The Russian Word for Snow: A True Story of Adoption

"A nail-biting adoption saga with a happy ending." --People Magazine

"The Russian Word for Snow is about the alchemy of desire, courage, grace; about the buried secrets of a foreign land; about a little boy in a Russian crib who tangles his fingers in his new mother's hair. Their story is compelling. It is poetry. It is true. It held me transfixed as I read." --Beth Kephart, author of the 1998 National Book Award finalist A Slant of Sun

"The couple's fight to bring Alex home after months of dashed hopes and bureaucratic snafus vividly illustrates the perils of foreign adoption." --People Magazine

"Newman's story, told with understated grace, reminds us that parenthood is an internal journey not measurable by blood or footsteps; that life with a child is a daily opportunity for mutual redemption in moments both unique and fleeting." --Kate Moses, Salon.com columnist and co-editor of Mothers Who Think

"On one level, this is one woman's story of going to Russia to adopt a little boy and experiencing the wrenching, exuberant passions of falling love with a child. On another level, it's every mother's story--our doubts and our fears about what kind of mother we will make. The writing is compelling, and straight from the heart." --Adair Lara, San Francisco Chronicle columnist and author of Hold Me Close, Let Me Go

"Beautifully written, intimately portrayed, it's an extraordinary tale of the power of a mother's love." --Karin Evans, author of The Lost Daughters of China