The Glass Half-Full Adoption Memoirs series has won multiple awards, including North American Book Awards and Idaho Author Awards three consecutive years.

Everybody knows what adoption is, but adoption has changed dramatically over recent decades. Open adoptions create an opportunity for biological parents to remain connected with the child even after the adoption takes place. Emotionally, this is still largely uncharted territory for everybody involved and relationships can be difficult to navigate. Told from the point of view of an adoptive father, the journey the Elkins took is such a roller coaster ride you would think this true story was fiction.

Book 1: The Elkins have struggled with infertility issues for years before deciding that adoption is the right way to build their family. They quickly find out adoption is not as simple as filling out paperwork and waiting for a child. Adoptions fall through. People change their mind. Hearts are often broken. The actual adoption does not take place at the end of the book because it is by no means the end of the story—it’s the midpoint of the journey as adoption relationships have only just begun.

Book 2: The Elkins thought their second adoption would be easier since they had already gone through it once before. They were wrong. A new situation and new relationships came with unique trials. This new situation stirred up emotions from Russell’s past—from before he even met his wife, Jammie—making it possible for him to relate to the biological parents on a level he had never experienced before.

Book 3: The Elkins journey did not end when their two adoptions were finalized. Not by a long shot. Some relationships blossom while others struggle. They even begin a relationship with a birthfather who previously wanted nothing to do with them, which proves unpredictable and difficult. Most importantly, the children become old enough to think for themselves and they do not process their story the same way as each other.