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"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 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 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"--… (more)
If you've read [b:The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe V. Wade|116477|The Girls Who Went Away The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe V. Wade|Ann Fessler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1581886762l/116477._SX50_.jpg|112165] and wanted a more in depth look at a single story, American Baby colors that in for Margaret Erle Katz and her son, David Rosenberg.
In the post-WWII boom, the United States commodified so many things, including babies. Adoption was (and now, to some people) portrayed as a "win-win-win"- a better life for baby, a child for a couple that wants one, and an elimination of the birth mother's 'shame'. In the overwhelming majority of these cases, however, birth mothers were coerced into giving up their infants. Adoption agencies lied to both the birth parents and adoptive parents about each other in effort to obtain babies and adopt them out. In the case of Margaret Erle, she never wanted to relinquish David and fought her parents and the Louise Wise agency every step she could.
The concept of closed adoptions infuriates me. It deprives parties of information they need because... why, societal comfort? When I read and reviewed The Girls Who Went Away, I was actually days past my abortion a decade ago, and the feelings were still fresh. When I wrote "shamed into silence", there was probably some irony because my ex didn't want our mutual acquaintances to find out about what happened, and would have favored a closed adoption if he could make the choice. Rewritten this last paragraph a couple times, but suffice to say that the pressure and coercion attempts (implications that I'd be an unfit mother at the time, that adoption would provide 'a better life', etc.) haven't gone away with the era of maternity homes. Sealed records maintains the cruelty that was inflicted years ago. I'd encourage anyone who thinks adoption is the end all be all for unwanted pregnancies to read the accounts of birth mothers and adoptees, to put actual voices to hypothetical concepts. ( )
American Baby is an excellent narrative history of the corrupt practices of adoption and oppressive treatment of pregnant teens in mid-20th century U.S., told through the framework of one family’s cruel separation. Glaser adds depth to their story with historical research, discussions of adoption policies, the evolving adoptee rights movement, and additional interviews with other women forced to relinquish their babies. The expert synthesis makes for a compelling read. ( )
I never realized how the many facets of an adoption can affect so many connected family members. The secrets that were the past historical way to "keep folks" safe was basically traumatizing for all involved. Let's hope that the more open and transparent adoptions of the future with be done with heart first and shame and money making last. ( )
Really enjoyed this look at the post-WW2 American adaptation experience. It certainly was eye-opening as to what young women had to endure as they faced a very difficult and life changing decision. The specific story line of Margret Erle Katz and David Rosenberg was very revealing as to the impact of adoption has on every one involved. Highly recommended. ( )
Gabrielle Glaser - American Baby: A Mother, a Child, and the Shadow History of Adoption: Interwoven individual story with American history, and while more intriguing than I would have thought (full of horrifying stats too, as you might imagine), it’s ultimately too heavy on the individual story. #cursorybookreviews #cursoryreviews ( )
To Margaret, to David, and to all families separated by a culture of secrecy
First words
I met David Rosenberg for the first time on a rainy spring afternoon in 2007, at a dialysis center just outside Portland, Oregon.
Quotations
Last words
Such words would offer great comfort to Margaret and millions of other mothers, adoptees, fathers, sisters, and brothers trapped in the closed American system. They are still waiting.
"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 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 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"--
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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.
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In the post-WWII boom, the United States commodified so many things, including babies. Adoption was (and now, to some people) portrayed as a "win-win-win"- a better life for baby, a child for a couple that wants one, and an elimination of the birth mother's 'shame'. In the overwhelming majority of these cases, however, birth mothers were coerced into giving up their infants. Adoption agencies lied to both the birth parents and adoptive parents about each other in effort to obtain babies and adopt them out. In the case of Margaret Erle, she never wanted to relinquish David and fought her parents and the Louise Wise agency every step she could.
The concept of closed adoptions infuriates me. It deprives parties of information they need because... why, societal comfort? When I read and reviewed The Girls Who Went Away, I was actually days past my abortion a decade ago, and the feelings were still fresh. When I wrote "shamed into silence", there was probably some irony because my ex didn't want our mutual acquaintances to find out about what happened, and would have favored a closed adoption if he could make the choice. Rewritten this last paragraph a couple times, but suffice to say that the pressure and coercion attempts (implications that I'd be an unfit mother at the time, that adoption would provide 'a better life', etc.) haven't gone away with the era of maternity homes. Sealed records maintains the cruelty that was inflicted years ago. I'd encourage anyone who thinks adoption is the end all be all for unwanted pregnancies to read the accounts of birth mothers and adoptees, to put actual voices to hypothetical concepts. (