Adopting a child is like preparing for a journey: to achieve success, you need to invest time in preparation. In the adoption process, this time can be the 'waiting period'—the time that begins when a couple decides to adopt and lasts until they meet the child.

The first part of this exceptional book tells the story of Martyna, a six-year-old girl who is waiting to be adopted. In this story, she meets a kind adult—the Bridge Builder—who helps her express her anxieties, fears, fantasies, dreams, and expectations. Martyna’s message is an invitation to future parents to transform the 'waiting period' into a process of maturation and growth for themselves and their entire family system.

The second part of the book focuses on a systemic analysis of everyone involved in the 'waiting period': children with their past and their desire to begin experiencing being someone's child again; parents who must learn to care for a child born to others and with whom they will form a new family; and professionals who assist the couple in dealing with their own suffering and in rekindling their genuine desire to become parents. The book helps to understand the specifics of the adoption experience and to consciously face it.

Antonio D’Andrea is a psychologist and family psychotherapist. For nearly 25 years, he has worked at the Mental Health Center in Formia, where he heads the Family Therapy Clinic. He collaborates with the Juvenile Court in Rome, providing consultations and assessing couples applying for adoption. He is also a teaching staff member at the Family Psychotherapy Academy in Rome and the author of numerous articles on adoption.