The Rhonda Roorda Collection

Twenty-Six Years of Listening, Learning, and Leading

Every book I’ve written represents a chapter in a lifelong commitment to elevating voices, fostering understanding, and advancing meaningful conversations about transracial adoption, identity, race, belonging, and family.

For more than twenty-five years, my work has evolved from documenting the lived experiences of adoptees and their families to sharing my own deeply personal story. Together, these five books reflect a journey of scholarship, advocacy, and storytelling that continues to inspire readers around the world.

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A Literary Journey

2000

In Their Own Voices: Transracial Adoptees Tell Their Stories

The journey begins.

This groundbreaking collection challenged conventional narratives by inviting Black and Biracial young-adult transracial adoptees to share their own stories. It placed adoptee voices at the forefront of the national conversation.

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2007

In Their Parents’ Voices: Reflections on Raising Transracial Adoptees

The conversation expanded.

White adoptive parents of young adults of color in Roorda’s first volume shared their experiences, offering honest reflections on parenting across racial and cultural boundaries. This sharing of insights aims to foster a deeper understanding among families, child welfare professionals, scholars, and the general public.

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2009

In Their Siblings’ Voices: White Non-Adopted Siblings Talk About Their Experiences Being Raised with Black and Biracial Brothers and Sisters

Another perspective emerged.

White non-adopted siblings often go unnoticed in adoption literature. However, they shared how having adopted siblings from different racial and cultural backgrounds has shaped their understanding of their own identities, relationships, and perspectives within their families and society.

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2015

In Their Voices: Black Americans on Transracial Adoption

The conversation deepened.

This award-winning volume amplified the voices of Black Americans who share their experiences through Jim Crow, Civil Rights, and Post-Civil Rights eras, helping adoptees explore identity, belonging, race, resilience, and family through lived experience.

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2026

Torn from the Root: A Memoir of a Black Transracial Adoptee

The story comes full circle.

After twenty-six years of helping others tell their stories, I finally share my own.

Torn from the Root reveals the personal experiences that inspired my life’s work and invites readers into a journey of identity, healing, truth, and belonging.

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The Voices Series

Columbia University Press

Together, these four books became an influential body of scholarship that continues to serve as trusted resources for universities, adoption professionals, social workers, educators, researchers, and families around the world.

In Their Own Voices (2000)

Groundbreaking stories from Black and Biracial transracial adoptees.

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In Their Parents’ Voices (2007)

Honest reflections from white adoptive parents.

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In Their Siblings’ Voices (2009)

Unique perspectives from white non-adopted siblings navigating transracial adoption within their own families.

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In Their Voices: Black Americans on Transracial Adoption (2015)

Award-winning narratives from Black Americans sharing their stories through the Jim Crow, Civil Rights, and Post-Civil Rights eras to help Black and Biracial adult transracial adoptees navigate society.

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The Memoir

Temple University Press

Torn from the Root (2026)

The deeply personal memoir behind the scholarship.

Available in hardcover, personalized signed editions, book club packages, educational orders, and bulk purchases.

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More Than Books

These books are more than publications—they are invitations to listen more deeply, learn more intentionally, and engage more compassionately. Whether you are an adoptee, adoptive parent, educator, student, researcher, or organizational leader, I hope these works encourage meaningful conversations that lead to greater understanding and lasting change.

Every Voice Matters

“Every voice matters. Every story has the power to transform hearts, minds, and generations.”

Thank you for visiting The Rhonda Roorda Collection. Whether you are discovering these books for the first time or returning to them as a reader, educator, adoption professional, student, or community leader, I am honored to share this journey with you.

My hope is that these books do more than inform—they inspire meaningful conversations, deepen understanding, foster belonging, and encourage each of us to listen with greater compassion. Through every story shared, we move closer to a world where every person is seen, every experience is valued, and every voice is heard.

Thank you for being part of this journey.

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