Small-town Oregonians Doug and Gloria Bates adopted two biracial girls, Lynn and Liska, in the early 1970s after having two sons, Steve and Mike. In his touching narrative about their lives, Gift Children, Doug Bates described how their naive faith in racial harmony was transformed over time, like the country around them.

“My spouse and I have no illusions about tidy, fairy-tale endings, and life continues to mix our blessings with setbacks. Like America, we are somewhat more cynical today, a little less idealistic, a lot more world-weary than we were back in 1970 when we thought we could handle just about anything life chose to send our way.”