No Biking In The House Without A Helmet (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
As an adoptive mom and an adoption social worker, I liked this book a lot. Greene writes of her experience adopting older children from other countries/cultures. While it is generally upbeat (and totally skips over the negative aspects of transracial adoptions), Greene does a good job of portraying her personal struggles with adapting to bringing these children into her home. It is not at all uncommon for parents to experience "post-adoption depression," especially when adopting an older child who comes with her own distinct personality and history. It is also fairly common for parents to freak out when in the foreign country and early after their return, panicking about their decision to adopt and questioning whether or not they can follow through with it. Yet both this depression and panicky doubts are rarely talked about outside of the most knowledgeable professionals in the adoption world. Because friends and family view adoption as a choice parents make, often after years of yearning for children, they don't understand the adoptive parent's sadness and panic; their lack of empathy can compound the problem.Greene is blessed to have a large net of support in her friendship circle and marriage, and she was brave enough to ask for and use it. She faces struggles head-on and obviously has great delight in her children.I enjoyed this book, and I would recommend it as required reading for all prospective parents of older adoptees. I didn't know if I would like this book. At the beginning things were too cheery, too wonderful, too surfacey. But as the book continues, the author lets us into her deeper darker feelings about adopting--ethical quandaries, and post-adoption depression, questions about whether her family is adjusting. She also gives some insight into what it is like to be a real parent, a good parent, and a spouse and a person with a life and a job she cares about. I'm not yet finished but I find that her journalistic style of short chapters and thorough sketches of her children and interactions with the various people associated with the adoptions are really captivating, and the more I pick it up the less easily I can put it back down. A really great book for anyone who has ever considered adopting or parenting in general.Plus the pictures of her children are really wonderful.I look forward to reading more by this author.
What do You think about No Biking In The House Without A Helmet (2011)?
Loved this book! Real honest look at adoption filled with love and humor.
—Riane
Compelling stories and characters. A bit confusing plot/timeline wise.
—Melissa
