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American baby : a mother, a child, and the shadow history of adoption / Gabrielle Glaser.

Glaser, Gabrielle, (author.).

Summary:
"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-- As Baby Boomers became teenagers 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 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 young 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"-- Provided by publisher.

Record details

  • ISBN: 9780735224681
  • ISBN: 0735224684
  • Physical Description: 343 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
  • Publisher: New York : Viking, [2021]

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:
Includes bibliographical references (pages [291]-327) and index.
Subject: Rosenberg, David, 1961-2014.
Katz, Margaret Erle.
Adopted children > United States.
Adoption > United States > History > 20th century.
Adoption agencies > Corrupt practices > United States > History > 20th century.
Teenage mothers > United States > Social conditions > 20th century.
Birthparents > Identification.

Available copies

  • 29 of 29 copies available at SPARK Libraries.

Holds

  • 1 current hold with 29 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Abington Community Library 362.734 GLASER (Text) 50687011706028 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Albright Memorial Library 362.734 GLASER (Text) 50686015678035 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Alexander Hamilton Memorial Free Library 362 GLA (Text) 37268003099215 AHMFL Adult Non-Fiction Available -
Altoona Area Public Library 362.734092 GLA (Text) 33240005139848 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Bernville Area Community Library 362.734 GLA (Text) 33249023862240 Non-fiction Available -
Carbondale Public Library 362.734 GLASER (Text) 50688010796648 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Dillsburg Area Public Library Adults 362.7 GLA Nonfiction (Text) 34001001386299 Adult Area Available -
Emmaus Public Library 362.734 GLAS (Text) 36446002036609 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Exeter Community Library 362.734 GLA (Text) 33249024769832 Non-fiction Available -
Gettysburg Library 362.734 GLASER (Text) 35740635700735 Nonfiction Available -


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