”Newly updated for 2020. This revised and updated book documents Adele’s experience with her daughter, since the book was published originally in 2013, and her ongoing involvement in highlighting the plight of orphans in Romania. In 1991, unable to have a second child because of a medical problem and struggling to cope in a failing marriage, New Zealander, Adele Rickerby, decided to take her future in her hands by adopting a child from Romania. The misguided policies of the recently deposed Ceasescu government on family planning had led to the birth of an estimated 100,000 unwanted babies in that country. The Promise I Kept is Adele’s story of her nightmare journey halfway around the world to find and adopt a baby, to negotiate her way through the barriers created by red tape and corrupt officialdom, and finally to carry her tiny new daughter safely home to a life where she could be properly loved and cared for.”         Toni Tingle, Editor, Memoirs Publishing, U.K.                

Available on Amazon as a kindle edition or paperback. 

Book Review, Spring Edition 2021, Ruth Magazine.

A heartfelt autobiographical work, The Promise I Kept chronicles the journey to adopt a child from post cold-war Romania.

With incredible honesty, Adele shares her lifetime with endometriosis and the resulting surgeries, her amazing first daughter, Melannie, and the desire for Melannie to have a sister- leading to the decision to adopt and a difficult trip to Romania to meet her baby daughter and bring her home. It is a book that is equal parts relatable and eye-opening, at times confronting, but ultimately showcases a woman’s incredible determination and love for her child.

Adele’s Community facebook page highlighting the plight of orphans and child welfare organisations in Romania; https://www.facebook.com/www.thepromisekept.co

Jonquil Graham wrote: “A must read book for those of us who adopted from Romania, or anywhere. It’s about a mother’s perseverance and how she found conditions and the baby she adopted. It’s about hope and what happened in Romania post-Ceausescu. It is haunting and if you were in the same position, would you be brave enough to just go with your gut and do what is right for the sake of a child? ”

Costin Hewitt, a Romanian Adoptee, wrote; “This is an amazing book. Thank you so much.”

Toni Tingle, Editor, Memoirs Publishing in the U.K wrote: “The Promise I Kept is a powerfully and vividly written story.”

Colby Pearce, Principal Clinical Psychologist at Secure Start and author wrote:

I recently finished, The Promise I Kept, Adele Rickerby’s memoir about the personal journey that led her to adopting a child from a Romanian orphanage in the aftermath of the downfall of the Ceausescu regime. It is a well-crafted story that is accessible to most readers and can be read cover to cover in two-three hours. People will take out of the story different things, depending on their own life journey and interests. I found the insight into the inner world of the mother and evocative descriptions of the characters and places she experienced along the way most satisfying. I am happy to recommend it to the many who are fascinated by personal memoirs and accounts concerning adoption.

Sandra Flett wrote: “I love memoirs, especially of ordinary women doing remarkable things to help others in desperate situations and this book was right down my alley. Growing up as a child and teenager in the 1980’s and 1990’s, I would hear bits and pieces about the ” Romanian Orphans”. And so to read a true story about a woman who rescues a little baby Romanian girl captivated me. I only wish it was much longer. I read it in about 2.5 hours one summer afternoon and was sad that I didn’t know the rest of the story. More please Adele Rickerby!”

Further reviews:

1.	Kelly Proctor reviewed The Promise I Kept: A mother’s journey to save a child from the poverty and squalor of post-Cold…  A Burning Desire June 1, 2014 Adele Rickerby’s, The Promise I Kept, is a superb story of what the can be accomplished when one sets a goal and has the burning desire to carry one through the innumerable obstacles. Due to certain health issues, she is not able again to conceive another child. But her desire to be mother again does not die and she decides to pursue the adoption process. Adele’s story of wanting to be mother again, despite all the immediate roadblocks that were presented to her in Australia, should had been enough to discouraged anybody from trying, but the burning desire inside her, carried her far away from the borders of this country to a land that just having been freed of a despotic ruler and was trying to find itself. Among all this chaos Adele is there, going through every and other hurdle that comes along in this journey, from mindless and corrupt bureaucracies, inhumane proposals, and much more, she is finally able to come back home with her new daughter. This is just another great example of what the mind can conceive, it can achieve. View on Amazon.com Add a comment View this book’s reviews on Amazon.com
2.	Kaiden reviewed The Promise I Kept  Good story! January 5, 2014 An interesting story about a courageous women who singlehandedly travel on the other side of the world and struggle through a bureaucratic maze to finally achieve her dream to adopt a child. A must read for anybody who contemplate adopting a child oversea! View on Amazon.com Add a comment View this book’s reviews on Amazon.com
3.	mark johnston reviewed The Promise I Kept  You read this from cover to cover November 27, 2013 A very interesting wee read about a young woman on a mission to the eastern block, to adopt a child. If we cast our mind back to that era it was certainly was a troubled time both politically and socially in the ‘block’. Between being thrown off trains because of her New Zealand citizenship, and not able to speak the language, she faced and conquered many problems and challenges with patience and doggedness . The corrupt ‘officialdoms’ backstreets and dangers are compensated by the sheer generosity of strangers. All these faced by a smallish woman with the burning desire for another child, despite a failing marriage at home. A very compelling read. Mark Johnston

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