The Adoption Reader: Birth Mothers, Adoptive Mothers, and Adopted Daughters Tell Their Stories

This collection of stories written by adoptees, adoptive mothers and birthmothers gives the reader a visceral insight into the truths and heart aches of surrender, adoption and reunion. Being an adoptive mother myself and having met our wonderful birthmother many years later gives me personal insight into the adoption experience, but reading this book has greatly increased my understanding and empathy for all members of the adoption and birth families. I don't know how prospective adoptive parents will feel if they read this collection, whether it is too much to cope with and sort out for their personal decision. Ideally, knowledge is power, and the more a person knows about an important subject, the better. Gisela Gasper Fitzgerald, author of ADOPTION: An Open, Semi-Open or Closed Practice?

This compilation of essays - beginning with birth mothers, then adoptive mothers, and finally the adopted daughters - goes above and beyond the usual "magazine style" articles on the quirks or perils of the adoption process. I was incredibly pleased and impressed by the diversity of Wadia-Ells' collection. Lesbian women, multi-racial families, and a variety of socio-economic backgrounds all lend to this book a wealth of perspectives. The contributors are thoughtful, often in emotional pain, honest about their experiences, and each one is a talented writer. The one thing that did emerge most clearly from this work was the overall tone that adoption was an incredibly painful thing for all parties involved. The more positive essays were from the adoptive moms - birth moms and adopted daughters were obviously struggling to make sense out of their experiences. I suspect that there are numerous people on all sides of the fence with incredibly positive adoption stories, but pain often prompts us to find an outlet and for many women, writing is the answer. I do not regret for a moment reading this wonderful collection, but at the same time I seriously wonder whether adoption is something I'm able to emotionally tackle after experiencing Wadia-Ells' book.

This is one of the few books written about adoption that has brought tears to my eyes with the emotional intensity shared by the writers in their stories from all perspectives of adoption. I would recommend this book to anyone touched by adoption, or who is considering entering into the world of adoption, whether through adoptive parenting, placement, counseling, or reunion.

PACT PRESS: "The Adoption Reader brings together thirty-two autobiographical writings of birth mothers, adoptive mothers, and adopted daughters. Readers are taken on a journey into a world of women's deepest challenges to identity - traveling from the isolated plains of separation to the fertile grounds of connection -- offering a beneath the surface look at the discovery, excavation and assimilation of inner experiences. This is a book about women connecting with many parts of themselves through the lens of adoption. The collection presents a case for redefining what joining and separating mean and discovering new sources of adoption pride."

Carol Sternhell, journalism and Women's Studies faculty, New York University."I wish I had room to quote from each of the 31 essays (and poems) here, but I don't; read the book. The conversation is rich and plentiful, personal and political, inspirational and annoying. I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to eavesdrop in-and perhaps to participate in ---such a conversation. If there's one thing we've learned from feminism, it's the importance of listening to other women's stories (especially the stories that are not quite like our own)."