Customer Rating: 
Summary: EXCELLENT book to read before you adopt/or in the process!
Comment: This book is a MUST to read!! You will REALLY see where your money goes after reading it! I was quite amazed. However, compared to the other reviewers, I ended up using Alaska Adoption Agency. (Excellent company by the way!) We did a 2 trip region. (Khabarovsk) Was a great overall experience. For more info on adoption, I used to go to www.adoptionforums.com Great source for MORE updated info on what's going on with the adoptions these days!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Adopting in Russia: Your rights and the law
Comment: This is a must have book for adoption in Russia. It is well supportive of independent adoption. It covers the process of adoption in Russia in detail. The book also has a large section of Russian law, translated and explained, that is very helpful to adoptive parents. An excellent travel tool for Russian adoption.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A must have for parents considering a Russian Adoption
Comment: For anyone who is interested in an indepth understanding of Russian Law and how it related to international Russian adoption, this is the book to read! Well written, well thought out, easy to use and very informative! Irina O'Rear has written an outstanding book that explains in detail how the law works in Russia and how it applies to adoption.Did you know adoption in Russia is free? Did you know that the Russian Law DOES NOT require two trips? Did you know there is an appeals process for adoptions that are turned down by the judge? Do you want to know if you can request a specific child in a specific area, from a specific orpahage? Irina explains the whys and wherefores of the law, and how it applies to various adoption situations. She explains the adoption process, gives a list of documents commonly needed for a Russian dossier, and explains what is involved in the court hearing.
A well written, concise, and thorough book. A must read for anyone interested in adopting from Russia. A great place to get the right answers to some tough adoption questions.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Adopting In Russia, Your Rights & the Law
Comment: A must read for anyone adopting from Russia.From the introduction of the book: "This book has been written in order to provide the reader with basic and helpful information pertaining to Russian adoptions and Russian adoption law." There is no doubt that Irina O'Rear has managed to accomplish this in her recently published book.
Pre adoptive parents have many questions and MS O'Rear has managed to consolidate most of the answers to these questions into one book. A family going through the adoption process would be turning to this book daily to get valuable information. Some of this information can only be found in this book.
The book starts out with a general discussion on making a decision to adopt and specifically why to adopt from Russia. From there the author describes what to expect in Russia. This covers everything from how to dress, what to expect in the court hearing, and generally what to expect while sight seeing. There is a good description of the adoption process form the Russian side, which lets the parents know what is happening while they are anxiously awaiting an invitation to travel.
There is one section of the book, and I feel the most valuable section, where MS O'Rear translates excerpts of the Russian family law that pertains to adoptions. She also provides her expert commentary on each section of the law. In my work with Families for Russian and Ukrainian Adoption (FURA) I have repeat idly heard parents ask what the Russian laws says on certain issues. Now I have a resource that I can point them to for answers.
Besides the unique section on Russian law the author provides another unique section of useful words and phrases. Nowhere else have I seen a list like this. It is in English word order and the Russian translation is done using the English phonetic alphabet instead of the Russian Cyrillic. This is most helpful to those who don't know the Cyrillic alphabet.
For people looking for a resource and reference guide to help with a Russian adoption then this is the book for you.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Pre-Adoptive Parents MUST Read
Comment: This book is excellent. Especially for PreAdoptive Parents. Anyone who has already went to Russia can relate to much of this book. Whether you are using an Agency or Adopting Independently you should read this book. It tells all about what to expect from the laws and your dossier to what to expect while in Russia and Court. There is alot of information in it that I was not able to find anywhere else. The Laws of Russia are always confusing and the book explains them very well. If you are using an agency this book will help you answer some questions. You will have much more knowledge on what questions to ask your agency and what to expect. It helps make learning Russian words and phrases easy. If you want to learn anymore about the children in Russia this book is definitely for you. And let's not forget all the FAQ's, there all there, and we've all asked them. Good Luck and God Bless you on your Adoption.
