"Soon-to-be-parents are instructed to "expect the unexpected. " Good advice, it turns out. Especially for the anxious or apprehensive parent who is considering adoption. " "How can one know about an adopted child? ". "All David Gerrold knew for certain was that he wanted to be a parent. As a single gay man he thought adoption would be the most direct route to fatherhood. But he soon found out - to both his joy and dismay - that the emotional route to fatherhood was anything but direct. In fact, it was a roller-coaster ride that changed his life forever. " "When he first saw the picture of eight-year-old Dennis beaming up at him from the photograph in the adoption book, David knew this was the boy for him. ". "But these were the facts: Abandoned as an infant by drug-addicted parents. Documented abuse. Shuffled from one foster home to another. Deficit hyperactivity disorder. Ritalin to control his violent emotional outbursts. For his antisocial behavior: desipramine. The conclusion from experts: Dennis was "hard to place. " A polite bureaucratic euphemism for unadoptable. It was a depressing assessment that David could not - would not - accept. ". "He needed Dennis. And he believed Dennis needed him. It was that simple. Until the reality of single fatherhood set in. "--BOOK JACKET.