LifeBook Tips

1. Tell the truth
   
2. Make reading the LifeBook a ritual
   
3. Always start with the adoptee’s birth, not their arrival day
   
4. Allow your child to feel their sadness
   
5. Have the courage to write a real LifeBook, from "scratch"
   
6. Really believe that any adoptee would cherish their lifestory, no matter how complicated
   
7. Always make copies of the LifeBook
   
8. Be optimistic that the LifeBook will help reduce adolescent acting out around identity issues. The more your child knows, they more s/he will feel "real."
   
9. Allow your child to keep their LifeBook in their bedroom
   
10. Never give up or tell yourself that you’ll write it when you have more time. The time is now.
    

Beth O’Malley, Adoption-Works or email lifebooks@earthlink.net www.adoptionlifebooks.com 1 800 469-9666