Customer Reviews

The Dark Side of Adoption

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This book should be required reading for anyone who wishes to know the whole truth about adoption. The research is well-done, and the facts are presented in a clear yet passionate journalistic style that illuminates the complex and controversial issues of adoption abuses it explores. Adoption does have a dark side--that for too long has been hidden behind sentimentality, lies, mindless stereotypes, and the travesty of sealed adoption records. I love this book--for the courage of its birthmother author in writing it, and for the honest picture it gives of the less lovely side of one of our last "sacred cows", sealed record adoption.This is an excellent piece of scholarship and investigative journalism that deserves a much wider readership than it has had, both within and outside of the adoption reform movement. I am glad to see it here, and reccomend it to all.

There are certainly adoptions that don't work out well. There are biologically families that are dysfunctional and miserable. What's her point? I think this book is a product of a culture that looks for excuses, whether it's divorced parents, stepparents, working mothers, single mothers, single fathers, gay parents, biracial families, only children, too many children, parents working too much, parents not working, we all have something. And that's not even mentioning those people that grew up with alcoholics, drug addicts, in extreme poverty or with abusive parents, who have the right to complain. There seems to be an endless number of books written that caters to people looking to be told their problems aren't their fault, and practically encouraging discontent as natural and normal, all because their families weren't Leave it to Beaver perfect. This is just one more. There doesn't appear to be any real validity to her arguments. Most people feel fortunate to have had loving, caring families and do fine in life. But they aren't the ones looking to buy books.