
- 256 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
In Abandoned at Birth, Janet Sherlund explores the inherent need adopted children have for a sense of belonging and the pain and courage that is required to discover their true identity. Adoption is often painted as a happy, inspirational act—a baby finds a family and lives happily ever after. But the truth is that adopted children experience displacement and rupture from their mother and that trauma can impact an individual for a lifetime. Adoption can lead to feelings of loss and grief not just for the adoptee, but for the biological and adoptive parents as well. This startling fact comes vividly to life in Janet Sherlund's heartbreaking memoir, Abandoned at Birth. In her literary debut, Janet Sherlund explores the complex issues so many adoptees and their parents grapple with, including the complicated emotions of rejection, loss, grief, denial, and shame. Sherlund, who was given up for adoption within days of her birth, shares her journey to fulfill her lifetime longing for connection with her family of origin, her instinctive ache for connection with her birth mother, and what it was like to have a "borrowed identity." In poignant detail, Sherlund describes her quest to find out who she is, where she came from, and why she was given away. And she reveals the pain and courage required to discover one's true identity. With 5 million adoptees in the U.S., many of whom are discovering their biological roots on DNA websites, Abandoned at Birth is the book for our time. The insight Sherlund derived from her journey will encourage and console others on the same path, while examining the inherent need of all of us to belong, and understand our origins, our culture, and our genetic roots.
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Prologue: Filed Away: 2021
- Chapter One: Unrelated Thoughts
- Chapter Two: The Accommodating Child: 1947–1964
- Chapter Three: A World as Big as All Alone: 1964–1968
- Chapter Four: Committing to Perfection: 1967
- Chapter Five: My Refuge in the Storm: 1964
- Chapter Six: Downhill from Here: 1966
- Chapter Seven: Deathly Fears: 1965
- Chapter Eight: A Plague of Anxiety: 1966
- Chapter Nine: Self-Preservation: 1970
- Chapter Ten: Finding My Voice: 1974–1975
- Chapter Eleven: A Red-Letter Day: 1977
- Chapter Twelve: To Have and to Hold: 1977–1979
- Chapter Thirteen: Loved Ones in Need: 1978, 1989, 2010
- Chapter Fourteen: First Contact: 2010–2011
- Chapter Fifteen: Flesh and Blood: 2011
- Chapter Sixteen: Heart and Soul: 2011
- Chapter Seventeen: A ‘Sconset Gathering: 2011–2012
- Chapter Eighteen: More Family Ties: 2011
- Chapter Nineteen: Borrowed Time: 2013
- Chapter Twenty: Mourning Calls Again: 2013–2014
- Chapter Twenty-One: Wait… Hold the Phone!: 2016
- Chapter Twenty-Two: New Sisters: 2016
- Chapter Twenty-Three: A Long-Overdue Luncheon: 2016
- Chapter Twenty-Four: New Brothers: 2016
- Chapter Twenty-Five: A Family Holiday: 2016–2017
- Chapter Twenty-Six: Remember When: 2017
- Chapter Twenty-Seven: Déjà Vu: 2017
- Chapter Twenty-Eight: Requiem for a Father: 2017
- Chapter Twenty-Nine: A Distant Relative: 2017–2018
- Chapter Thirty: Last Goodbyes: 2018
- Chapter Thirty-One: All of Me: 2018–2019
- Chapter Thirty-Two: Holding My Own: 2019–2022
- Epilogue: Ashes to Ashes: Shirlie’s Death: 2022
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Copyright