Beyond Happily Ever After [Paperback]

Sally McNamara (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2000

Another Chappaqua love story (not Bill & Hillary), this is a tale of an April 1995 phone call that blew me away. He said he was the baby I had surrendered for adoption in 1956 while I was a poor college student in NYC. This is the story of a developing relationship, some parts of it great, some not so great - an emotional roller coaster. The author was a 31 year resident of Chappaqua, now as an empty nester relocated to Waccabuc, NY.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

She is the mother of four, grandmother of seven, a graduate of Hunter College, New York City 1956, and holds an MBA in marketing from Pace Univerity Pleasantville. Married for 38 years to the same man, she had a career in non-profit fund raising and public relations before and after her family arrived. While raising the three children she was fortunate enough to keep she served as a Chappaqua Library Trustee (5 years) and for 10 as board member and then as president of the local and County League of Women Voters.

Product Details

• Paperback: 229 pages
• Publisher: Gateway Press (March 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967936306
• ISBN-13: 978-0967936307
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,435,055 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Sincere Cry of the Heart, November 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Beyond Happily Ever After (Paperback)

This book is so authentically heart-felt that, even if the reader has not had the adoption experience personally, reading this author's thoughts and feelings on one of the most important and frightening things that ever happened to her, is valuable and deeply affective. Of course each mother's reactions and responses to having a child are different but this author clearly delineates the universal and central beauty of motherhood: love. In her most interesting story of birth, surrender and reunion love shines. For 38 years the ember of a mother's love for her first child lies in this author's heart and its power gets the people written of through a difficult, thorough-going life change.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A compelling look inside the adoption debate, March 25, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Beyond Happily Ever After (Paperback)

"Beyond Happily Ever After" was a gripping and provocative read. The author, Sally McNamara, gave a baby up for adoption in the conservative 50's and was then found by him in the more lenient 90's. This is her tale of loss and redemption.

She takes the reader on an in-depth first hand journey into the trauma surrounding being single and pregnant in the 50's to the joy of having her son find her in the 90's and the affect it has on her and her family.

Sally does an excellent job of detailing how traumatic it was to be a un-wed mother in her early 20's, sent away from family, to live in her final trimester of pregnancy with a group of anonymous unwed mothers trying to avoid family shame.

Unlike other adoption books, which are typically how to's, Ms. McNamara's first hand experience is compelling and intriguing. It presents a side to adoption that one doesn't see often. The Mother's loss and guilt.

Of special note is the new relationship between the two families, the son, who views himself as abandoned, and Sally, who feels that she did the best she could. Just when one thinks the book will in fact be "Happily Ever After" a new facet of human relationship is introduced.

I read this book in 2 nights and had trouble putting it down. A must read for any family, who has experience with adoption.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An emotional roller coaster, April 9, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Beyond Happily Ever After (Paperback)

This is a must read if you have anything to due with the adoption process. This book looks at all angles of this emotional time.

How does the mother feel? How does the child feel? How do the new brothers and sisters feel? It's all in this book!

You'll be taken on a life long journey and you'll feel the emotions on the way. Make sure you have enough time, because you won't want to put this book down.

Having been in a similar situation, this book really hit home. It helped me understand what I was feeling. I highly recommend it!