There’s a great piece in the NYT Opinion blog, Relative Choices, titled “Being Adopted, and Being Me.” Adam Wolfington is a 16-year-old black man who was adopted by a white family. From his account it’s an incredible loving family who has done a lot of things right in terms of supporting him in his interests and vigorously deffending his role as their child. One account he gives that I found to be great was,

When people ask if she is my “real mother,� she asks, “What do I look like, a hologram?�

Another one:

So Mom and I sat down and I told her the ten worst things people said to me. She wrote them down. Then I made up answers that were funny but not mean. (Mom’s rule is to never make someone feel bad just to get back at them.) Mom wrote these down too. I then memorized the list. Next time it happened I was ready. It felt great! I wasn’t so scared, or hurt (as much), or embarrassed by those questions again.

It’s great to read a success story like this as we go through our adoption process. With so much that can go wrong, it’s nice to hear about something going right.

The Laws of Simplicity (Simplicity: Design, Technology, Business, Life)

John Maeda’s pocket-sized (and appropriately enough, simple) overview of “Simplicity” is an interesting read and applicable to a number of people, I would guess. The guidance Maeda offers is theoretical enough to be interpreted by many disciplines, from UI designers to product managers, to sales teams, to writers and this was something that I really liked about the book.

I suppose this is a bit of a trick for many self-development authors—provide help in a bullet-from list that is just specific enough that most readers can find an application for it, while not being so vague that it limits market-share. Sort of like the horoscopes: chances are pretty good that something in there will apply to your current life in one way or another.

In any case, Laws of Simplicity has enough to offer that most people should find it useful and the chances are, if you read it and apply it, somebody, somewhere will be appreciative of your doing so.