Behind the sensational headlines, celebrity talk shows and tabloid perceptions lay the secrets and truths of real women who each placed a child for adoption and years later were reunited. There is much more woven into the tapestry of our lives than the pain of loss and joy of reunion. Each of our stories has a beginning as well as an afterwards.
The ten women who tell their stories here do not share the same history. We are from various parts of the country with a wide range of social and economic backgrounds. We have only this one experience in common, and it joins our families together in a community of understanding.
Out of the shadows, we come to share the peace and acceptance we have discovered through the telling of our stories. If you are a woman like us, a child like ours, a birth father, one of the parents who made room in your life for a child when we could not, or someone with whom we shared our lives afterwards – you are part of this story, too. We hope our stories help you see why we must tell them.
“These real stories – sweet and sad, joyful and tearful – help fill a gaping hole in the literature of adoption. this is truly a much-needed book.”
-David Unowsky, publisher and former owner of Hungry Mind Bookstore
Linda Back McKay gives us a collection of human dramas that will move any parent or child. She has the wisdom to let these stories tell themselves, from the lives and hearts of these mothers who were incomplete for so many years. No matter how united or disjointed our families are, there are lessons here for all of us.”
-Warren Hanson, author/illustrator of The Next Place, illustrator of A Cup of Christmas Tea
“For too long, birthmothers have hidden in the shadows, ashamed to come forward. Linda Back McKay has done a real service in bringing the truth to light. It is important for the public to understand how women share in the life histories of their birthchildren. As a social worker, I have been involved with hundreds of contacts between adopted persons and birthmothers and can attest to the reality of these stories. I am also an adopted person and have had contact with my birth family since 1961.”
-Meg Bale, M.A., L.S.W., former supervisor, Post Adoption Services, Children’s
Home Society of Minnesota
SHADOW MOTHERS: Stories of Adoption and Reunion
ISBN 0-87839-129-0
$14.95
lbmckay@yahoo.com