Shadow Mothers:Stories of Adoption and Reunion

Rating:
Summary: A much-needed book for those in the adoption triangle.
Review: As a participant in this book, I have been very excited about it since its beginning. Since I first thought of searching, I have been aware of a serious gap in the literature. No one answered the question, "What if I find her/him or I am found. Then what?" This book fills that gap admirably. Just as important, it makes one aware of how many people were and are involved in this issue, and how varied their stories are, yet how similar are their pain and joy. I recommend it for anyone in or out of an adoption triangle.

Rating:
Summary: A much-needed book for those in the adoption triangle.
Review: I'm happy to be the first to review this book, because I found the author online when researching the adoption theme at the time she conceived the idea for Shadow Mothers - and followed her trials and tribulations throughout the process via email.

I bought the book for my birthmom - but read every chapter before relinquishing the tattered cover. I cried my self to sleep each night after reading the stories written by the Shadow Mothers - and found myself lingering for days over their joys and sorrows. And it made me think about my own birthparents, and our separate reunions and relationships, in a fuller light. Buy this book and give it to everyone you know who's been affected by relinquishment and adoption, and especially those who could benefit from reading about successful reunions of Shadow Mothers and their children.

Rating:
Summary: A must-read for birthmothers, adoptees and adoptive parents!
Review: I'm happy to be the first to review this book, because I found the author online when researching the adoption theme at the time she conceived the idea for Shadow Mothers - and followed her trials and tribulations throughout the process via email.

I bought the book for my birthmom - but read every chapter before relinquishing the tattered cover. I cried my self to sleep each night after reading the stories written by the Shadow Mothers - and found myself lingering for days over their joys and sorrows. And it made me think about my own birthparents, and our separate reunions and relationships, in a fuller light. Buy this book and give it to everyone you know who's been affected by relinquishment and adoption, and especially those who could benefit from reading about successful reunions of Shadow Mothers and their children.

Rating:
Summary: Poignant, masterful chronicle of tragedy, relief, acceptance
Review: In our era of open adoption and praise for single mothers who give up their babies to secure better lives for them, it is easy to forget a not-so-long-ago era when birth mothers were bridled with shame and expected to forever stifle the anguish of their losses. In Shadow Mothers: Stories of Adoption and Reunions (1998, North Star Press), Linda Back McKay tells her life story and those of nine other birth mothers who survived the pain, uncertainty, and secrecy of relinquishment to reunite with their children years after giving them up. Shadow Mothers is a poignant, masterful chronicle of tragedy, relief, joy, and acceptance and a probing look into the realities of adoption.

Rating:
Summary: The book ALL mothers will be deeply touched by . . .
Review: Reading Shadow Mothers is a potent experience. Each story is one that all mothers will be deeply touched by, whether or not they were able to keep their babies. No matter the circumstances of our children's conception and birth, our life situation at the time, or who nurtured those babies, we mothers each have a collection of treasured memories and "things we wish we could change" about bearing a child. Shadow Mothers captured and delivered to me a key to unlocking potent memories from those days. I enjoyed savoring some of mine, and anguished again over others. A powerful book in many ways . . . Thank you, Linda B. McKay!!

Rating:
Summary: Important for anyone interested in or involved in adoption.
Review: Shadow Mothers tells the real stories of ten women from across the country who placed babies for adoption in an era of secrecy and shame, and were eventually reunited. The purpose of the book is to deliver important insights, promote understanding of adoption and reunion and help the healing process where needed. Readers have found it poignant and compelling. Adoptive parents, people wanting to adopt, adopted adults, family and friends, as well as birth parents all strongly recommend Shadow Mothers. My personal story is included in the book. I met my birth son 12 years ago. We've built a strong relationship, without a blueprint or guide as to how these fragile connections between "relative strangers" are supposed to work. I'm offering the practical advice flyer, "Top Ten Ways to Help Ensure a Happy Reunion and Relationship" free by request with each book purchase.