One of the lovely things about running the magazine has been to find out about some wonderful books and resources to help adopted children understand their history. Today’s article is written by children’s author Sarah McGeough sharing her family’s adoption experience and why lockdown prompted her to write her first book.
Sarah’s books are a great tool to use to help children understand that not all families come together in the same way. And that adoption is a way families are created when birth parents aren’t able to look after their children. I’ll be publishing my review of Sarah’s debut book “Eddy Finds a Family” next week.
You can find out more about Sarah’s books and short stories about Eddy on her website. Follow her on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Our adoption story
We tried for a child for 8 years. It was an immensely challenging and emotional time. We went through two rounds of IVF, an ectopic pregnancy, diagnosis of adenomyosis and sadly then a hysterectomy.
We were determined to have a child so started to research adoption and decided this was something we wanted to pursue. We waited three years to adopt our son. It was a long and draining process and at times we felt like giving up.
Thankfully an amazing social worker came to our rescue. Within a few months, we were told we could potentially be matched to a baby who had not yet been born. This was most certainly a wow moment; and once this happened, we continued having these wow moments again and again.
The next wow was when we were on holiday in Majorca. We received an email telling us our potential son had been born. He was doing well and we found out his name and weight. This was such a surreal moment. We couldn’t believe it was actually happening.
It was a difficult journey, but we completed our family in 2016 and adopted our son. At the time, we didn’t feel there were many books available to help him understand his adoption journey. So, during lockdown I decided to self-publish my first children’s book “Eddy Finds a Family” in December 2020.
First book
Writing my first book was a life changing experience. The first lockdown in 2020 was tough, but suddenly having a goal to write a book was making me feel excitement on a whole new level.
I loved every moment and each step I took made me more and more determined. My book is a tribute to our son. That was my motivation. It means so much to give him this gift as his mummy.
My goal was to write a colourful and engaging story so all children would be able to understand adoption in a better way. “Eddy Finds a Family” is unique as it explains both the parent and child’s journey through adoption.
My son often asks, ‘How did you find me?’ and, ‘Was I lost?’ as he is interested to know how we came together to be a family. This is so vitally important. My son has been my chief editor, asking questions about the characters and commenting on the draft illustrations.
It has been wonderful for him to have this involvement. And having a child’s perspective has helped fine-tune the story. I’m sure it will appeal to many children who’ll get great joy from the characters.
I’m grateful to Adoption UK, who wrote such positive reviews and agreed to endorse my second book, “Eddy Feels at Home”. This latest story focuses on Eddy settling in with his new family. It highlights the ups and downs in the early stages of adoption.
The future
I’m keen to keep building the series, following Eddy as he grows older. I’m also working with primary schools to introduce a school resource pack. The next book will be “Eddy Goes to School” which will be available in 2023.
I’ve been delighted by the response to my books and have had lots of lovely messages from families. I also see a difference in my own son, who now identifies with Eddy and recognises that the stories relate to his life story.
I’m passionate about supporting adoptive families and raising awareness about adoption. I love knowing I’ve touched the hearts of many children.
Sarah McGeough, children’s author.
Click here to read more adoption stories.
This article includes affiliate links for the book. That means if you click on the link to “Eddy Finds a Family” on Amazon, and then buy it, I get paid a fee from Amazon.