Book review

Touched by Adoption: Stories, Letters and Poems
Compiled and edited by Nancy A. Robinson
Green River Press, Santa Barbara, CA
Reviewed by Laura Ingram

I too have observed the phenomenon Ron Morgan notes above, a typically inverse relationship between accounts of deeply-felt personal adoption experiences and their objective literary value as judged by those not personally involved. I doubt that many readers without some direct personal or professional connection to adoption will read much of even the best-written adoption work, whether fact or fiction. In any event, as more adoption triad members find their voices and write about their experiences, the authors' cumulative skill levels are rising. And the millions of Americans who are directly touched by adoption themselves will be an eager and grateful audience, provided the authors and books can find them.

Touched by Adoption is an anthology of mainly first-person prose narratives and some poetry, by writers from all sides of the adoption mosaic. Many of the contributors are published writers and poets, as is the editor, an adoptive mother from Santa Barbara. A broader than usual range of experiences is presented, including a significant number of pieces by adoptive parents, many of whom have adopted internationally, and a number of adoptees with varied perspectives. There are tales of search, reunion, rejection, joyous connections, and people struggling to establish their families and identities as parents and children.

I found most of these pieces at least interesting, and a number of them very moving. One writer whose work particularly spoke to me is Paula Naomi Friedman, a Bay Area birthmother whose prose piece and three poems describe her reunion with her relinquished son and their complex, developing relationship. Another is Penny Callan Partridge, an adoptee and adoptive parent well-known in adoption reform circles, who submitted several poems, all in her characteristically strong, clear voice.

A minor quibble is the occasional lapse in editorial judgment, which allowed a few pieces to slip in that clunk or fall flat in comparison to the rest. While the book could have used a more professional-looking presentation, it is obviously a labor of love, and is providing a forum for a number of writers who will likely become better-known as time passes. I enjoyed seeing each author's picture and reading their biographical sketches, which deepened my appreciation for many of the writers and their experiences.

All in all, Touched by Adoption is a worthy addition to the collections of those of us who are touched by adoption ourselves, and would make a good gift for people just starting to explore the issues raised by the adoption experience.