Branches We Cherish - Linda R. Sexton

Sexton does an incredible, informative, earnest job of walking the reader through the nuanced, intricate world of open adoption...that leaves you feeling grateful to know there is steadfast promise to open adoption. -  Liz Pryor, life advice expert, ABC's Good Morning America A compelling reading for anyone in the adoption world, and an important one for therapists, professional and academics."-  Adam Pertman, President, National Center on Adoption and PermanencyGold medal recipient in prestigious  Royal Palm Literary Awards, Florida Writers Association and second runner-up for book of the year. A powerful and honest account based on three decades of true-life experience. Award-winning The Branches We Cherish weaves together thought-provoking, joyous, and poignant reflections of four birth parents, birth grandmothers, adoptive parents, and two adopted children.  In 1992, Linda and David long to have a child. They decide to adopt a baby and learn they can only do so under an open arrangement where the biological parents and the adoptive family know each other's identities, and choose to remain in contact after the adoption is finalized ... possibly for life! There are no ready answers to their many questions: What happens in the first year? Twenty years later? What does visitation between birth and adoptive families look like? Will it be awkward to raise a child with the birth parents in the picture? How do adopted children feel about this open arrangement?  In the early 90's there is little guidance for long-term relationships between adoptive and birth families, so Linda and David have to learn as they go. Diving in with open hearts and open minds, they build relationships based on mutual trust, respect, deep gratitude for one another, and most importantly, unconditional love for a child.  They learn just how important having the children's birth parents and families in their lives is for everyone's emotional health—including their own. Discover the challenges of open adoption and the extraordinary gratification available to all members of the adoption constellation when they are willing and able to cultivate and maintain these lifetime relationships.