Book Giveaway

Literary Mama is giving away one copy of Adoption Nation by Adam Pertman. Leave a comment and your email address at the end of this post, and you’ll be entered in our random drawing. Or, if you prefer, send your comment via email to lmblogcontact (at) literarymama (dot) com. Entry deadline: April 21.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Adoption Nation
How the Adoption Revolution is Transforming Our Families – and America
By Adam Pertman
Harvard Common Press, 2011. $16.95

Adam Pertman, executive director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, has penned a book that’s part information and part call to action. First published in 2000, he releases this revised and updated version of Adoption Nation “because so much has occurred over the last decade.

“…from the adoptive mother who recently ‘returned’ her son to Russia to the children orphaned by the earthquake in Haiti; from the ongoing debate over transracial adoptions to the still-unregulated Wild West of adoption on the Internet ; the decline in secrecy and shame in adoption to the explosion of reunions between adopted people and their birth families; and from the precipitous drop in international adoptions to the soaring rise in adoptions of boys and girls from foster care, including by growing numbers of gay and lesbian parents,” he writes.

Pertman’s research covers the entire landscape, including the history of how adoption became a societal issue, how activism and legislative action has affected the search process, how adoption has become a money-making business, and how celebrity acknowledgements have made adoption vogue.

His friendly tone turns a multi-layered, complicated subject into a provocative read that’s hard to put down. He introduces readers to pregnant women who are unsure of what to do about unplanned pregnancies, to adoptees and birth parents who face roadblocks in their search for each other, and to adults who want to be parents and wait to be chosen. These stories bring the statistics, issues and arguments to life — even though there’s not a happy ending to every one.

The adoptive father of two writes that adoption will never become flawless, because like every other social institution, it operates in an imperfect world run by imperfect people, but he proves that the adoption revolution IS transforming our families and America. And, for those who want to be better informed about the issues, Adoption Nation is a step in the right direction.

Enter our book giveaway for the chance to own your own copy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Literary Mama is giving away one copy of Adoption Nation by Adam Pertman. Leave a comment and your email address at the end of this post, and you’ll be entered in our random drawing. Or, if you prefer, send your comment via email to lmblogcontact (at) literarymama (dot) com. Entry deadline: April 21.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Then, check out these pieces from the LM Archives for more insight into the issues surrounding adoption:

A creative non-fiction piece by Andrea Vij, As Long As It Takes.
A review of Debra Monroe’s memoir, On the Outskirts of Normal.
Reviews of the documentaries, Adopted, Sunshine, and Casa de los Babys.