I’ve read probably 20 books on the subject of adoption (maybe more) over the years and Jean Widner’s Adoption Paradox will now take it’s place as one of the most important books in my collection. Raw, real, funny at times, heartbreaking at others, Jean has accomplished the incredible feat of making a really complex system understandable. I’m an adult adoptee in reunion for 26 years with my birthfamily (including 11 brothers and sisters!) and I’m also an adoptive mom in reunion with my daughter’s birthdad for five years. I live, eat and breathe adoption. The joy and the trauma. The gifts and the losses. And I learned SO MUCH by reading Jean’s book. She did a great job of sharing her personal story, including dozens of stories of people she interviewed and also perspectives and professional insights from many authorities in the adoption field. My book is dog eared and underlined and I’ll be re-reading it as I’m writing my own book about building healthy relationships in adoption reunions. I’ll also be sharing it with several members in my family because there’s so much we don’t know – so much that’s hidden in the community – and Jean sheds light on it with candor and truth-telling. This feels to me like a modern day version of Adam Pertman’s Adoption Nation and one that we desperately needed. Thank you, Jean, for this powerful volume. Sure to become a classic in adoption literature. – Elizabeth Barbour, author of “Sacred Celebrations: Designing Rituals to Navigate Life’s Milestone Transitions”
-Elizabeth Barbour
