Posted on Thursday 04 October 2018
Mari Gallagher is one of the hundreds of parents who have availed of Barnardos’ post adoption counselling and support services, and has recently released her book “Becoming a Mother- Reflections on Adoptive Parenthood”.
Mari’s story tells of the pain of infertility, through to her meeting with her beautiful adopted son in Kiev. She describes the challenges and joys of meeting the particular needs of adopted children from practical attachment parenting to helping them find out important birth information. Her book interweaves her personal story with adoption theory in a way that is readable and very engaging.
Most people have an opinion on the subject of adoption- depending on what their own personal experience has been. We might know someone who has struggled to become pregnant and who –together with their partner-have embarked on the long and demanding route to adoption. Some of us know a birth mother who has faced the unimaginable sadness of parting with her baby to be raised by someone else. We may be familiar with the challenges for adopted children and adults in developing an understanding of who they are and coming to terms with loss of birth family and birth country. It’s really only those who have lived these experiences who are the real experts on adoption.
Since 1991, over 5000 children have been adopted to Ireland from 41 different countries around the world- countries as diverse as Uzbekistan, Thailand, Ethiopia and China. These children join the over 44 thousand children and adults born and adopted here in Ireland. All of these children- their birth families and their adoptive families have their own fascinating stories to tell.
However not many of these stories have been written and Mari Gallagher’s is so welcome. We are most grateful to Mari for the support she is providing Barnardos through the proceeds of her book.
Mari is a qualified psychotherapist- specialising in adoption issues- and is the adoptive parents of two teenagers who were adopted from Russia and Kazakhstan. Christine Hennessey- the Project Leader of Barnardos Post adoption service has written the forward to this book. Barnardos post adoption counselling and support services are provided for adoptive parents and their children- as well as to Irish birth mothers and adopted adults.
