Welcome friends to the Open Adoption Project podcast. We're the Nelsons and today we have a special announcement.
Yeah, so today we launched an openness guide. It's called the openness guide for adoptive parents.
And I've spent the last year or so writing it and finally I'm sharing it with you today. So it's an exciting day.
Yeah, we're super excited to share this resource. I think back to when Lanette and I first started our adoption journey and
it was, we were really in the dark. And I imagine there's a lot of you out there that feel a lot of feelings, nervous,
maybe some trepidation, unknowns about adoption, particularly open adoption. And this really is a guide that I wish we had 15 years ago when we were starting.
Yeah, that's really what my goal was as I was putting this together, trying to think what would have been helpful back then.
I think it's a really vivid memory for both of us going in to our very first adoption meeting and learning what open adoption was
and realizing that it was becoming a lot more common and that was likely something we would need to do if we wanted to adopt.
And we weren't really at the point yet of understanding what it was, why it was important, and you know, really thinking about it with that big picture lens.
But yeah, so we just didn't have those resources and it took time. It took relationships with other adoptive families and seeing that open adoption is not scary.
And I think that birth families can be amazing and you can have these great relationships without it being so daunting.
Yeah. One thing that I really like about this guide is that it asks some really honest questions that you really need to consider if you are hoping to adopt.
I think for me, I didn't really understand the importance of the connection with birth family for the adoptee.
Well, I wasn't really focused on that when like adoptees and their needs on our babies, the adoptees, because when you have this small child,
it's hard to imagine what a relationship looks like. And so the relationship really starts between the adoptive parents and the birth parents.
But ultimately, it's so that there is meaningful connection for the adoptee. Right.
And I just feel like there's so many good questions that you have to really consider deeply that are addressed in this guide that you wouldn't typically think about.
Yeah. Well, and I'm really glad you brought that up.
So the relationships that we had with our kids, birth families, as we first started off in our adoption journeys, they grew, of course, over time.
But starting off, we, I think, really understood that these parents were going through something really hard, really traumatic and painful.
And so we wanted open adoption for them. Right. As we grew to love them and care about them, we were like, yeah,
we need to have an open adoption because we care about our kids' birth parents.
And I think that's good. But I mean, also that broader, more like ultimate perspective of doing this for adoptees is so important, too,
because both are the reasons we do it, but especially for adoptees.
Yeah. So we want to encourage you to go and purchase this guide as an e-book.
We really think it's going to be a good resource. So with a caveat, though, this really is geared towards prospective adoptive parents and adoptive parents.
Yeah, absolutely. And so, I mean, for our friends who are listening who don't fit into that category,
this book is, I think, still helpful for relationships, but it's not written for other audiences.
It's really written to help adoptive parents overcome these barriers and these fears, any trepidations about open adoption.
Yeah. And so I don't want to encourage people to buy it if that's not something that's going to help them.
Yeah, absolutely. But yeah, but the goal of the guide is ultimately to help unify the adoption community.
So you can find the openness guide for prospective adoptive parents,
what you should know about open adoption on our website at openadoptionproject.org.
And currently we're selling it for fifteen dollars, but right now we have a launch promotion.
So if you go to purchase it now, you could use code launchOAP for open adoption project.
So launchOAP when you're checking out and you'll get 25 percent off.
And that's for the next week. Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, so hopefully this is helpful to you guys.
Honestly, it would have been so helpful for us. And so it's been good to get it written down.
I mean, at least in that regard. Yeah.
And yeah, we just really hope it helps people and helps relationships to become stronger and more intentional.
Yep. So I'll have a link in the show notes where you can purchase.
Please share it with friends or family that you think it would be helpful for.
Yep. And we will be back with a real episode soon. But yeah, thanks so much for being here with us.
Absolutely. Thanks, friends.