Overview
A birthmother's true story - and more. Depicts the psychological effects experienced by birthmothers. Includes search tips and search resources. Highlights strategies and obstacles in obtaining hospital, adoption, and birth records. Relates perspectives of other searchers, as well as their trials and triumphs in seeking lost kin.
Shares experiences regarding the employment of a professional searcher, the use of an intermediary, the value of a support group, the reactions of family members, and the reactions of found adoptees. Highlights author's reunion with twenty-three-year-old son.
Is adoption "The Solution" for unmarried mothers who refuse abortion? Is continuation of pregnancy a crime, punishable by the signing of relinquishment papers? Discusses loss, grief, posttraumatic stress disorder, and birthmother trauma syndrome. Cites research.
Sheds light on professional ethics and adoption. Compares the effects of closed-adoption secrecy to the effects of forced silence surrounding incest. Reflects on whether it is moral for adoption agencies (and others) to "abort" an unwanted biological mother. Points out the present realities of both closed adoption and open adoption. Presents careful research and appendices, including useful bibliography and resources.