One day Claude Knobler and his wife read a newspaper article that would change their lives. Written by award-winning journalist Melissa Fay Greene, it chronicled the plight of Ethiopian children orphaned by the AIDS epidemic.
The article moved Knobler so deeply that he mentioned to his wife that they should adopt an Ethiopian child. Early on in More Love, Less Panic, Knobler admits, “The absolute 100 percent real truth of the story, is that I never ever thought my wife would agree.”
She did, however, and before long Knobler found himself traveling to Ethiopia to bring home 5-year-old Nati to join the family’s two biological children. In seven humorous, touching chapters, Knobler interweaves stories about his son’s adoption with lessons he’s learned that will be helpful to all parents, such as “How Trying to Turn My Ethiopian Son into a Neurotic Jew Taught Me It’s Nature, Not Nurture.” Young Nati was hardly a “Neurotic Jew”; instead, he was a carefree, energetic boy who found joy everywhere he went. With hardly a worry in his personality, he enriched his new family in endless ways.
Knobler wisely advises parents to try to sit back and enjoy the wild ride of parenthood, even when it isn’t clear exactly where the journey may lead. Parents will find many such nuggets of good advice in this entertaining, easy-to-read combination of memoir and parenting guide.
RELATED CONTENT: Read a Q&A with Claude Knobler about More Love, Less Panic.
This article was originally published in the January 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.
