Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Gender studies > Women's studies
|
Not currently available
American Baby - A Mother, a Child, and the Shadow History of Adoption (Hardcover)
Loot Price: R532
Discovery Miles 5 320
You Save: R168
(24%)
|
|
American Baby - A Mother, a Child, and the Shadow History of Adoption (Hardcover)
(sign in to rate)
List price R700
Loot Price R532
Discovery Miles 5 320
You Save R168 (24%)
Supplier out of stock. If you add this item to your wish list we will let you know when it becomes available.
|
A New York Times Notable Book The shocking truth about postwar
adoption in America, told through the bittersweet story of one
teenager, the son she was forced to relinquish, and their search to
find each other. During the Baby Boom in 1960s America, women were
encouraged to stay home and raise large families, but sex and
childbirth were taboo subjects. Premarital sex was common, but
birth control was hard to get and abortion was illegal. In 1961,
sixteen-year-old Margaret Erle fell in love and became pregnant.
Her enraged family sent her to a maternity home, and after she gave
birth, she wasn't even allowed her to hold her own son. Social
workers threatened her with jail until she signed away her parental
rights. Her son vanished, his whereabouts and new identity known
only to an adoption agency that would never share the slightest
detail about his fate. Claiming to be acting in the best interests
of all, the adoption business was founded on secrecy and lies.
American Baby lays out how a lucrative and exploitative industry
removed children from their birth mothers and placed them with
hopeful families, fabricating stories about infants' origins and
destinations, then closing the door firmly between the parties
forever. Adoption agencies and other organizations that purported
to help pregnant women struck unethical deals with doctors and
researchers for pseudoscientific "assessments," and shamed millions
of women into surrendering their children. Gabrielle Glaser
dramatically demonstrates the power of the expectations and
institutions that Margaret faced. Margaret went on to marry and
raise a large family with David's father, but she never stopped
longing for and worrying about her firstborn. She didn't know he
spent the first years of his life living just a few blocks away
from her; as he grew, he wondered about where he came from and why
he was given up. Their tale--one they share with millions of
Americans--is one of loss, love, and the search for identity.
Adoption's closed records are being legally challenged in states
nationwide. Open adoption is the rule today, but the identities of
many who were adopted or who surrendered a child in the postwar
decades are locked in sealed files. American Baby illuminates a
dark time in our history and shows a path to reunion that can help
heal the wounds inflicted by years of shame and secrecy.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
|
|
Email address subscribed successfully.
A activation email has been sent to you.
Please click the link in that email to activate your subscription.