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by Vivian B. Shapiro, PhD, Janet R. Shapiro, MSW, PhD, and Isabel H. Paret, PhD, 338 pp, ISBN 1-57230-628-9, New York, NY, Guilford Press, 2001.

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2002;59:475-476.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

This book leads the reader into the current diverse universe of "parentage," a broader term that includes parenthood, which means the position, function, or standing of a parent. According to Webster's Dictionary, in the term parentage, with its additional meanings of descent from parents or ancestors by birth, family and lineage, or a derivation from a source, we have a closer approximation of what this book is about.

The authors delineate 2 highways to parentage: the adoption highway and the assisted reproductive technology (ART) highway, both fraught with a myriad of pitfalls that are presented in an informative, well-organized, and clear style. The need for practical psychosocial intervention in each instance is well justified. Those who can't have a baby can choose and anticipate the advantages and disadvantages of each option. The cluster around complex adoption, a euphemism for adoption and its complications, includes adoption of children following foster . . . [Full Text of this Article]