An Anthology for Birth and Adoptive Parents and their Therapists Edited by Brooke Randolph, MA, NCC, LMHC Entourage Publishing, 2017, ISBN-13: 978-1942312093, 318 pages, $16.65 “It’s Not About You: Understanding Adoptee Search, Reunion and Open Adoption” contains short, personal accounts about searching, reunions and openness in adoption. This compilation conveys the wide range of emotions involved for all of those touched by adoption. Designed to give a voice to the many different perspectives of open adoption, this collection features guest offerings by adoptees, birth parents, adoptive parents and professionals working in the field. 
Painful, personal, candid and beautiful, these stories will give one a deeper understanding of what searching, reunions and open adoption looks like, allowing one to appreciate the many brush strokes that comprise a family portrait. Always, the child is placed at the heart of the text. Overall, open adoption can be a wonderful experience for everyone involved in the process. This is an essential text for experienced adoption workers or those currently in training. Bottom Line: I highly recommend this poignant and sobering book to others and feel that it should be required reading for adoptive parents, prospective adoptive parents or anyone working in the field of adoption or the child welfare system. — Reviewed by Wayne D. Duehn, Ph. D., professor emeritus of social work at the University of Texas at Arlington
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