Anna Maria DiDio

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Sometimes families are created in different ways. And today our guest is going to be sharing with us all about her family's story of adoption.

Anna Maria DiDio, is an adoptive mother and was inspired to write her memoir, Love at the Border, An
Adoption Adventure after her own family journey to Mexico.

Now her L.I.F.E.* Adventures children’s books feature stories about adoption, foster care, stepchildren, and all blended families from the point of view of the child. Anna Maria hopes that her books encourage open and honest exploration about what children are thinking and feeling within their own unique family. Anna Maria holds a BA in Psychology and an MSW in Family Specialization.

In this weeks episode I had the pleasure of talking to Anna Maria DiDio

Anna Maria DiDio, MSW is an adoptive mother and was inspired to write her memoir, Love at the Border, An Adoption Adventure after her own family journey to Mexico.

Now her L.I.F.E.* ( *Love Inspires Families Everywhere ) Adventures children’s books feature stories about adoption, foster care, stepchildren, and all blended families from the point of view of the child.

Anna Maria hopes that her books encourage open and honest exploration of what children are thinking and feeling within their own unique families.

Anna Maria DiDio is an international adoption mom whose best intentions and plans couldn't have prepared her fully for the challenges of a cross-border adoption.

When we think of international adoptions, we often picture a waif of a child who is unloved and under-nourished with haunting and haunted eyes. That's not necessarily the case as today's guest found out when she and her husband adopted a young child from Mexico.

In this episode Anna Maria is candid about the challenges faced by her, her husband, their biological daughter and their adopted daughter as they worked to create a family and find their path forward as a family. Anna Maria's chronicles were adapted into a book Love at the Border, An Adoption Adventure that will reassure other adopting families that their struggles are not unusual, and that they will come out the other end. Anna Maria also writes children's books which feature stories about adoption, foster care, stepchildren, and all blended families from the point of view of the child.

As grandparents we Boomers can play as important a role in the lives of adopted children as we do in the lives of our biological grands.

When my husband and I began our adoption journey over twenty years ago, we had no idea of what was in store for us. The myth of adoption had us hooked and after the pain and isolation of infertility, we were willing to give it a try. The journey took us to an orphanage in Mexico where we met an adorable and precocious six-year-old girl. Once in the U.S., her pain at being separated from everything she knew and loved prompted my writing and I began to journal our experience. Many years later, I finished my memoir, Love at the Border, An Adoption Adventure. Now, reflecting on how unprepared we were for the emotional tumult of adoption, I decided to write children's books from the point of view of the child. Expressing the pain of separation and loss is an important part of what adopted children need to do. However, many times, it's not something that adoptive parents are able to hear. With my L.I.F.E.* series of children's books, I want to focus on what children of all blended family types are thinking and feeling as they acclimate to their new families.

Speaking of kids, later we are joined by Anna Maria DiDio. An adoptive mother and was inspired to write her memoir, Love at the Border, An Adoption Adventure after her own family journey to Mexico. Now her L.I.F.E.* Adventures children’s books feature stories about adoption, foster care, stepchildren, and all blended families from the point of view of the child. Anna Maria hopes that her books encourage open and honest exploration about what children are thinking and feeling within their own unique family.

Most of us today come from blended families of one kind or another. Jason Fury speaks with talented debut author of the new memoir "Love At The Border" where author Anna Maria DiDio deal talks in depth about how her and her husband's challenging adoption of a seven year old girl in Mexico led to self-publishing a touching memoir that was almost 20 years in the making.

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