Description

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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.

About the Author

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Linda R. Sexton is an open adoption pioneer, a former executive at a Fortune 100 company and a Gold Medal recipient in Florida Writers Association’ s prestigious Royal Palms Literary Awards. Her greatest accomplishment and joy in life remains the adoption of two children in 1994 and 1998. With little guidance available, she was a pioneer in defining a path to a lifelong relationship with her children’ s birth parents. She shares this experience to help those who are embarking on this same extraordinary and frightening commitment. Visit her website at lindarsexton.com.

Praise For…

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"Linda Sexton does an incredible, informative, earnest job of walking the reader through the nuanced, intricate world of open adoption." —Liz Pryor, ABC’s Good Morning America advice guru and author of LOOK AT YOU NOW and WHAT DID I DO WRONG?.

"It comes from a place of lived experience while honoring that others may make different decisions, face alternative challenges, and glean other benefits." —Sharon Kaplan Roszia M.S., co-author of SEVEN CORE ISSUES IN ADOPTION AND PERMANENCY and THE OPEN ADOPTION EXPERIENCE.

"Her honest reflections on both the beautiful and challenging moments is something that adoptive parents at any stage will find both educational and supportive." —Heather Featherston, Vice President, Lifetime Adoption

"After reading this book, adoptive families can gain a better understanding about adoption relationships and feel more comfortable with openness."—Kathryn Joos Tomkowski, Domestic Adoption Program Coordinator - Alliance for Children Adoption Agency

"With frank honesty and three decades of experience, Sexton chronicles the leap of faith that is open adoption and how it can be a beautiful gift to all involved."—Terri Marcroft, Author of PRO-CHOICE, PRO-ADOPTION and Executive Director, Unplanned Good

"In her book, Sexton gives voice to that reality and makes it personal, as it should be, speaking honestly about the highs and lows of open adoption. The Branches We Cherish is compelling reading for anyone in the adoption world, and an important one for therapists, professionals and academics." —Adam Pertman, President, National Center on Adoption and Permanency; author, Adoption Nation

"The Branches We Cherish is a timely and important guide for open adoption and tells the story of an open adoption done well."—Lisa "LC" Coppola, LMHC and Author ofVoices Unheard: A Reflective Journal for Adult Adoptees