Until I Find You: Disappeared Children and Coercive Adoptions in Guatemala

by Rachel Nolan

The poignant saga of Guatemala’s adoption an international marketplace for children, built on a foundation of inequality, war, and Indigenous dispossession.

In 2009 Dolores Preat went to a small Maya town in Guatemala to find her birth mother. At the address retrieved from her adoption file, she was told that her supposed mother, one Rosario Colop Chim, never gave up a child for adoption—but in 1984 a girl across the street was abducted. At that house, Preat met a woman who strongly resembled her. Colop Chim, it turned out, was not Preat’s mother at all, but a jaladora—a baby broker.

Some 40,000 children, many Indigenous, were kidnapped or otherwise coercively parted from families scarred by Guatemala’s civil war or made desperate by unrelenting poverty. Amid the US-backed army’s genocide against Indigenous Maya, children were wrested from their villages and put up for adoption illegally, mostly in the United States. During the war’s second decade, adoption was privatized, overseen by lawyers who made good money matching children to overseas families. Private adoptions skyrocketed to the point where tiny Guatemala overtook giants like China and Russia as a “sender” state. Drawing on government archives, oral histories, and a rare cache of adoption files opened briefly for war crimes investigations, Rachel Nolan explores the human toll of an international industry that thrives on exploitation.

Would-be parents in rich countries have fostered a commercial market for children from poor countries, with Guatemala becoming the most extreme case. Until I Find You reckons with the hard truths of a practice that builds loving families in the Global North out of economic exploitation, endemic violence, and dislocation in the Global South.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

313 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 9, 2024

Reviews

[Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars!

I knew virtually nothing about Guatemala before starting this book, much less its history of adoption. Guatemala's adoption system is so defined by its broader political landscape, and Nolan does a wonderful job of thoroughly explaining the necessities without getting bogged down in the weeds. It feels like every piece of history she provides is thoughtfully chosen and deeply necessary to understanding adoption. You can feel how well-researched this is. That being said, the actual writing itself is perfectly serviceable but nothing to write home about in the way that other journalism-heavy nonfiction books I've read are.

I'm really just at the tip of exploring international adoptions, but I felt very lucky to have encountered this book because it feels like it already fills this massive hole. Specifically, it explores, without fear mongering or dramatics, the question of how bad international adoption can get. It really changed my perspective regarding how I view wealth and the "better life" argument in the context of adoption. It's probably a bit too niche to really call it a "must read" for everybody, but I almost feel like it ought to be.

[Priscilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

The disappearance and kidnapping of indigenous children is such a disheartening topic and this book does an amazing job at not watering it down. Though, it’s painful and enraging it’s important to not turn a blind eye.

[Alison Fulmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very thorough recounting of the complex history of last 20th century Guatemala and the associated program of international adoption from that country. I had some idea but did not know the complexities of the political disaster of the times or the scale of profiteering that was the private adoption industry. The numbers of children kidnapped, removed from impoverished native parents who could not read or write in any language or speak Spanish is appalling. For adoptees who want now to find their birth families the task is almost impossible. Adoptions from Guatemala were finally outlawed by the US in 2007. There is a downside to that too but at least the corrupt system that existed has been largely dismantled.

[Perri Goldstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incredibly important story - heartbreaking and difficult personal stories to read. 5 stars for shedding light on this.

My issue was mainly around I thought some of the chapters were drawn out and a bit repetitive.

[Savannah Quick · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5

Hard to read at times, but super informative. There are times where I had a hard time following the timeline, but I also often put this down to look up other historical details. She gives you what you need to know about the conflict in Guatemala, but I got sidetracked often trying to get more context do a regime change or while looking up individual adoptees she discusses.

I ended the book with a list of other topics/stories to choose next, including Oscar Ramirez/Finding Oscar, Finding Fernanda, and Argentina's DNA databases.

[Samuel P · Rating 5 out of 5]

After taking Professor Rachel Nolan's course on the introduction to Latin American politics in the fall of 2024, I knew I had to read her career-defining academic book. Before even reading the first page, I already had some background on the work's content because I attended a book launch event close by, featuring Professor Nolan and a guest speaker who was herself an adopted Guatemalan taken from her family and sent to the US.

By the last page, I was entirely blown away by the quality of what I had just read. Nolan flexed her writing skills, honed as a journalist, to create a thoroughly engaging work that was both very detail-oriented and content-dense, with smooth-as-butter readability that kept me turning pages way too late into the night. Furthermore, I kept fearing that the subject would be too niche, leading the work to fall into a repetitive trap, as I've encountered previously. However, truly Guatemalan adoptions encompass a broader regional and temporal conversation about human rights: community versus the individual, and minority communal identity versus personal material well-being. That is not to say the book could not have used maybe two or three paragraphs less of recap in the final chapters, as the work requires only a few reading sessions to complete. Regardless, by the end, I wanted to know even more than 260 pages could give.

[Juliana V Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Until I Find You” is a profound and meticulously researched exploration of the moral complexities surrounding international adoption, particularly the extensive systemic injustices in Guatemala. Dr. Rachel Nolan exposes the uncomfortable truths of genocide and forced disappearances, which have long been buried by the country’s elite. With painstaking fieldwork, detailed research, and an unwavering commitment to truth, Dr. Nolan gives voice to those silenced for decades, seeking justice for the thousands of families and adoptees who have endured unimaginable physical and cultural losses.

This work is a testament to Dr. Nolan’s dedication not only as a scholar but also as an advocate for justice. Her ability to weave rigorous analysis with deeply human storytelling makes this book both an essential academic contribution and a moving call to action. As one of her (former) students, I feel incredibly inspired by the passion and care she has poured into this project, and I am grateful for the example she sets in showing us that meaningful scholarship can indeed change lives. Thank you Rachel - for proving to us that anything is possible.

[Valeria Nunez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew somewhat how corrupt international adoptions are but I didn't know the extent of it. This book goes into so much detail and even then I found myself googling the individual cases mentioned to read more. A very depressing topic but one that people should read about nonetheless.

[Maria Gomberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most incredible story

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I think about them out there, looking for me. I just want to talk to my real mother for one second, to find out if she gave me up because she wanted to or because she had to.”