The Road to Evergreen: Adoption, Attachment Therapy, and the Promise of Family

"The Road to Evergreen is an expertly written, ethnographically rich treatment of reactive attachment disorder (RAD). Rachael Stryker repositions RAD as more than a medical behavioral diagnosis; she argues that it is in fact a symptom of overwrought desires of private, nuclear kinship that revolve around children as emotional assets."-Sara Dorow, University of Alberta

"The Road to Evergreen features extensive interview data from adoptive parents, adopted children, and social service providers both in the United States and Russia. Rachael Stryker dearly gained the trust of these individuals, in many instances developing ongoing relationships that lasted for several years. She is obviously a gifted interviewer and does an admirable job of seamlessly weaving vignettes into the text. These rich interview materials are very effective and give the reader a real sense of the experiences of the people involved."-Jean Schroedel, Claremont Graduate University

Reactive attachment disorder (RAD) is a psychiatric condition affecting children that is characterized by inappropriate and sometimes disturbing ways of relating socially to others, including parents. Relatively rare, RAD is thought to arise from a failure to form dose attachments to primary caregivers in early childhood due to abrupt or prolonged separation, neglect, or abuse. In the United States, the incidence of RAD increased in the 1990’s as Americans began to adopt an unprecedented number of formerly institutionalized children from orphanages abroad and from within American child welfare systems. To help resolve the extreme behavioral problems exhibited by their children, some adoptive parents are now turning to a controversial but popular treatment: attachment therapy. In The Road to Evergreen, Rachael Stryker provides an in-depth exploration of the theory, implementation, and culture of attachment therapy as it is practiced in Evergreen, Colorado, the center of RAD treatment in the United States. Stryker's clear and balanced account of attachment therapy will be useful in informing and reforming both adoption practice and pediatric psychology.

Rachael Stryker is Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at Mills College.