Back Cover Copy: Mike and Sara were an older, college-educated, small-town Midwestern couple, and devoutly Christian. Dealt simultaneous life-changing blows, he faced the end of his world or a commitment to create a new life. She felt a calling from above, but time would pass until the morning two radio disc jockeys discussed adoption. That day changed their lives and those of three children-the first, abandoned in Vietnam, the second, in foster care, the third, relinquished in another state-all with medical issues and turned away by other prospective adoptive parents. New to the intricacies and bureaucracies of adoption, this family's unshakeable faith in God led them through multiple adoption processes; issues they faced as an older couple with the support of grown children and extended families; a harrowing battle against Tuberous Sclerosis Complex; and a calling to advocate for other special needs children and their families. For both older and younger Americans, this memoir provides both "how to" information about the different forms of adoption from one family's perspective, and a testament of faith in God's plan both for adoptive parents and children. Description: Relatively few adoption memoirs are written by and for couples 40 and older-even as a generation of Americans known as "boomers" embrace adoption. Yet, in today's world with longer life expectancies, more older couples than ever are adopting children. Adam Pertman, executive director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute and author of "Adoption Nation," called boomers' embrace of adoption "a trend that's clearly happening." This candid memoir, punctuated with humor, frustration, endurance, savvy decisions and testaments of Christian faith, is written to inspire older prospective adoptive parents in America that it can be done and what steps to expect while simultaneously engaging middle age and dealing with children's special medical needs. While written by and for those over 40, a younger generation of prospective adoptive parents also will find this memoir informative and inspiring. In this memoir, the author: Provides detailed accounts of the processes his family faced in their decisions to adopt; selection of agencies; rigorous, invasive paperwork and interviews, financing, travel, and dealing with social services and courts; Examines issues which prospective adoptive parents over the age of 40 face from grown children, extended family, friends and strangers, as well as future decisions which affect finances, guardianship, parental age factors, and planning; Explores first encounters with their adoptive children, a foster mother and a birth mother, and what to expect initially; Explains the importance of online support groups; Recounts their vivid experiences adopting Savannah in Vietnam in 2008; Christian, in-state through foster care; and Marlee, multi-state through a private agency; Recalls their experiences being rejected for other adoptive situations and the idiosyncrasies of adoption/social service agencies, and state laws; Recounts their inspiring daughter, Marlee's, near-fatal battle against tuberous sclerosis complex, a hideous, rare disease; how to advocate for a hospitalized child; and understand the workings of a major teaching children's hospital; Describes their developing advocacy for special needs children, and their decision to form a non-profit foundation to assist others who are experiencing what this couple already has endured; Testifies how Marlee taught them the true meaning of Christian faith in the Lord's healing power, bravery, perseverance, determination, and hope.
About the Author: Michael F. Deaterla is a 1975 graduate of Ohio University with a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism, and earned his Master of Arts degree in 2012 from Union Institute & University. A former small-town reporter and editor, he currently is an adjunct English instructor. He and his family reside in Ohio.