Books of General Interest...

In Adoption Nation, Adam Pertman, an award-winning journalist and adoptive father, provides valuable insights into the pleasures and perils of adoption. He shows how it now affects almost all our lives, whether we realize it or not. And he lays out the ways in which policymakers should revise our laws to improve the process of adoption, stop treating members of the "adoption triad" as second-class citizens, and remove the obstacles that keep the children who most need permanent homes from getting them.

Filled with up-to-the-minute information and a wealth of dramatic real-life stories, Adoption Nation is essential reading for adoptive families, for anyone contemplating adopting a child, and for the more than 22 million Americans who are touched by or curious about this extraordinary cultural transformation.

Sociologist Katarina Wegar, a Finnish-born adoptee, reflects on traditional U.S. adoption reform and how its pathologizing of adoption has undermined open records. This book is somewhat scholarly in tone, but so interesting that you find yourself drawn in to the discussion quickly.

The true story of the Georgia Tann baby-selling ring in Tennessee. The disclosure of this scandal was a significant factor in liberalizing (...but not entirely opening!) access to birth records in Tennessee.

Adoptive mother and adoption ethicist Linda Babb offers an in-depth exploration of the history of values in adoption and codes and standards of practice affecting adoption work nationally and internationally. She presents a suggested list of ethical standards specific to adoption work. Read it yourself, and then gift the social worker of your choice!

A guide to community organizing for achieving political power in a democracy. Don't let the title scare you! It's practical and it's realistic. If you don't want to compromise your civil and human rights and you have already searched outside the state legal system, you just might be a "radical".

How a group of grandmothers in Argentina implemented effective activism which led to open records laws which mandate compulsory disclosure of an adoptive person's adoptive status, as well as his or her personal access to all vital documents. Great reading for everyone, but especially grandmothers, siblings, and other birth relatives of adoptees who want to make a difference.

A great guide to the principles of tactical activism. This is must reading for those interested in participating in adoptee rights activism. It covers legislation, coalitions, the media, lawyers, and direct action.

A close look at closed adoptions and sealed records from progressive social workers.

Send mail to searchde@aol.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: March 24, 2001