Young Chloe Pinter loves her job as an adoption social worker. As she sets out on a rainy Thanksgiving evening to bring dinner to one of her birthparent families, she has no idea that this adoption is going to bring heartbreak and danger into her life and that of the adoptive parents. Chandra Hoffman weaves an intriguing tale that demonstrates issues and roadblocks that can arise in domestic adoptions.
This novel was disturbing to me, because it focused only on the negative aspects of domestic adoption. The adoption agency Pinter works for is strapped for money, so it caters to high income, desperate adoptive couples and takes advantage of low income, equally desperate birthparents. The birthparents in this story are greedy and manipulative characters. Chandra Hoffman has been the director of a U.S. adoption program. I don't know if she chose to base her novel these negative elements because they create a good, suspenseful drama, or if she chose them because she saw them too often in her work. I hope it is the former.
My husband and I have a son whom we adopted through Bethany Christian Services' domestic infant adoption program. One of the many reasons we chose Bethany for our adoption (and now a second adoption that is in process) is that they strive to work in the best interest of all parties involved: the birthparents, the adoptive couple, and the child. Birthparents receive extensive counseling both before and after the adoption. This is critically important for their long-term well-being because they go through a significant grieving process after the adoption. Consider this phone conversation in "Chosen" between Chloe and Heather, a birthmother whose child has been placed weeks before:
Heather: "I really don't even know why I'm calling. I just got used to talking to you all the time, and then, it's like nothing. I'm just calling to say hey, I guess."
Chloe: "I'm really glad to hear from you."
Heather: "So do you ever do, like, a follow-up visit?"
With the adoptive parents, Chloe thinks....
We have met our son's birthparents, and we keep contact with them indirectly through the adoption agency. They are truly courageous young people who made a heart-wrenching choice because they knew it was in the best interest of their son. In doing so, they also gave us the most amazing blessing we could ever ask for. I'm certain there are greedy, selfish birthparents out there, like the ones portrayed in this story, but I believe most are more like our son's heroic, sacrificial birthparents.
Sojourner
I had a negative reaction to this book as well. I hope that it doesn't discourage anyone from pursuing adoption, either birth parents or adoptive parents. Maybe you will one day write a book about your experiences! We are blessed to be part of your lives!
ReplyDelete