmental and emotional needs. They need particular care to build attachment and overcome trauma. This book gives practical and meaningful encouragement on how to create resilience after neglect and trauma.

6. Orphanology: Awakening to Gospel-centered Adoption and Orphan Care (Tony Merida & Rick Morton)

This book unveils the grassroots movement that’s engaged in a comprehensive response to serve hundreds of millions of orphans and functionally parentless children. You’ll see a breadth of ways to care with biblical perspective and reasons why we must.

7. Reclaiming Adoption (Dan Cruver, editor)

Reclaiming Adoption provides breathtaking views of God’s love for and delight in His children—views that will free you to live boldly in this world from God’s acceptance, not in order to gain it.Dan Cruver and his co-authors are convinced that if Christians learn to first think about their adoption by God, and only then about the adoption of children, they will enjoy deeper communion with the God who is love, and experience greater missional engagement with the pain and suffering of this world.

8. The Bible

This may feel like the token answer on a list of Christian books, but consider it. In addition to containing many beautiful verses of encouragement about adoption, the Bible is also filled with examples of adoptees who did great things for God, including Moses, Esther, and Jesus. 

9. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma (Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.)

This book contains an astonishing amount of information on almost every aspect of trauma experience. The research, interventions, and theories have a distinctly holistic feel. According to reviews, this book is “a veritable goldmine of information.”

10. The Connected Child: Bring Hope and Healing to Your Adoptive Family (Karyn Purvis, Ph.D., David Cross, Ph.D., Wendy Sunshine)

The adoption of a child is always a joyous moment in the life of a family. Some adoptions, though, present unique challenges. Welcoming these children into your family–and addressing their special needs–requires care, consideration, and compassion. This book is a must-read not only for adoptive parents, but for all families striving to correct and connect with their children.

11. There Is No Me Without You (Melissa Fay Greene)

When Haregewoin Teferra’s husband and twenty-three-year-old daughter died within a few years of each other, her middle-class life in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was shattered. Bereft and with little to live for, Haregewoin became a recluse. Her self-imposed exile was interrupted when a priest delivered first one, then another, orphaned child into her care. To everyone’s surprise, the children thrived, and so did Haregewoin. This is a story of struggle, but also of the triumph of saved lives and the renewed happiness of children welcomed by adoptive parents in Ethiopia, America, and around the world.

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