Strangers and Kin: The American Way of Adoption

by Melosh

Strangers and Kin is the history of adoption, a quintessentially American institution in its buoyant optimism, generous spirit, and confidence in social engineering. An adoptive mother herself, Barbara Melosh tells the story of how married couples without children sought to care for and nurture other people's children as their own. It says much about the American experience of family across the twentieth century and our shifting notions of kinship and assimilation. Above all, it speaks of real people striving to make families out of strangers.

In the early twentieth century, childless adults confronted orphanages reluctant to entrust their wards to the kindness of strangers. By the 1930s, however, the recently formed profession of social work claimed a new expertise--the science and art of child placement--and adoption became codified in law. It flourished in the United States, reflecting our ethnic diversity, pluralist ideals, and pragmatic approach to family. Then, in the 1960s, as the sexual revolution reshaped marriage, motherhood, and women's work, adoption became a less attractive option and the number of adoptive families precipitously declined. Taking this history into the early twenty-first century, Melosh offers unflinching insight to the contemporary debates that swirl around the challenges to adoption secrecy; the ethics and geopolitics of international adoption; and the conflicts over transracial adoption.

This gripping history is told through poignant stories of individuals, garnered from case records long inaccessible to others, and captures the profound losses and joys that make adoption a lifelong process.

Genres: Adoption, Nonfiction

336 pages, Paperback

First published November 8, 2002

Reviews

[Laura K]

Read my review and reflection on this book here: www.gentlewild.com/strangers-and-kin

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

History of adoption in the US, from the 1930s up to the present. Most of the data comes from the Delaware Children's Bureau. Melosh traces societal changes and how they have affected adoption and covers many of the big issues that surround modern adoption including; international adoption, transracial adoption, and open vs. closed adoption. The author has an adopted son, and while the book clearly delves into problems with adoption, it does leave you with a feeling of good people trying to make the best choices they can for their children. The author believes that adoption represents many American ideals, such as upward mobility, second chances, and compassion for others.

[Jung Sun · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't get to finish before having to return to the library, but plan to eventually.