Open adoption can lead to incredible relationships for everyone involved. Hope’s journey can open minds in the adoption world, and prove that open adoptions can be successful… even if they’re messy at times. For Hope, finding the perfect mother for her son created amazing life opportunities for everyone involved. She aims to show that open adoption is about addition, not subtraction.

We should be talking about the decision to have a child after adoption. It’s a complicated choice with a ton of emotional repercussions, and women deserve to talk about and be supported through it. Hope herself struggles with questions: “How would my son feel if I did that? Will I ever be able to show him that he was always enough for me, but I wasn’t always enough for him?” By bringing these challenges to the forefront, other women can start being open with these conversations as well.

Pain is pain. Whatever choice you make, you deserve to be supported.Hope empowers women to make motherhood choices that are right for you, whether you're a birth mother, an adoptive mom, choose an abortion. It's okay to be going through this battle, and you don't have to do it alone. That's what she wishes she had, and that’s what she hopes to bring to every woman through her book. Personal choices about pregnancy are difficult no matter what, and we owe it to each other to understand, support, and celebrate the bravery it takes to make them.

The emotional pain of adoption can lead many women into dark places. There is always a light to find. Even though Hope had no doubt open adoption was the right choice for her and her son, she had to endure severe emotional trauma that followed. She invites you into her struggles with addiction, depression, and the toll they took on her relationships to show that despite those challenges, you can make it through. She found her light, and her story helps other women find theirs, too.