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Ever since my husband and I came home from Russia with our new son we've been thinking of how we might be able to help those children who are still waiting for their "forever families" all over the world -- and how to help those who are thinking of adopting but haven't yet decided to take their own "leap of faith." As we were thinking, we couldn't help but remember all the stories people shared with us of their adoption experience and especially how they made the many decisions they faced along the way. These stories gave us hope, showed us that others have faced what we were feeling, and gave us the courage to take our own "leap of faith." So, while it took me a while to recognize it, I guess it seems only natural that one thing that we've decided to do is to put together a book of these stories that we hope will encourage others to adopt. While we don't have a final title yet we're thinking "Leaps of Faith -- Inspiring Stories of International Adoption." We think it kind of captures what we'd like to achieve.
We've already laid the foundation for the book. We've done some research and are determined that if we can't find a publisher we can and will publish the book ourselves. And, we have already found an editor (a friend of my husband who now lives in New England) to help. We've even contacted an author of another adoption book for some advice as we've certainly never done this before. If we could help just one other person make the decision to adopt -- and bring just one more child home -- that would be worth it to us. If the book would make a profit we've already decided to donate all of it to an adoption charity.
While we've done the easy stuff, we're missing the most important part -- the stories! Therefore, we'd really appreciate if you would consider joining the other parents of internationally adopted children who are sharing their story and/or helping us find others who would be willing to do so. We're estimating that we'll need about 25-30 two to five page stories for the book, which means we'll likely need twice as many as we won't know in advance what themes or messages each story might contribute. That's a lot! If you're concerned about your writing, don't be! The most important part is your story -- we can take care of the rest. We'll even accept your story on audio tape if that's easier for you.
There were incredible people in our lives that helped us take our leap of faith. We think it would be wonderful to help someone else make their leap of faith! If you’re interested, please contact me and I’ll send you more information.
Robin Bartko
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