So Many Ways to Belong : A Personal History of Adoption

Twenty years ago, Carol Atherton and her husband Matthew stood together on the doorstep of a suburban house waiting to meet the small, red-headed toddler who would soon be woven into the fabric of their lives. But that moment was only one of many thresholds they crossed on their journey to becoming adoptive parents.In the years leading up to it, they had found their path strewn with countless questions and clouded by the myths that have shaped our collective ideas about adoption. What was the truth behind the sensationalist headlines and the dramatic depictions in books, film and television?What level of scrutiny would Carol and Matthew face?Who would their child be, and how had they come to be adopted? And what would they need from the family who were going to give them a home?In the months following the first nervous call to the adoption agency, all Carol and Matthew’s assumptions would be upended.They would meet social workers, judges, support networks and foster carers, learning no