Laura Willard

Laura Willard is a mom through international adoption to two children. She and her husband adopted their son, now 5 years old, from Vietnam when he was 10 months old and their daughter, now 4, from Ethiopia when she was 8 months old. Laura is a writer and editor who is immersed in the parenting world.

Laura began writing about adoption in the form of an online adoption journal that she shared with friends and family when she and her husband traveled to Vietnam to adopt their son. After she came home, she started a blog (now called A(n) (un)Common Family) and from there, she began a freelance writing career that initially focused on adoption. She has written adoption education materials for pediatric clinics, countless adoption articles for websites and full-length articles for print adoption magazines. Laura is now a writer and editor who covers all parenting topics, but adoption education will always be near and dear to her heart. She focuses on both the ups and the downs of adoption, as one of her most important goals to present a realistic view of adoption.

Laura received her undergraduate degree in psychology and business administration. She also holds a law degree.

I knew I wanted to adopt my children when I was still a child myself. When my now-husband and I were discussing children while we were still dating, I shared that with him and he simply said it sounded great. What I didn’t know back then was that adoption is about a lot more than a way to create a family. Children have histories and other families and beginnings to life that are often less than ideal. And the process itself can be fraught with complications, setbacks and ethical concerns. I wholeheartedly believe in adoption and my biggest hope is that prospective adoptive parents learn about all facets of adoption so that they can make good, informed choices and be as prepared as possible.