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"Micky Duxbury has written an up-to-date book on the beauty and the complexity of families built through open adoption. She has integrated the knowledge provided by other experts in the field with the poignant stories of real families who have been living their open adoptions over several years. This book is well worth reading and I highly recommend it." — Sharon Roszia, co-author of The Open Adoption Experience "Open adoption is not a trend—it is the wave of the future. Making Room in Our Hearts helps us prepare for that future by providing an ethical and child-centered perspective. You will meet real people revealing, as well as struggling with, the ups and downs of these complex relationships. This book fills an important need." — Brenda Romanchik, MSW, Open Adoption educator, adoption educator and advocate, and Director of Insight: Open Adoption Resources and Support "Having been born under the closed adoption system some forty-something years ago, it was a profoundly moving experience for me to read about families who have come to embrace openness for their children. The adoption community is moving in a brave and important new direction and Duxbury's book will provide a vital map for families and professionals alike. I am grateful for this work and only wish that it had been the standard of practice while I was growing up." — Susan Ito, adult adoptee and co-editor of A Ghost At Heart's Edge: Stories & Poems of Adoption "I have been anxiously awaiting the release of Making Room in Our Hearts. Never has there been a volume so compassionate, inspiring and informative about why child-centered, open adoption is the correct paradigm for today's adoptions. Duxbury understands that openness in adoption is not a quantifiable obligation, but a quality that can be cultivated to reside in the heart of family members touched by adoption." — Leslie Foge, MA, MFT, Adoption Psychotherapist and Co-author of The Third Choice: A Woman's Guide for Placing a Child for Adoption As one of the pioneers of open adoption, I am frequently asked about the impact of open adoption on the lives of all parties, especially the children. Making Room in Our Hearts successfully answers these questions. The book opens with Duxbury’s adoption story that reflects the empathy and insight that she shows throughout the book. Her message is that open adoption is best not only for the child, but for every member of the triad. This theme is built convincingly through the stories of the families and is strengthened in a no-holds-barred approach to open adoption. — Kathleen Silber, MSW, Co-Author of Dear Birthmother and Children of Open Adoption "For skeptical birth and adoptive parents, as well as for adoption professionals, Making Room in Our Hearts is a guide into uncharted waters. Duxbury relies on over one hundred interviews, providing the experiences of veterans of open adoption. Most freeing is the validation that there is no one right way to do open adoption; each differs in degree of contact and sharing between the families. An open adoption that takes place without a roadmap may leave everyone perplexed. Thankfully, Duxbury has written a much needed roadmap." — Mary Martin Mason in American Adoption Congress's Decree; Spring 2007 "Making Room in Our Hearts is an authentic, inside account of the open adoption experience. It offers an opportunity to listen in as the participants of adoption describe the delights and challenges of their journeys. Openness never shines brighter than when it is expressed in the actual words of those who live it day in and day out." — James Gritter, author of The Spirit of Open Adoption, and The Lifegivers: Framing the Birth Parent Experience in Adoption "Adoptive parent and therapist Micky Duxbury has produced a "must-read" for anyone considering open adoption. Over 100 adoptees, birth and adoptive parents, as well as grandparents who are participants in open adoption - offer their personal stories, along with family photographs, in this readable and well-researched book. Their voices are a genuine testimony to adoption that focuses on the needs of children. "Making Room in Our Hearts" is an appropriate title for a book that speaks with a loving spirit." — Judy Norris for PACER, summer 2007 "Duxbury excels as a writer and a storyteller. Her book is so compelling and such a pleasure to read because the stories of the families are told in such lucid language with well paced story lines. Duxbury, an advocate of open adoption, does not spare either the joy or the pain of open adoption and her book also examines open adoption with older children, in the public system, and the challenges of opening closed adoptions. Her message is that open adoption is best not only for the child, but for every member of the adoption triad and this theme is built convincingly through the perspectives of the stories of the families." — Ann Wrixon, Executive Director, Independent Adoption Center "Duxbury never sells openness as a panacea or a simplistic solution to complex adoptive family issues. Making Room In Our Hearts contains stories about how to navigate the sometimes perilous waters of open adoption by people who best understand the journey: adoptees and parents who have strived to maintain openness in their lives. The stories make it clear that when parents eliminate secrecy, and open their hearts to embrace the fact that an adoptee has two families, all parties within the adoption are healthier. Informative, insightful, and grounded in truth, Making Room In Our Hearts is a book I heartily recommend." — Jean Strauss, author of Birthright and Beneath a Tall Tree; Filmmaker: The Triumpviarte, Holding Hands and Vital Records    Read the Entire Review  

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