One in five people in our country is touched by adoption: as an adoptee, an adoptive family member, a birth family member, people who work in the field of adoption. I have always found adoption stories to be of human interest and since January of 2008 it has taken on a personal flavour I could not have anticipated, having found out, without ever having suspected it, that I was adopted.

Deborah wrote this book with the intention of providing a Canadian resource for families affected by adoption that highlights the success stories and rewards as well as lists resources for families to access - coming from her own experience as an adoptive parent who was looking for resources and found them scarce.

By reading this book, I've had a glimpse into a whole adoption world I never knew existed.

But what is most worthwhile about this book - whether you are one of those people touched by adoption or not - is the stories - of people you may know, of people who live next door, of people who have opened their hearts and homes to parent, guardian and steward the lives of children and who choose to do so in an atmosphere of openness. It is also the stories of people who work in the field of adoptions, some of whom, no surprise, have adoption in their own family histories.

One of the things that stood out for me: the term "family constellations" - which applies more broadly in today's world of "step families" and gave me a whole new way to think of my family, my birth family, my children, extended family and all of our experiences and relationships with each other.