Nobody's Child

by kate-adie

What's your name? Where were you born? What is your date of birth? Simple questions that we are asked throughout our lifeand shows what makes us who we really are.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Autobiography, Psychology

Paperback

First published September 12, 2005

Reviews

[David Highton · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book about foundlings - abandoned babies - including the Safe Haven movement in the US and the fact that the abandonment is still technically a criminal offence in the UK. Overall, the book lacks structure and is slightly scattergun, but there are sections from Adie’s news reporting work or from her personal adopted background which hold the attention.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The voices of 'foundlings', people who were abandoned as small children or babies, come through clearly, along with a lot of information rarely heard about how foundlings have been treated in past times as well as now, and in different parts of the world. It's good to have this largely hidden issue looked at frankly, with compassion and without sentimentality. It is thought provoking and important for us all as individuals, and for society as a whole, not just for those who need to search for their background.

[Tracey- Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not what I expected the read to be. At first I enjoyed reading it , but soon I found that it was a very dry read despite a subject matter being sensitive .
What Kate Adie has done in writing about foundlings and trying to give them a voice about how they are found and they've gone from being foundling to adult is nice but not as emotional
As I thought it would be.
It's a worldwide situation that she has brought to the pages as she interviews and tells the foundlings tales and each countries way of assisting the foundlings.

[David Stopforth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emotional at times but a wonderful read.

For someone who lost his mum when he was 5 and 3/4 years old, Kate's book is a huge comfort. Reflecting on emotions that I have almost felt guilty about for 50+ years and helping me feel normal for having those emotions. I hope Kate's book can help many more people.

[Shreedevi Gurumurty · Rating 4 out of 5]

From every perspective Kate Adie brings us a personal,moving and fascinating insight into this toughest of childhood experiences-abandonment-and shows what makes us who we really are.What is your name? What are your mother's and father's names and occupations? Do you have any siblings?When and where were you born? Title or form of address. Is there anything in your past we should know about? Where is your home? What schools did you attend?What is your religion? What's your ethnicity?What is your nationality?Do you have a criminal record? Have you any disease or disability?Do you have any distinguishing marks? Simple questions that we are asked throughout our lives-but what if you don't know the answers?With a curiosity inspired by her own circumstances as an adopted child,Kate Adie shows how the most remarkable adults hae survived the experience of abandonment.Their tales can be heartrending,yet also truly inspiring.Every era and country has had its own answers to the problem.Too often they have been either inadequate or cruel.Another name for an abandoned child is a foundling.Child abandonment is relinquishing interests and claims over one's offspring in an illegal way,with the intent of never resuming or reasserting guardianship.The causes of child abandonment are mainly poverty and homelessness,stigma associated with single motherhood,disability,substance abuse and mental illness,in cultures where one gender is preferred over another,incarceration and deportation,and political conditions such as war and family displacement,and disownment.
Survivors can face a multitude of physical, emotional and psychological issues.Historically, many cultures practiced abandonment of infants, often called "infant exposure."Children were left on hillsides, in the wilderness, near churches, and in other public places. If taken up by others, the children might join another family either as slaves or as free family members.Illegitimate children bore the brunt of their parents' sins according to the law and religion then.Adoption is now a legalised and bureaucratic process,and there are safe baby havens,and social attitudes have softened over the years.

[Kirsten · Rating 2 out of 5]

Woher komme ich? Wer sind meine Eltern? Diese Fragen können die meisten von uns beantworten, ohne nachdenken zu müssen. Für Kate Adie war die Antwort auf diese Fragen nicht so einfach. Sie wusste schon früh, dass sie adoptiert war, aber sie wusste nichts von ihren Eltern. Warum wurde sie weggegeben? Hat sich ihre Mutter die Entscheidung leicht gemacht? Hat sie vielleicht noch andere Geschwister?

Kate Adie hat für ihr Buch Menschen getroffenen, die versucht haben, auf diese Frage eine Antwort zu finden. Für jemand aus ihrer Generation ist das nicht einfach. Zu einer Zeit, in der es eine Schande war, ein uneheliches Kind zu haben, wollten viele Mütter nicht auf der Geburtsurkunde erscheinen. Für Viele hat sich die Frage erst gestellt, als sie eigene Kinder hatten. Sich nach so langer Zeit auf die Suche nach der Mutter oder vielleicht sogar den Eltern zu machen, war nur selten von Erfolg gekrönt, auch wenn die Adoptieren Kinder ab dem 18. Geburtstag das Recht hatten, sich nach ihren Eltern zu erkundigen. Keine der Personen, mit denen Kate Adie gesprochen hat, hatte negative Gefühle für die Mutter. Die meisten hatten ein liebevolles Zuhause gefunden und zu der Zeit ihrer Interviews oft selbst eine Familie.

Aber Kate Adie erzählt auch Geschichten aus anderen Ländern, in denen das Schicksal der Kinder nicht so einfach ist. Ihr Beruf als Journalistin brachte sie auch in Waisenhäuser in Russland oder China, wo sie Situation der Kinder eine ganz andere war. Sie sprach auch mit Eltern, die sich bewusst für ein Kind einer anderen Hautfarbe oder auch für ein behindertes Kind entschieden hatten und über die Vorurteile, mit denen diese Familien zu kämpfen hatten.

Auch wenn ich vieles gelesen habe, dass mich berührt hat, fand ich das Buch nicht in sich abgeschlossen. Ich hatte den Eindruck, als ob die Autorin viel mehr hätte erzählen können, das aber aus irgendeinem Grund nicht getan hat. Für mich ist sie zu wenig in die Tiefe gegangen. Dass trotzdem keine Fragen offengeblieben sind, lag daran, dass sie keine gestellt hat.

[Carlene Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant and sensitive insight into the little known topic of foundlings

Definitely worth reading. One of those books which gives you fresh insight. Great historical and global research. An easy read too.

[Darla Ebert · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author has done her research and with a vested interest in adoption herself (having been adopted as a baby). There are plenty of personal stories, particularly from the War (2nd) years.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started reading this expecting a memoir of Kate Adie's attempts to find her own mother, after she was abandoned as a baby. She didn't go into that in detail, probably protecting her family's privacy.

Instead, the book is a well researched insight into the treatment of foundlings in the UK, also the USA and Europe. Foundlings are orphans, but not all orphans are foundlings. There were some interesting stories of people seeking their origins, although nothing headline grabbing or salacious. Not that I wanted those, I just felt her story telling could have been slightly more engaging and her research slightly less prominent.

But that's ok, it's interesting and I might read it again, now that I know it's a different book to the one I expected.

[Elise · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really not impressed with this book but then I did have high hopes.

I should probably start with saying what it isn't. It isn't a reflective book about the author's experiences of being adopted. It doesn't represent a cross section of people who have been adopted across the UK/time/the world's stories. It doesn't talk about current adoption practice particularly and how children are better informed and supported. It also isn't a heart felt read where there is a conclusion to often horrible circumstances which lead the children to be placed for adoption.

It is a repetitive book split into thought provoking topics but it swings randomly between history, culture, race, biography, autobiography, Governmental policy and lots of other areas but it doesn't do any of them justice. It's a shame that from such a well thought of journalist that her writing style isn't more engaging and succinct.

I hate suggesting more pictures would make a book better but some of them really hammered some of the points home and the turning wheel and Germany's version are fascinating.

Overall disappointing but would probably serve well as a book to dip in to and reference from but there are better books out there on adoption and better writers.

[Frances · Rating 4 out of 5]

An informative well-written book depicting the stories of foundlings throughout history. Adie reflects on her own background as an adopted child to explore the nature of family and belonging, the need to know one's proper birth-date and original name at birth. She also explores the disturbing treatment of unwanted babies in different societies and highlights how many children can be given the promise of a better future with new families.

[Windy · Rating 2 out of 5]

ollection of stories about people who were abandoned as babies, some famous names amongst them. Each chapter gives factual/historical information about illegitemacy, civil records, foundling hospitals, adoption from times past which was sometimes interesting but often boring. Also, some of the personal stories were a bit too shallow which somehow seemed disrespectful.

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! I am usually a fiction reader but something caught my eye as I browsed the bookshelf and I was not disappointed. A mixture of her world-wide personal experiences and the personal reminisences of many 'foundlings' she has come across on her travels.

[Martina Nugent · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It tells the real life stories of foundlings throughout the world. It is the type of book that you can pick up and read a chapter at any time and come back to again. Well worth reading

[Lisa Brook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Latest book club read- an excellent choice. Well written, interesting and unexpected. A good mixture of research into the history of adoptions and foundlings with personal stories which really (and sometimes very poignantly) brought it to life.

[Eilagh · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting look at adoption which apart from stating some interesting facts about the social status of unmarried mothers over the ages, added nothing to the debate about orphanages. Would not recommend particularly.

[Elizabeth Best · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of the stories in here are fascinating. But the rest of the text is so repetitive, so if you don't mind hearing the same three points over and over in slightly different words, then it could be worth a read.

[Gypskip · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating, though heart-wrenching read. Adie writes about foundlings, and their displacement in life. A very thought provoking book which stayed with me long after finishing.

[Hilary Tesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating and often harrowing investigation into what it means to be a foundling. Well worth reading.

[Rasma Haidri · Rating 3 out of 5]

A new take on social history, and an important story that reflects on something horrific at the core of modernity.