Adoption and Foster Care
Resources for learning about adoption and foster care. Books here can help you understand the perspective of an adoptee/kid in foster care, an adoptive family, biological family, foster parent, social worker, etc. Or find a book here to educate yourself on the intricacies of the system and maybe even how to navigate them in the healthiest way.
List curated by an adoptee. My story from foster care has been mostly positive, but every story is different.
created by riskyreads
last updated October, 2026
Comments
are you looking for/open to suggestions for this list?
Yes I am!
ok cool! i’ve read some books about adoption; i’ve listed them below. all i can ever know by nicole chung—memoir by an adoptee. the girls who went away by ann fessler—about the girls who gave birth in like the 1950s and had their children placed for adoption. written by the daughter of one of these women. relinquished by gretchen sisson—about adoptive parents, particularly mothers. to my knowledge, the author is not an adoptee/connected personally to adoption. daughters of the bamboo grove by barbara demick—about twins separated by adoption (one is stolen and adopted out). will note that author is a journalist, not an adoptee. the violence of love by kit w myers—an academic book about transracial and transnational adoption (i’m still reading this one so can’t fully speak to it)
thank you for curating this list! it defintely has expanded my TBR.
edited to add: how chinese are you? by andrea louie—an academic book comparing chinese adoptees who been adopted by asian americans compared to ones adopted by white families. looks at how they enact cultures for their children.
Thank you, I will look through these soon. Im looking forward to it. Sorry you caught me on a travel day!
no worries! no need to apologize. :)
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