"When Nefertiti Austin, a single African-American woman, decided to adopt two black children through the foster system, she was unprepared for the fact that there is no place for black women in the 'mommy wars.' Austin set off on her path with no place to seek guidance from others who looked like her or shared her experience. She soon realized that she would not only have to navigate skepticism from the adoption community, who deal almost exclusively...

With four children of their own, Atlanta journalist Greene (There is no me without you) and her husband, a criminal defense attorney, gradually adopted five more--one from Bulgaria and four from Ethiopia--to create a roiling, largehearted family unit.