Mine In China became available in paperback in July but it is now available for public libraries to order through their catalog. I would like to take a moment to encourage you to request your library order a copy the next time you are there even if you have no interest in adopting from China. Let me tell you why.

As I shared in the book introduction, when we first considered adopting one of the first places I stopped was at our public library. I found several books on adopting from China but all were 20 years out of date, detailing how to adopt a healthy infant girl. One of my motivations to write my book was to make available a comprehensive resource to adopt from China’s current program.

A bigger reason for you to request your library order a copy, even if you know you will never adopt or if you are done adopting, is for it to be there for people considering adoption. International adoption is at an all time low in the United States. While it’s wonderful that foster adoption numbers are up, the reality is that fewer people are adopting in general. Cost is the biggest reason tossed around, I feel that the real culprit is that adoption is no longer the “healthy infant girl” as described in those out-of-date library books. For some reason, adopting a 3 year-old is much more intimidating than adopting a 3 month-old. If you don’t believe me, join an adoption community on Facebook where questions such as “What is the difference in attachment issues if I decide to be open to a 24 month-old instead of an 18 month-old?” are routine.

Also, the phrase “special needs” is a huge deal breaker for most families. There was a time, as China’s program was transitioning from non-special needs to special needs, when people frequently choose to wait additional years for a referral because they couldn’t handle any special needs at all, needs like repaired cleft lip, a large birthmark, or a heart murmur, which are now often referred to the non-special needs people. I worked really hard to tackle these topics in my book, so that people will see that adopting an “older” 3 year-old or a child with medical needs is a viable option for most families. (Yes, I do also spend a lot of time going over the hard aspects of adoption.)

There are thousands of wonderful children in China waiting for families. Please consider requesting your library order a copy as a way of promoting adoption among families in your community. In the interest of full disclosure, I receive all of 37 cents when a library orders my book.

Just as a reminder, if you want to order a personal copy (or one to donate to your library), you can use the link on the sidebar to order either the ebook or paperback through Amazon, or even better, search for it using the Love Without Boundaries affiliate link. I do not have an Amazon affiliate account because I feel that LWB would benefit more from a couple of dimes than I would.