Books, booklets & multimedia

Approaching Fatherhood:
A guide for adoptive dads and others

	Price: £9.95 177 pages B6	BAAF, March 2005 ISBN 978-1-903699-65-2

The voices of men - adoptive and birth fathers - are rarely heard in adoption debates. This timely and thought provoking book is the first in the UK to combine the experiences and perspectives of adoptive fathers with a guide to the adoption process, from the man's point of view.

Paul May looks at the feelings involved in preparing for a new kind of family life and dealing with the challenges along the way. He explores how men fit into the adoption scene today and looks at adoptive fatherhood as a topic in its own right - speaking as someone who has been there.

Against a context in which our understanding of fathers, their roles and their purpose, is vague at the best of times, this readable and challenging exploration of adoptive fatherhood as a topic in its own right, is a welcome addition to the literature. While fathers have been largely silent and unstudied figures, they can be key in their children's lives and play a crucial role in the success or failure of adoptive placement.

While this book will help anyone thinking about adoption as well as those more familiar with it, it is more than a "how to" guide. Paul May's exploration of masculine thoughts and feelings at each stage of the process gives an added dimension to the roller-coaster journey towards adoptive parenthood. His book fleshes out the adoptive father's somewhat sketchy place in the contemporary map of adoption and places him firmly in the web of adoptive relationships.

Paul May is a freelance writer, business consultant and adoptive father of two girls. He has consulted in business strategy with many leading companies and written several books on management issues. His children are slowly training him in fatherhood.