In Their Parents' Voices - by Rita James Simon & Rhonda Roorda (Paperback)
About this item
Highlights
- Rita J. Simon and Rhonda M. Roorda's In Their Own Voices: Transracial Adoptees Tell Their Stories shared the experiences of twenty-four black and biracial children who had been adopted into white families in the late 1960s and 70s.
- About the Author: The late Rita J. Simon was a University Professor in the School of Public Affairs and the Washington College of Law at American University in Washington, DC.
- 240 Pages
- Family + Relationships, Adoption & Fostering
Description
About the Book
Rita J. Simon and Rhonda M. Roorda's In Their Own Voices: Transracial Adoptees Tell Their Stories shared the experiences of twenty-four black and biracial children who had been adopted into white families. The book has since become a standard resource for families and practitioners. Now, in this sequel, we hear from the parents of these remarkable families and learn what it was like for them to raise children across racial and cultural lines. Simon and Roorda's candid interviews shed light on the issues these parents encountered while raising their children and reveal whether they received adequate preparation and training from social work professionals and adoption agencies. The authors explore what role race played during thirty plus years of parenting, what lessons these parents learned about themselves, and whether they would recommend transracial adoption to others. Combining trenchant historical and political data with absorbing firsthand narratives, Simon and Roorda once more bring a unique scholarly and human dimension to the literature on transracial adoption.
Book Synopsis
Rita J. Simon and Rhonda M. Roorda's In Their Own Voices: Transracial Adoptees Tell Their Stories shared the experiences of twenty-four black and biracial children who had been adopted into white families in the late 1960s and 70s. The book has since become a standard resource for families and practitioners, and now, in this sequel, we hear from the parents of these remarkable families and learn what it was like for them to raise children across racial and cultural lines.
These candid interviews shed light on the issues these parents encountered, what part race played during thirty plus years of parenting, what they learned about themselves, and whether they would recommend transracial adoption to others. Combining trenchant historical and political data with absorbing firsthand accounts, Simon and Roorda once more bring an academic and human dimension to the literature on transracial adoption.Review Quotes
[In Their Parents' Voices] should be part of every placement agency's library and read by every adopting family.--Linda Katz "Families in Society"
Worthwhile, but the book's true value lies in the chance to meet the parents of the remarkable young adults profiles in its predecessor.--Judy Stigger "Adoptive Families"
About the Author
The late Rita J. Simon was a University Professor in the School of Public Affairs and the Washington College of Law at American University in Washington, DC. She published thirty-seven books and edited nineteen and was the editor of Gender Issues.
Rhonda Roorda was adopted into a white family in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. She is the recipient of the 2010 Judge John P. Steketee Adoption Hero Award from the Adoptive Family Support Network (MI). In 2017, Rhonda was awarded the Friend of Children and Youth Award from the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC). She is coordinator of financial and support services at a nonprofit educational advocacy organization in Lansing, Michigan. She writes for Fostering Families TODAY and Adoption TODAYmagazines.