Book Review

Adoption Nation: How the Adoption Revolution is Transforming America

by Adam Pertman

New York: Basic Books, 2000

Reviewed by Cynthia Bertrand Holub * ckbh@juno.com

The adoption reform community has nearly unanimously greeted the publication of Adoption Nation with enthusiasm, and, with a few reservations, this review will be no exception. It is a thoroughly researched and documented, passionate and compassionate, optimistic and yet clear-eyed overview of adoption in the U.S. today.

It is Pertman's thesis that the adoption revolution, defined primarily as the movement toward openness in all aspects of the process and institution, has wide repercussions and ramifications for society as a whole, and that the emergence of adoption from the shadows has implications for how we all think of the meaning of "family." The proliferation of nontraditional family structures over the last decades (single-parent families headed by women or men, gay and lesbian parenting, the blended families of divorce and remarriage, etc.) has meant that adoption can finally begin to take its place as simply another way to create a family, no longer stigmatized by its divergence from the nuclear, biological norm. For the ever-growing number of families which include cross-racially and internationally-adopted children, it is impossible to "pass" in the way adoptive families were encouraged to do in the past, and as a result whole communities across the nation are being made aware of and sensitized to issues involving adoption, race, and culture. The high profile of some celebrity triad members as well as the media attention given to search and reunion stories have also contributed to reducing the myths and stereotypes of adoption.

Pertman, an adoptive father and staff reporter for the Boston Globe, sees the trend toward openness, comprising both open adoption and open records, as virtually unstoppable, in spite of the die-hard opposition waged by some trade groups and religious conservatives. The empowerment of birth mothers in today’s “seller’s market” (fewer than 3% of single mothers now relinquish their children for adoption), especially in comparison to the shame and coercion of the past; the overwhelming acknowledgment in the social work and psychological professions as well as among more and more adoptive parents that openness is good for the children whom adoption is intended to benefit; and the rising assertiveness of adult adoptees in demanding access to their own information and records have all converged to determine this trend.

Pertman interweaves often-poignant and sometimes-harrowing personal stories with hard-hitting facts to shed light on the issues which are still in need of resolution in the areas of domestic (both private and public) and international adoption. It is his contention that money is overtaking secrecy as the major problem facing adoption today, and one can hardly disagree. He forcefully argues for regulation, transparency, and limitations on costs, and urges ethical practitioners in the industry itself to weed out venality and corruption and to expose those who abuse and exorbitantly profit from the system.

He denounces the obfuscating and obstructionist role played over the last two decades in the halls of legislatures and in the media by the National Council for Adoption and its recently-retired president, William Pierce. Indeed, it is wryly amusing to find an entry in the index for "National Council for Adoption, deceptive actions by." It is to be hoped that many legislators and reporters will read this book and, after learning of the questionable, self-interested motives of the NCFA, will cease to rely on it as the impartial, authoritative source for information regarding adoption.

Bastard Nation is mentioned briefly, primarily in connection with Oregon’s Measure 58 and the unprecedented step of taking the question of open records to the voters rather than the legislators of a state. While full of praise for that bold action, Pertman nevertheless appears to indicate his support for conditional legislation as an acceptable step in the direction of open records, his reason being that vetoes are seldom invoked in those states which have them. One can only hope his continued exposure to the politics of adoption reform will lead him to perceive and decry the fundamentally unjust and discriminatory nature of those laws. He also seems to believe the increasingly common practice of birth and adoptive families sharing information will render sealed records laws moot in those states which persist in maintaining them, as if only reconnection were at issue and not the abrogated civil rights of millions of American citizens.

This is an important book, an insightful analysis on the personal level and an illuminating overview and exposé of an institution too long hidden from public examination. I wish for it the widest possible readership.

Order Adoption Nation now through Amazon.com's secure website.

Cynthia Bertrand Holub is a member of the Executive Committee of Bastard Nation and its Mid-Atlantic Regional Director. A reunited adoptee, she lives with her husband and two children in Philadelphia, PA, where she works as a librarian.

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(This feature appeared in the Winter 2001 issue of the Bastard Quarterly.)