ORDER ENTRIES:     OLDEST FIRST   NEWEST FIRST

Now available in RSS Feed!

Lee's letters from Addis Ababa, Spring 2006 2006-03-15 Our son Lee Samuel graduated from Druid Hills High School in Atlanta in December 20...

Book Tour: First Night Out 2006-09-27 Politics & Prose Bookstore, Washington, D.C. “Two people stopped by the desk on the...

A Late-Night Conversation 2006-11-06 A late-night internet conversation between The Author in Atlanta and her daughter, ...

The Decision-Making Process 2006-11-07 My husband, Don Samuel, and I have seven children: Molly, 25; Seth, 22; Lee, 18; Lily, ...

Yohannes 2006-11-07 The remarkable thing about a book tour is that the publicity reaches into wider territo...

Boxer Shorts 2006-11-08 In July, I flew back to Addis Ababa with our oldest son, Seth. We joined Lee, who was a...

But No Ferrets 2006-11-08 "How can it be possible," my children are asking, "that all these years, whenever...

In London's BBC radio studio 2006-11-09 In the U.K. for my book tour, I am invited into the London BBC studio. I am interview...

New sons have arrived, birthdays are celebrated 2007-06-16 Yosef and Daniel Gizaw, brothers of about 10 and 13, arrived in Atlanta this past S...

Their short-lived upper-middle-class life 2007-06-17 Suitcases lie half-filled all over the house; we leave in a few hours for upstate New Y...

Aging rapidly 2007-06-19 Upon arrival in the U.S. on June 10, Yosef (who, like many Ethiopian children, had no i...

More confusion on the time/space continuum 2007-08-01 When our daughter Helen came to our family from Ethiopia six years ago, she was delight...

Post-Adoption Depression article excerpted in Adoptive Families Magazine 2007-08-26 The new issue of ADOPTIVE FAMILIES Magazine includes a condensed version of my "Pos...

And yet more confusion on space/time continuum 2007-09-03 “What did you learn today?” I ask the gangly new 13-year-old in the house. I enunci...

Emotional Rollercoaster 2007-09-04 Let it never be said that I mislead people to believe that older-child adoption i...

Dancing moments 2007-09-05 I came home last night from a PTA meeting and found Lily, 15, and Helen, 11, and Yosef,...

English fun 2007-09-06 Of course 7th-grade Daniel won't always speak English like this, but it's so much fun w...

At the dentist 2007-09-09 Neither Yosef nor Daniel had ever been to a dentist before. The backs of their teeth w...

Parenting Skills 2007-09-14 Unhappiness again. Yosef, age 10 (and very cute), provoked Fisseha, age 13 (...

Daniel Discovers Text-Messaging with Lee 2007-09-26 Lee, at Oberlin College, was startled to get a text-message from Daniel at 1 a.m. on a ...

Home from book tour, back in the trenches 2007-10-02 I am reduced to taking comfort from cliches. This morning within a ten-minute period J...

The Songs of a Summer Evening 2007-10-08 Last night a friend and I took five of the children (Helen, Yosef, Jesse, Daniel &...

Landscaping 2007-10-24 We live in a very pretty neighborhood of tree-lined hilly streets, upon which acorns fa...

Halloween Horrors 2007-11-10 How do you explain Halloween to newly-arrived Ethiopian boys? They nodded with polite ...

Thanksgiving 2007 2007-11-27 This was the second time Donny and I had all nine of our children in on...

Pleasant days 2007-12-03 We’ve had a great few days. I may be starting to get the hang of having six children i...

Hanukah 2007-12-04 Hanukah is coming. I tell the children the story of tiny ancient Israel vanquishing th...

Daniel writes a story 2007-12-06 Daniel Samuel Water and ice fiends one day the water said I am good you a...

Molly on NPR 2007-12-14 Molly works fulltime for the San Francisco-based www.ForestEthics.com, an environmental...

Something Big and Not Good (finished!) 2008-01-19 Fisseha & Daniel got in a fist-fight. A real fight, a violent fight. Like somethin...

PARADE Magazine 2008-02-01 Many of you may have seen my article about returning with Helen to Ethiopia that appear...

We're for Obama 2008-02-07 Molly called from San Francisco and mentioned, "There was a guy standing outside my off...

"Saving Itai" 2008-03-04 At a recent conference of Jewish community activists, at which I spoke, I met Amos Kami...

Seth's website 2008-03-04 Our son Seth Greene Samuel has created a website that allows us to hear his music. ...

Doing Well, All Things Considered 2008-03-26 Life becomes a bit easier, day by day. Sod has been laid down over the dust bowl t...

Letters from Readers: Trans-racial Adoption, or Is Love Enough? 2008-04-21 I get dozens of wonderful emails and letters every week. I keep thinking I should post...

Mother's Day 2008-05-14 Mother’s Day May 11, 2008 Before I could really enjoy it, it seems I had to fall apa...

A Quadruple Bar & Bat Mitzvah 2008-06-15 On the weekend of May 16-18, we celebrated the collective b’...

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY 2008-07-22 We were delighted to see Entertainment Weekly's Special Double Issue -- "Our 1000th...

Camp Letters 2008-07-23 One of the great joys of sending off five children to camp, equipped with duffle bags, ...

Bullying 2008-09-02 WONDERTIME Magazine has published an article of mine about a new approach to bull...

If Obama could stop by.... 2008-10-06 [My essay is reprinted with permission from THE AMERICAN JOURNEY OF BARACK OBAMA, b...

Making up for lost time in the blogosphere 2008-10-06 I must sadly acknowledge that the title, "Occasonal Blog," barely even applie...

Afternoon Blow-Out 2008-10-15 Last week wasn't a time of high academic achievement for Jesse. He failed a test and h...

Happy Election Day! 2008-11-04 Last night I sat gazing out Helen's window into the woods behind the house, feeling a r...

Hanukah 08, so far 2008-12-24 For a fun Hanukah outing after candle-lighting and dinner last night, I forced the chil...

Recent publications 2008-12-24 I published a book review this week in the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2...

shocking news from Ethiopia 2009-03-17 I have learned this morning that our dear friend Mrs. Haregewoin Teferra has died. ...

the children 2009-03-19 Dear Friends, By now you may have learned the shocking news that Mrs. Haregewoin...

Lee & Maya in Ethiopia 2009-04-16 My son Lee Samuel, 21, and his friend Maya Selber are spending the two weeks of the...

Ethiopian Passover 2009-04-17 Friends have asked about Lee & Maya's experience with a Passover Seder at a small Beta ...

Mother's Day 2009-05-26 (written in pencil on my business stationary, with hearts and other designs, and delive...

ETHIOPIAN ADOPTION: An Informal and Unofficial Guide 2010-01-01 They are like children everywhere. Those who have been loved and nurtured since bi...