Lifebooks : Creating a Treasure for the Adopted Child

This book made me finally understand the purpose a Lifebook plays in the life of a foster or adopted child and how it's so much more than a photo album or scrapbook. This book walks you through every stage of the lifebook process, and gives scripts and ideas for lifebooks for various situations and ages which is incredibly helpful. It is very, very practical and accessible. I read the whole thing one evening and was inspired to start working on my son's lifebook immediately! My only criticism is that it seems very dated and unprofessional in its typesetting and layout and I'd love to see more photographs of contemporary looking lifebook layouts. I would also be very helpful for this book to come with a CD Rom or a code to download lifebook templates.

We have two foster daughters that we will be adopting. My older girl is having a lot of anxiety and sadness around her birth mom being out of the picture so our therapist recommended this book to create a life book to help her deal with her issues. It is very direct and to the point, which I really appreciated. I've got two girls to make life books for and don't have time to read a novel about how to do it. We have started and so far so good. I would recommend this book to anyone with a foster or adopted child.

This book has helped me tremendously. I can now make a life book for any child that comes through my home with the confidence it takes to know I am doing the right thing towards my kids. These life books will help them to deal with the questions that will plague them in their futures. Every child is different and every life book will be different too now thanks to this book from Beth O'Malley. It gives sample books for all types of life books so you shouldn't be stuck to long with the help of this book.

This book has been an amazing reference for me to write a lifebook for my daughter. She has a very complicated birth family and this book gave me the child-friendly wording to introduce these ideas to my daughter. The only reason I gave it a 4 instead of a 5 is because the book is a bit disorganized.

We bought this as a requirement for our homestudy. I am not a creative person and this book is perfect for me. It helped me to better understand the purpose of lifebooks. This book is so easy to read and contains lots of templates to help you make a lifebook for your new child.

We adopted our grandchild and we are looking forward to putting a Lifebook together for him. I think it will give him a sense of origin down the road. His birth father has passed away and he feels that loss of history even at the age of 8. Great book--now just have to make it happen.

Love this book! It gives simple guidelines on putting together your life book as well as tips for talking to your child about adoption. I was very nervous to begin the discussion but now feel confident with these tips and tools.

Wow--so much to think about in creating a lifebook and this is like having your hand held as you do it! I emailed the author with a question after reading the book (in one sitting!) and she was quick to respond with spot-on advice. The book for my son is in progress and I couldn't be more pleased with the guidance this "Lifebooks" book has offered!

Easy to read, large print and some good examples of layouts for individual life stories and suggestions of what to include. Author is adopted herself so good perspective. Just maybe slightly over-priced considering the somewhat brief content.