The Boy from Baby House 10: From the Nightmare of a Russian Orphanage to a New Life in America

A Reason for Living
John Lahutsky, the co-author with Alan Philps and the person portrayed in The Boy from Baby House 10: From the Nightmare of a Russian Orphanage to a New Life in America, is an inspiration for every person who has struggled to change the pervasive ills of institutionalization or society in general.

As soon as one person is lost or forgotten, the entire system suffers. What would that person have contributed that is now forever gone? A smile to their caregiver, whose sadness is brightened, who speaks encouragingly to a co-worker who expresses their appreciation to the bus driver, who goes home with a smile to greet their family.

Every person is needed in ways we do not understand, but John Lahutsky's effect on so many other lives proves we all have a reason for living.


Norene M. Moskalski, Ph.D.

A must read
If you have no idea what goes on in eastern european countries when children arent PERFECT you are going to be shocked, sad, angry and stunned. If you are a parent this is a must read. If you are human , this is a must read. this little boys AMAZING desire to LIVE AND THRIVE is unbelievable and so awe inspiring. a cast of characters come together to try and fight a broken system with cold ignorant ideas, to save a childs life. excellent book. you will be changed.

True story -
I know the girl referred to "Elvira" in the book. Sad to know what these children go through. The adopting parents are truly "life savers"!

AMAZING STORY
This is a powerful story of the Russian system, a must read for all parents who have or are adopting from Russia. It explains so much of what actually CAN happen in our children's former lives..

A must read for adoptive parents
You hear stories about the conditions of Soviet era orphanages that are horrible but to read about it from a child's perspective is gut wrenching. I couldn't stop reading. The mindset portrayed of the staff is still holds to this day (2008). Our daughter is Russian-American (adopted 2008) and we spent 3 weeks in Russia visiting her everyday for 2-3 hours before final decree was issued. We met many people there who could not understand why we were adopting this child and who were also equally surprised that we were not "arrogant, rich Americans wanting to sell her bodyparts." At times I could only laugh in complete understanding the frustration of dealing with the court system and their multiple requests for more and more documents, then became saddened to think the caregivers would have told our daughter we were not coming for her as they told Vanya/John when his adoption to England was prolonged. Highly recommended.