Synopsis:
"He is adopted and very proud of it," reads the blurb on the back cover of this interesting little paperback. "Just Chris" begins just as one would expect - at the beginning of Chris. We learn some of the difficulties encountered in finding willing adoptive families for those babies which on the outside lack the appearance of perfection. We grow along with Chris as he grows. We learn as he learns. We go through the painful surgeries along with him as he relies upon medical science and the love and support of his parents to become and to obtain what so many of us take for granted.
Chris just lives and grows and takes us along with him for the ride. We share with him some very rich and rewarding events along the way. What these are can only be discovered by becoming a traveler alongside Chris in his young life.
This is a well-written little tome. It makes for very enjoyable reading due to its flowing style. The reader goes from place to place and event to event with grace. The author is sentimental without being maudlin and preachy. Chris lets the reader know just what he thinks, but doesn't tell the reader what to think. That is one thing that makes this book refreshing. The reader is trusted just to go along on the journey.
Young Mr. Welch's first book is called "Christopher Bullfrog Catcher." This book, as is his other one, is available through any bookseller
Reviewer: John Helman, Allbooks Reviews.
Book Excerpt:
Chapter One
I arrive on Thursday
It was May 7th, a beautiful day. I guess God made it that way on purpose.A few days before, Children’s Services was after my lawyer, Gary, to put me in foster care. It had been six days and no one would adopt me. You see, I was born with cleft lip and palate and some of the people didn’t want to deal with that.On that sixth day, Gary said a prayer for me to find a home. Just after that prayer, my parents, Mark and Debra Welch, popped into his head. They had just come back from Disney World, and when they got the call, they flipped, jumping up and down and excited that they were going to have a son.Mom was nervous because my first mother had to go to court. She could still change her mind. She was giving me up because she couldn’t take care of me. But Mom was still afraid that I wouldn’t come home.My first mother had to go to a judge and be told she was giving me up forever and then she had to go sit and wait for one hour. Then the judge called her and told her again. She didn’t change her mind, and I came home at 2:00 p.m. on May 7, 1992. I was seven-days-old.
My mom finally got to hold me for the first time. The first time she saw me she said, “He does have hair!” and made everyone laugh.Sometimes it takes a little while for a parent to fall in love with their child. It’s not unusual. But, at 2:00 a.m., it was my feeding time, and when Mom was going to give me a bottle, I arched my back toward her and, in her words:“It was 2:00 a.m., exactly 12 hours since you had come home. Awakened by the hungry cry of a newborn baby – music to my ears – I scrambled from my bed, and lifted you from your lace-bedecked basinet. As I straightened, you arched your back, as if straining to move closer to me, and I was lost. That was when I truly fell in love. I felt an electric thrill pierce my heart and love so profound, so complete, that I was immobile for those few seconds of utter and complete bonding. This was my son, my child, and no matter who provided the “clay” in which your sweet soul was housed, you were the same person, the same entity that I would have mothered had I provided the flesh which was the temple of your soul.”1I came just in time for Mother’s Day and Mom was overjoyed.My Granddad and Grandmom came to visit to see me when I was still a baby. I don’t really remember their visit, but we have videos. They loved me very much.Friends came to visit and gave Mom and Dad a crib and my cousin brought a bassinette and some toys.I have many neighbors on the lake, and they kind of adopted me too. One of my closest was Jim and Janet Prater. They lived just next door. The first time I
stood was on their patio, and Mom said they clapped and laughed and always showed off that spot to friends.My Mom loved being a mother. She loved me with a powerful heart; a heart that would never let anything happen to me. If I were to die, she would never be the same. That is how much she loves me.I came home on a Thursday, and the very next day, Mom and Dad took me to meet someone who would be very important to me. Dr. Ruberg would give me a face that society would accept.There would be a lot of pain, but it would be worth every stitch. But first, Mom had to put me through something called “lip traction.” Mom had to use surgical tape, rubber bands and band aids to make a kind of “bow tie” which stretched across my face from one ear to the other. It was supposed to make my cleft smaller. Mom said it irritated my skin and she cried a lot because it hurt me sometimes. But finally, that was over, and it was time for my first surgery.
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Topics/Categories:
Adoption, cleft lip and palate, Family, learning differences, Parenting, Relationships
Genre:
Adolescence, Autobiography, Family, Family - Relationships, Parenting, Relationships
Best Sellers:
Amazon Barnes and Noble Buy.com
Type of Work:
Book
Publishers:
Saga Books
Purchase From:
Amazon
Saga Books
Original Publish Date:
October 20, 2008
Publishing Notes:
This is a companion book to my Mom's, "Son of My Soul - The Adoption of Christopher."
