Yesterday They Took My Baby: True Stories of Adoption

I know little about adoption in any real sense, and it does not concern me personally. At most, I recall as a child noticing that two brothers, in a neighbour's family, looked dissimilar. My mother, ever the straight arrow, told me that she had talked to the mother and the two boys were "adopted", explaining what that meant. It seemed normal to me then, and I haven't changed my opinion since.Many years later, I was required to ajudicate international adoptions. I wanted to understand better what I was doing and I came across this book. The stories may be old but it wisely presents three sides to a single story.Ben Wicks was a cartoonist I knew as a newspaper reader. Never did I suspect his wish to ensure all sides should be told. His editing is good. But the idea of the book is the marvel. The narratives, in the first person, ring as true as life itself.If you want to understand the human side of adoption, and the effect it has on all three sides, this book offers, in the opinion of this outsider, a good, honest read. (It was also an easy read, indeed a page turner!)A consequence of my reading this book? The files were marked for destruction 30 years hence, as opposed to the previous policy of 2 years.

Real life stories of adoption, the pain it causes to both birthfamily and adoptee's. When it comes to real people spilling out their feelings, the truth be told! Adoption is NOT the answer. Ben Wicks did this so well.