Relinquished

The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood

By: Gretchen Sisson

Narrated by: Angel Pean, Emily Norman, Katie Koster, Kimberly M. Wetherell, Si Chen, Renata Friedman

Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

“Dares to imagine a different world where Americans treat adoption like the justice issue it is.”―Washington Post

“Impressively reported…[Sisson] uses her deep well of knowledge to make the case that adoption is no solution for Americans’ reduced access to abortion.”―San Francisco Chronicle

A powerful decade-long study of adoption in the age of Roe, revealing the grief of the American mothers for whom the choice to parent was never real

Adoption has always been viewed as a beloved institution for building families, as well as a mutually agreeable common ground in the abortion debate, but little attention has been paid to the lives of mothers who relinquish infants for private adoption. Relinquished reveals adoption to be a path of constrained choice for those for whom abortion is inaccessible, or for whom parenthood is untenable. The stories of relinquishing mothers are stories about our country's refusal to care for families at the most basic level, and to instead embrace an individual, private solution to a large-scale, social problem.

With the recent decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization revoking abortion protections, we are in a political moment in which adoption is, increasingly, being revealed as an institution devoted to separating families and policing parenthood under the guise of feel-good family-building. Rooted in a long-term study, Relinquished features the in-depth testimonies of American mothers who placed their children for domestic adoption. The voices of these women are powerful and heartrending; they deserve to be heard.

©2024 Gretchen Sisson (P)2024 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"A devastating and urgent condemnation of America’s adoption industry."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Provocative, in-depth, and scholarly. For readers interested in the history of adoption."—Library Journal

“[A] crucial piece in understanding reproductive justice and the unequal ways we create and care for families in this country.”–Booklist

"As American women lose reproductive rights long thought sacred, Relinquished is a forceful reminder of who wins and who loses in the making of the modern American family."—Washington Independent Review of Books

Important information presented in an easy to understand manner

Nice to finally hear such a well researched longitudinal study of the modern treatment of pregnant people in crisis by a predatory industry.

Women’s Experiences

Excellent critical analysis of the adoption industry’s impact on women. As well as how it intersects with women’s choices or lack of choices in the US. I found it very timely and useful as an adoptee, birth mother and adoption professional. I learned from this and also felt very validated in my own conflicts and concerns about adoption.

Relatable

I am a 2010 first mom, and WOW… this validated me in so many ways. Knowing I was not the only one who had an adoption go down like my daughters. Very healing to read. Though sometimes triggering. Reality can be a hard thing ti accept.
Grateful for the work Gretchen has put in to give accurate information to the world.

Wish I would have just bought a hard copy

As a birth mother, I was so excited about this book as it touches on some pretty weighty topics, some quite sensitive to me as my child that I placed is now in his 20's. But I really don't like the way this book is read!! I feel like her opinion comes through in her tone and frankly, if you know any birth mothers personally, placing a child for adoption can be VERY coerced and manipulated because of people's opinions. I just wanted a book that I could listen to, gather my own thoughts and opinions, and gain insight into myself and others affected by adoption. Probably going to just buy the book because I am enjoying the books content, just not the reader.