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An adoptive mother of two now-adult children and a former foster parent, Gayle H. Swift is also a certified coach, a co-founder of GIFT Family Services (Growing Intentional Families Together, an NLP practitioner, and a former teacher. Gayle is a passionate adoptee rights advocate and believes that her books offer a valid way of supporting adoptees and their families as they navigate through adoption complexity with empathy, understanding, and validation. A fifty-four-year survivor of ovarian cancer, she believes in the joy of the present moment and the blessing of family relationships. In her travels with her family, Gayle has zip-lined in Costa Rica, Paraglided in Peru, hiked to the Sun Gate above the citadel of Machu Picchu, and trekked glaciers in Antarctica and the Arctic but parenting proved to be the greatest adventure of her life.
Reviewed by Astrid Iustulin for Readers' Favorite
Talking about a matter as complicated as adoption is never easy, but being an adoptee and a teenager at the same time can be overwhelming. Authors Gayle and Casey Swift, with illustrator Wesley Blauvelt, will be helpful to many young readers with their amazing work We’re Adopted, So What? This book guides its readers through a colorful path of images, wise advice, and information on how to get the most out of this delicate situation. We’re Adopted, So What? features the stories of five teen girls. It reveals their thoughts and explores their reactions. It also includes quizzes, from which young readers can discover something more about themselves. Finally, in the “All About You” part, they can write down their own feelings.
Gayle and Casey Swift, being an adoptive parent and an adoptee respectively, clearly have this issue at heart. The stories of the five girls clarify how each case is different from the other. While highlighting thoughts and problems, the authors offer great advice and solutions. These solutions are simple, but they are precisely what every teenager needs to hear. I like the particular attention the Swifts have for open adoption and for its implications. Their concern is always the children’s well-being. I also appreciate that they point out how adoptive families are no different from blood-related families. Finally, Blauvelt’s lively pictures illustrate exactly the most significant themes and add value to We’re Adopted, So What? Even though this book is primarily directed at teenagers, I recommend it also to foster parents and to other adults. It will open their eyes.
