Wonderland: Memoir of a Black Market Adoption

by Patricia Knight Meyer

Handed over along a Texas hospital curb in 1970—no judge, no paperwork, no questions asked—Patricia grew up celebrating a made-up birthday, haunted by nightmares of "The Dark Man." Her parents, blackmailed by the attorney they hired to skirt the adoption system, faced an impossible choice: go to the police or pay up. They paid $30,000 to keep their paperless baby.

Navigating her mother's violent alcoholism and caring for her disabled and depressed 600-pound father, Patricia spent her childhood trying to save her saviors—unaware of the lifelong threat that haunted them: at any moment, someone could come back for the baby.

At eighteen, pregnant and standing in her birth mother's shoes, Patricia discovers a shattering secret that launches a lifetime search for answers. But it takes decades—and her adoptive mother's death—before Patricia realizes the secret-keepers won't live forever. Guided by her mother's ghost, she races to uncover the truth.

A tumble down the rabbit hole of America's baby trade, part detective story, part searing family portrait, Wonderland exposes what happens when adoption's house of cards finally falls—when falsified documents and dark family secrets can no longer sustain one woman's relentless search for truth.

A haunting reckoning with Baby Scoop Era exploitation that asks the urgent question: are we ready for Baby Scoop 2.0?

A Finalist/Winner in the 2026 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, WONDERLAND: MEMOIR OF A BLACK MARKET ADOPTION is the story of one bartered baby who refused to be erased.

Genres: Audiobook, Nonfiction, Adoption

355 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication November 3, 2026

About the author

Journalist, adoption reform advocate, and relinquishee from the Baby Scoop Era black market. Born in 1970 and trafficked through an attorney-brokered deal, Patricia Knight Meyer was raised without a legal adoption or valid birth certificate. Her relentless search for the truth led her to both biological parents and enabled her to obtain her first legal identity at age 47.

A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in journalism, Patricia founded the adoption blog My Adopted Life and YAYDNA Genetic Greeting Cards. She serves on the board of the National Association of Adoptees and Parents (NAAP) and Concerned United Birth Parents, keynotes at national adoption conferences, and leads memoir writing workshops. She divides her time between the Texas Hill Country and New Orleans.

Reviews

[em]

What an incredibly moving and poignant book this was. Meyer writes with such conviction and bravery, sharing parts of her story that I can only imagine were difficult to live through, let alone relive to share with readers. Her tone of voice throughout was gentle and refreshingly honest, even in some moments where I felt like I was intruding on a private conversation. To tell her own life story with this much integrity, while also acknowledging her trauma, was inspiring to say the least.

I couldn’t put this down, I read it over a weekend and found myself gravitating towards it whenever I wasn’t reading. A real page turner with so many beautiful and heartbreaking moments. I feel lucky to have read this and gotten a glimpse into Meyer’s life.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #Wonderland #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Andrea Keeler · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title of this book caught my eye right away. I'm fascinated by the inner workings of the adoption "system" and was really excited to learn more by reading this book. Books with titles like these often fall along a familiar continuum from data-heavy to memoir-heavy, and this was certainly more of a personal story than a data-based analysis of the mess that is the adoption world. I strongly prefer stories with more research embedded, but this was still an interesting read. The author did a great job distinguishing mother vs birth mother and discussing her feelings with family. The author also did a great job narrating the audiobook!
Adding more statistics and research would have made this memoir more impactful.
One odd note - the feelings the author shared about her brother were uncomfortable and weird. 😬

Thanks to NetGalley for this early release audiobook.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what a doozie. If “Before We Were Yours” met “The Glass Castle,” this is something like what you would get. Exceptionally well-written, often in ways that make it feel like a novel. Also because some of the things that happen in her life feel unbelievable. Or at least you wish that they were untrue. Meyer’s blunt but caring honesty about her own life and experiences, as well as the realities of trauma inherent in adoption (legal and otherwise) is handled with the utmost care. Highly recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

[Faithe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderland: memoir or a black-markwt adoption by Patricia Knight Meyer is a true story of the author's upbringing.

She takes us through her childhood, both the good and the bad, and through finding out that she was adopted illegally and what this meant for her life going forward. She takes along with her through her search for her biological/1st family, and all the ups and downs and emotions that entails.

I received an audiobook copy of Wonderland from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

The audiobook was done very well. It was voiced by the author herself. It must have been painful reliving and retelling some of those moments, but she did so with grace and poise. I admire her ability to be so raw and open about her less than ideal circumstances growing up, and also into adulthood. I think everyone adopted legally or not, could learn and be inspired from listening or reading her story.

Coming to bookstores November 3rd 2026

[Kelly Pramberger · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an adoptive mom, I read and devour all books with an adoption theme. This was no exception. I was fascinated by the stories Meyer shared. The writing is expert-level, and I found myself staying up late to read through it!

[Kristina Pauls (ARC Reviewer)]

PUBLISH DATE: Nov 3, 2026

PUBLISH DATE: Nov 3, 2026
BOOK TITLE:WONDERLAND (Memoir of a Black-Market Adoption)
AUTHOR: Patricia Knight Meyer
NARRATOR: Patricia Knight Meyer
PUBLISHER: YAYDNA Press
FORMAT: Audiobook
DURATION:
I received a complimentary digital ARC [Advanced Readers Copy] of this book via NetGalley. Thank you to the Publisher and the Author for the opportunity to read and review this title prior to publication. As always, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

[Elizabeth Weaver · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am grateful to have gotten early access to this audiobook through NetGalley. I was drawn to the title as the daughter of an adoptee who has been on her own reunion journey. I was struck by the many similarities in their stories, even with very different circumstances. I’m very appreciative to the author for sharing such an intimate and nuanced account. She paints such a true picture; though she includes failings and flaws, it’s clear that she deeply loves her family. I hope others will read this story and better understand that adoption is not a simple solution to anything.

[Katie McCoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received an early copy of this memoir from NetGalley and could not put it down. Extremely well written and the story truly takes you on a wild rollercoaster of events. I especially appreciated the authors willingness to share personal details of her life that everyone can connect with. Although I have no connection to adoption, it’s still a gripping story that makes you emphatic to the trials adoptees go through. Highly recommend if you’re into memoirs like myself!

[Julianne Nanzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prior to reading this memoir, I had no idea about the baby scoop era and black market adoptions. Honestly, everyone should read this memoir, especially if they are wanting to participate in any form of adoption. Patricia really writes a profound, tragic story that truly is compelling.

Thank you to Unsolicited Press and Net Galley for the opportunity to get my hands on this Advanced Readers Copy!

[Elizabeth King · Rating 4 out of 5]

thank you netgalley for this arc 🫶🏻

what a whirlwind of a memoir. i don’t know a lot about black market adoption, but this really tore at my heartstrings. after such a tumultuous life, i hope patricia knight meyer is having a good day

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

🎧 audiobook

4.25 ⭐️

[Carrie Gulledge · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a difficult one to write a review on - the 4 star review reflects the quality of the story telling and writing of the book and not necessarily my enjoyment or feelings about the book. Memoirs like this are always a struggle since it isn't really the readers place to put a rating on another person's life experiences or the way that they talk about them. So I think that overall, this was well written with a decent flow to the story telling. I listened to the audiobook which is read by the author herself and I found her easy and engaging to listen to. The main thing I would have liked to have seen in the writing of the book was the same amount of attention to minute detail in later portions of the book that we got in the first half.

The rating isn't a reflection of how uncomforable I was with her calling her mom Mommy the whole book, the struggle I have with the amount of details the author claims to recall from early childhood in spite of severe CPTSD, the detail she put in to telling us about her childhood trauma but the way she glossed over the same trauma being dealt to her daughter or the way it icked me out that she was incredibly judgmental of her (clearly financially struggling) birth mother but accepted her (well-off) birth father with open arms. All of this contributed to making it very hard to connect with the author past the first thirty percent or so of the book; there were times I actively found myself disliking the person being written on the pages. But none of that makes her story any less valuable or genuine or compelling - just things that I struggled with personally.

I obviously wasn't able to connect with the author on the basis of adoption - but I actually could connect with her over the lack of identifying paperwork. I was born in a California hospital on Christmas Eve, where my mother claimed none of the staff spoke English - as a result, I didn't have any legal paperwork definining my birth until I was 18. I somehow did end up with a social security card but that was it and it made life very difficult, delaying things that are important in your teen years like a driver's license or acceptance to schools, etc. My birth certificate is written in my hand writing. So those parts of the story I found especially fascinating since they were often the only points in the story that I was able to really understand.

I was also really interested to learn a lot of information I hadn't known previously about the adoption system during a period of time when Black Market adoptions were happening. This book did give me a view into something I knew very little about and gave me a lot of interesting perspectives to consider.

** I received an ALC of this book from Netgalley**

[Chels · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

I’m new to the autobiography and memoir world of non-fiction but was really interested in this author’s story. I was intrigued about what I thought would be the main topic of this book – the author’s detective story into her own illegal adoption. I was expecting an epic investigation story and research into the history of black market adoptions, possible documentary style, and the effort this author took to find her birth parents. However, a majority of this story is the author giving a detailed backstory of her childhood to adulthood. Her memories and feelings of growing up with her adoptive family and how it affected her viewpoint on life growing up. When the actual investigation happened into her birth parents, this part of the story was not that much. She did some digging and found them, after years of putting it off and always wondering. She then delves into the comparison of her bio vs adoptive family. How her life may not have been so bad after all, despite all the trauma she dealt with growing up?

My biggest concern of this book is how the author normalizes the emotional abuse her adoptive mother put her through. I too can relate to “good mommy” and “bad mommy”. Relate to a mother who wants a lavish lifestyle and a father who works himself to the bone to give her mother a rich lifestyle while living in a country setting. I too recognize this cycle of abuse that poor, southern American families undergo. The concept of “hurt people hurt people”, especially from parents to their children, then to their children, and so on and so forth as the cycle continues. I know that the author realizes this and works to break that generational trauma, but she normalizes the abuse so much. She held so much other trauma outside of that, and I’m glad her story contains moments of healing. But I hate this message of “well both families are not that great, but I turned out ok with my abusive family at least, so they may have been the better choice all along.”

I don’t mean to criticize a story about someone’s life, but I wish there was more understanding by the author that readers may relate to her story but may not appreciate how normal she made the abuse feel.

I would say, the author did well in writing an interesting book about her life story but it did not dive into the topic of black market adoptions as much as the book summary makes it out to be.

I’d recommend reading if you are mainly interested in learning about someone’s life story from childhood to adulthood and the feelings and challenges she went through to find her biological family as well as finding herself along the way.

Thank you yo NetGalley and the publisher for an ALC for me to listen and review.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A memoir written like a novel, WONDERLAND: Memoir of a Black-Market Adoption is an engaging read that details the complicated and confusing life of a woman who was never legally adopted by her parents. Author Patricia Knight Meyer covers generational trauma, love, abuse, reconciliation, and more in this debut.

In the first half of the book, which covers Patricia’s childhood, she keeps readers on their toes with the constant suspense of an unstable home. Around every corner, it was a gamble if one would find a loving familial scene, like making po’boy sandwiches with her father, or a traumatizing moment, like her mother shattering dishes in anger. Especially concerning for little Pam was the fear that The Dark Man (a mysterious, semi-imaginated figure) would take her from her family. As a teenager, Patricia learns that her parents never received her birth certificate; then as an adult, she realizes why. Pam was not adopted through the legal system. She is a black-market baby.

The memoir takes its audience on a journey of self-discovery through a very personal, investigative lens. Patricia uncovers that her family was black-mailed by a shady attorney who likely sold dozens, if not more, babies to desperate families, who one can only hope had good intentions and resources. Her mother and father had skirted the system her entire life, worried that she would be taken away. The Dark Man was not just a nightmare.

With this knowledge, a new fear develops. What happens if the system catches up and realizes that she does not legally exist? In an effort to track down her birth record and claim it, she begins a search for her biological parents.

Over the years, she overcomes the trauma to earn a college degree and raises her daughter to be an emotionally secure and intelligent woman. Then at 40 years old, Patricia finds her first mother, which reveals a whole other problematic history. After a more-than-rocky reunion, Pam is led to her birth father and finally experiences the bond-felt-in-your-blood connection she’d sought for so long. With his help, she is able to claim her birth record at 47.

WONDERLAND exposes the intricacies of a broken adoption system, explores the importance of women’s reproductive rights, and tastefully handles the concepts of generational trauma and loving a complicated family. I highly recommend it for anyone connected to the adoption community, and for those who aren’t. This is a book that educates and fosters facing your own familial pains, adopted or not.

[Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

A big thank you to NetGalley and YAYDNA Press for the copy.

Medium: Audiobook

My thoughts: This was a fascinating look into someone who faced a reality that very few of us will ever experience or even think about. In this day and age, when everything is digitized and paperwork is the name of the game in order to exist in the country that you were born and spend your entire life in, not being able to prove that you even exist is a true nightmare.
The description provided for the book was somewhat misleading since it focused on the illegality of the adoption process that Mrs. Knight Meyer went through instead of what the focus of the book acutally was. This story is a journey of adoption and looking for oneself by finding the biological roots and the story behind one's birth. Despite my misled expectations, I found the story to be riveting and the narrator/author to be a heartbreaking case study for what can happen when people are failed by the system as well as by the people that were supposed to protect them in the first place.
I have to say that I was a little put out by the descriptions of certain meetings and people, as well as how the narrator reacted to them. Understanding that it is a normal part of going through something very intense, I disregarded most of them or simply attempted to get in her shoes for a moment. The one description and interaction that I saw other reviewers comment on as well that is harder to fully justify is the one of her half-brother. There is, apparently, a studied hypothesis that posits that people are attracted to one another based on genetic similarities. It has been used in a lot of cases of adoption where one member of a family unit was adopted out and upon meeting their relatives later on in life, they have a strong attraction to someone. The hypothesis is called Genetic Sexual Attraction and it is highly disputed and criticized as pseudoscience. Whatever the case may be, the part where she met her brother was uncomfortable to listen to.
Generally speaking, this book was very interesting and generally well written, giving me a view into the psyche of adopted people that I haven't had the opportunity to delve into before. If, however, you are looking to find a structured look into black-market adoptions, dubious practices and the proverbial "selling of babies", this is not for you.

[Taylor M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderland was a deep look into one woman's life who happens to be shaped, not only by her own black market adoption, but by the trauma and addictions of her adoptive parents. Split into parts, this memoir tackles several things: her childhood, her adoption, and finding her biological parents.

Sometimes I can really struggle with believing the author when they have very deep, fleshed out memories; much like part one of this book. However, the author comes off as very genuine. It's clear she's trying to be as clear as possible -even to the point of detailing intense, traumatic experiences- and never aims to pick any one person's side. In addition, while I do know her thoughts and opinions on topics, it never came off as "preachy" or pushing any one specific agenda. Meyer sought to expose the black-market adoption, as well as the impact of adoption on children, through the (perhaps therapeutic) lens of her own life experiences. Part three of this story, especially, was a heartbreaking look into what many adoptee's must experience when the birth parent of their dreams in no way mirrors the real, flawed human they have found. Her emotions throughout the story are so valid and raw in all their conflicting glory.

The one thing I can say I found lacking to this story was a more broad dive into adoptions (especially the Black Market aspects) and the struggles of being a legal, undocumented person. I always love to learn more about these niche types of topics, so more research information would have made this story that much more impactful. However, I understand that this is a memoir not a deep-dive, non-fiction story.

This was a very honest and authentic memoir. Made better through the narration from the author herself. She has a poetic writing style and is an excellent story teller. Overall, an excellent listen and highly recommended.

Thank you to Netgalley and YAYDNA Press for this ALC in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Wildrose Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Wonderland: Memoir of a Black Market Adoption” by Patricia Knight Meyer
🎧 Format: Audiobook
🎙️Narrator: Patricia Knight Meyer
📚 Pub Date: 10.15.26
⭐️ Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Stars

“Wonderland: Memoir of a Black Market Adoption ” by Patricia Knight Meyer is a riveting, fascinating true story about a black market adoption.

Patricia writes about how she came to realize that she was adopted on the black market as an infant. Her adoptive parents desperately wanted a child, even though they weren’t particularly well suited to being parents. Her adoptive parents were people who struggled with addictions, mental health issues, and financial difficulties. Patricia’s childhood was filled with various forms of neglect and abuse.

After spending years of her life searching for her biological parents and the story of her birth, Patricia is able to find some information that sheds some light on her birth. The saying “Be careful what you wish for!” immediately comes to my mind.

I don’t want to spoil anything about the storyline, and I encourage everyone to read Patricia’s search for her birth identity/birth circumstances. I highly recommend “Wonderland: Memoir of a Black Market Adoption ” by Patricia Knight Meyer.

Patricia is extremely gifted with words and she articulately and eloquently portrays her own life story, which at times was gut wrenching to read.

Though I personally don’t share her opinion that adoption is always traumatic and unnatural; I recognize that Patricia’s personal life experience has contributed to that belief.

I listened to this book by audiobook, and I really enjoyed the narration by the author. I am grateful that I listened to it by Audiobook, because I felt that it brought more depth and emotion to the story to hear the author’s own voice.

Thank you to Patricia Knight Meyer, NetGalley & Unsolicited Press for the Advance Review Copy. All opinions are my own.

#WonderlandTheMemoir
#PatriciaKnightMeyer
#NetGalley
#UnsolicitedPress

[Leah Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderland: Memoir of a Black-Market Adoption is an in-depth look at one woman's journey of being adopted on the black market in 1970. Patricia Knight Meyer always knew she was adopted, but that was the extent of what she knew and she grew up with more questions than answers. Eventually she started investigating and what she discovered was not what she expected.

The audiobook is narrated by Meyer herself, and that choice makes all the difference. There's a depth of emotion an author brings to their own story that no other narrator can fully replicate, and her performance is a perfect example. She handles the harder chapters with real inflection and emotion, and in the warmer passages you can hear genuine joy come through. Her reading style truly brings the story to life. Her pacing is excellent throughout, never rushed and never dragging, which matters enormously in a memoir this emotionally dense.

The flow was easy to follow in audio, too. Each chapter is clearly announced ("Chapter 1...") and opens with an excerpt from Alice in Wonderland, which doubles as a natural marker for a new section as well as a beautiful tie-in to the book's themes.

The story itself has a wonderful arc: it opens with her adoptive family, characters so vividly drawn you want to keep reading (or listening) about them, and closes with her birth family, who are just as compelling. Getting to witness Patricia's full journey from having no idea where she came from, to uncovering the truth, to using that truth to heal is intimate, detailed, and unflinchingly honest.

I'd recommend either format for this one. If you're an audiobook person, you'll love this. Meyer's narration adds a layer you simply can't get elsewhere. But if you prefer print, I think you'll still glean the same emotional tone from her intimate, honest portrait of her life.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I flew through this audiobook that I would describe as a mix of Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate and The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls in that author Patricia Knight Meyer was basically a non-existent baby all the way into her adulthood, when she began to research her roots as an adopted baby with a false "delayed birth certificate".

Like many adopted children, at some point they may be curious about their birth parents, but not having a legal birth certificate, or anything that could identify her birth, or even her citizenship in the US sent Meyer on a deep dive. Thankfully she was coming into the era of DNA testing and Ancestry.com

What she found about what she calls "open adoptions" was so sad. I do have to disagree with her definition of open adoptions, because not all open adoptions are these shady deals that were done in her case. Some are actually legal and above board. In fact, we support one of these. But during this time, hundreds of thousands of children were literally just handed over with no legal documentation.

And what you find when you find your birth parents could be a joyous reunion, or just more problems. I am left thinking, no one is perfect, including birth parents and adopting parents. One thing that stuck in my mind is how she repeats that "adoption was something that was done to her"; she had no say-so like the birth mother and adopting parents. She also points out that the birth father is also left out of all decisions in this time period. The era of 1940's-1970's was a wild west in adoption! Read Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate.

But her story growing up with her adoptive parents, her search for her birth mother, her actual birth date, and how she has landed today, is a compelling story that I highly recommend.

[Benay Bubar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Until now I’ve used a different system to track my reading, but after having received an advance copy of this book, I figured it was worth creating a Goodreads account so as to have the opportunity to review it now. Patricia Knight Meyer was adopted on the black market as an infant, with her adoptive parents having picked her up through the maneuvers of a shady lawyer—she never had a real birth certificate. Even though she was strongly attached to her adoptive parents, they would not have been approved to adopt through normal channels, and they ended up having their own challenges with addiction that made her childhood a complicated and sometimes precarious one. She ultimately embarked on a search for her birth parents, with some nominal success but also further complications such that she came to understand that she likely never could have had the ideal childhood she might have imagined in any case. Her story clarifies how adoption is virtually never the seamless feel-good transition of a child to a better life, and black market adoption, which has happened to many children over the years, only complicates things further.

This book is being put out by a small press I hadn’t known about before, and honestly sometimes I’m wary of committing to books from small publishers that are unfamiliar to me because I’m afraid that even if the story itself is good, the writing or editing will be poor. However this book was well written and compelling throughout, and it led me to question some of my own assumptions about adoption that I was not even conscious of having made, so I am glad to have taken a chance on it and appreciate having had the opportunity to read it.

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderland: Memoir of a Black-Market Adoption tells the real story of Patricia, who was illegally adopted as a baby, with no papers in Texas 1970. The book describes the trauma of adoption, especially an illegal one, and how it can affect the lives of the adoptee, adopted parents, and birthparents.

Before listening to Patricia's story, I was not in any way familiar with the phenomenon of black-market adoption. I was not prepared to have my heart broken so many times during the book. The book was very informative but also deeply personal, honest, and brave. Patricia describes her childhood with an alcoholic mother and disabled obese father, who, despite loving her fiercely, subjected her to abuse and neglect. Highly introspective, Patricia analyzes how the adoption could have affected everyone involved and how the same patterns of behavior can continue generation after another if not healed properly.

Throughout her difficult journey to find not only her birthparents but also her true self, Patricia openly recounts her experiences. Without hiding ugly truths, mistakes, and disappointments, she also shares moments of love, hope, and what family really means to her.

The story itself was an emotion roller-coaster, and I was immediately sucked in, and I could not put it down. Patricia Knight Meyer narrated the audiobook herself, which gave it even more personal touch. The topic was extremely interesting and still very relevant in 2026, with the possibility of a new Baby Scoop Era as reproductive rights are at risk. I highly recommend this memoir, but I advise you to check for possible triggers since it discusses many heavy topics.

Thank you so much, NetGalley, for the eALC ♡

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

**Wonderland by Patricia Knight Meyer**

Four stars.

I picked this one up knowing nothing about adoption reunion stories and came away with a lot to think about. Meyer's name itself tells you where the book is headed, honoring both her biological father and the parents who raised her, and that balancing act runs through the whole memoir.

The search for her birth parents is where the book is strongest. It is not a clean story, and Meyer does not pretend otherwise. The complications with her biological mother in particular are messy and uncomfortable in ways I did not expect, and she resists the urge to tie it up neatly.

The family she grew up in gets the same honest treatment. Her adoptive mother could be abusive, and Meyer writes about it without either softening it or turning the woman into a villain. Her adoptive father came across as a genuinely kind man, though his struggles with food addiction are a real presence in the book.

One thing that kept catching my attention was how much everyone credited genetics for everything, right down to how they liked their steak cooked. I understand the impulse. When you finally find people who share your blood, you probably want to find yourself in every small thing. But it made me wonder how much of that is real and how much is people wanting a connection badly enough to see it everywhere.

Worth reading, especially if adoption reunion is unfamiliar territory for you like it was for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

[Shelby Calhoun]

** GOT TO READ THIS AS AN ADVANCED LISTENER**

I really enjoyed "Wonderland: Memoir of a Black-Market Adoption". I went into it not knowing much about black-market adoption, and it ended up being such an eye-opening read. Patricia Knight Meyer shares her story in such an honest and personal way that I found myself wanting to keep reading to see how everything unfolded.

One thing I loved about this memoir was the way Patricia writes about her life. It honestly feels like you're experiencing everything right alongside her. You can clearly picture what's happening and understand what she's feeling in each moment. I've read other memoirs that can feel vague or like they're just listing events, but this one really puts you in her shoes and makes you feel connected to her story.

What I also appreciated was that this wasn't just about uncovering the truth of her adoption. It was about identity, family, resilience, and the lasting impact that secrets can have on a person's life. There were so many heartbreaking moments, but Patricia handled them with honesty and grace.

This is definitely an emotional read, and it covers some difficult topics, but I think they're important to the story. It made me think about adoption in a completely different way and gave me a new perspective on the long-lasting effects of unethical adoption practices.

If you enjoy memoirs that are emotional, thought-provoking, and make you feel like you're living the story alongside the author, I would definitely recommend picking this one up.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
Wonderland, a memoir by Patricia Knight Meyer @somebodys__baby, is an investigative journey into the author's life as a child relinquished and adopted through black market adoption in the 1970s. Patricia grows up with so many unknowns and it isn't until after both of her adoptive parents pass away that she finally is able to dig deep into her roots and find out more about her identity.

You know I love a good adoption memoir, and I've recently read a few books about black market adoption and the sixties scoop, so this one was a great addition to those readings. I appreciated the author's honesty around her emotions when processing things like finding her biological family and them perhaps not exactly living up to her expectations, or dealing with adverse childhood experiences. Her life and journey were not as easy or straightforward as she would have hoped and her vulnerability and heartfelt descriptions helped me connect with her on a deeper level. I did find that there were times where the author could have been a little bit more clear about her timelines or change of time period as I was often confused. I also felt that the prologue, foreword and author's note felt like quite a laborious start to the story, however, once the author found her footing and was in a more narrative style it was easier to connect with her writing. I would recommend this for anyone who is interested in adoption memoirs and the trauma that comes with secretive, black market or sealed adoptions. I also listened to parts of the audiobook version and it was a good option for those who enjoy that format. Wonderland comes out in November so preorder now or add this one to your TBR!

Thanks to @netgalley and the publisher @unsolicitedp for giving me the chance to read and review Wonderland!

[twistedchapter13 | Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

📚 ARC Review 📚
Thank you to the author, YAYDNA Press and NetGalley for the advance reader copy! It was a pleasure to read this before release, and as always, my review reflects my honest opinion.
WONDERLAND is a deeply personal memoir that follows Patricia Knight Meyer on her journey to uncover who she really is and the truth behind her black-market adoption. Her adoption took place outside the legal system, with no proper exchange of a birth certificate or official documentation. Growing up, Patricia was left questioning something most of us take for granted: What year was I really born, and would I ever know my true birthday?
Patricia's honesty and vulnerability are what stood out to me most. She does an incredible job of showing the lasting effects of black-market adoptions—not just on the child, but also on the birth family and adoptive family. She openly shares the trauma that followed her throughout her life while exploring what it means to finally understand where you came from and how those answers can shape your identity.
This wasn't always an easy story to read. There are difficult moments involving trauma, abuse, addiction, loss, and complicated family dynamics. But alongside the difficult parts are moments of self-discovery, hope, and resilience. Patricia's willingness to be open and honest about her experiences made her story feel incredibly authentic and personal.
Overall, WONDERLAND is more than a memoir about adoption. It's a story about identity, family, secrets, belonging, and the search for answers—even when those answers may be painful.

[Tee M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is the intense and personal memoir shared by the author about being relinquished and adopted through a 1970's black market adoption. Patricia was trafficked in 1970, during the 'Baby Scoop Era.' Black Market adoptions were the unlawful transfer of infants to desperate adoptive parents by corrupt attorneys, who were forced to pay for a baby (at that time $30, 000 or more). These 'paperless' babies came with none of the paperwork that would have been received in a legal adoption (e.g., adoption records, birth certificate). Patricia was passed off to her adoptive parents curbside at the hospital.

Patricia takes us on a journey through her childhood, teen years, and early and middle adulthood. Patricia delivers an unfiltered, raw, and honest description of the effects of black-market adoption on the birth family, the child, and the adoptive family. She openly shares non-sugar-coated moments of trauma, addiction, abuse, and complex family dynamics. However, throughout the story evidence of self-discovery and hope, and resilience prevail

This story was not an easy read, but it opened my eyes to many different effects of adoption (not just Black Market) that I had never considered. I highly recommend reading the author's epilogue where she shares her fears about a repeat of the 70's Baby Scoop Era. I had similar thoughts throughout the book as I considered our current climate on the issue of abortion. Thank you, Patricia for reliving your painful experiences to enlighten readers.

Thank you NetGalley and Unsolicited Press for the Advanced Reader Copy.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great book that looks at something we never think of. Having looked into the process of adoption it is not hard to see how these things happened, but heart breaking for some families.

"Handed over along a Texas hospital curb in 1970—no judge, no paperwork, no questions asked—Patricia grew up celebrating a made-up birthday, haunted by nightmares of "The Dark Man." Her parents, blackmailed by the attorney they hired to skirt the adoption system, faced an impossible choice: go to the police or pay up. They paid $30,000 to keep their paperless baby.

Navigating her mother's violent alcoholism and caring for her disabled and depressed 600-pound father, Patricia spent her childhood trying to save her saviors—unaware of the lifelong threat that haunted them: at any moment, someone could come back for the baby.

At eighteen, pregnant and standing in her birth mother's shoes, Patricia discovers a shattering secret that launches a lifetime search for answers. But it takes decades—and her adoptive mother's death—before Patricia realizes the secret-keepers won't live forever. Guided by her mother's ghost, she races to uncover the truth.

A tumble down the rabbit hole of America's baby trade, part detective story, part searing family portrait, Wonderland exposes what happens when adoption's house of cards finally falls—when falsified documents and dark family secrets can no longer sustain one woman's relentless search for truth."

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've heard stories about black-market adoptions before, but I've never read a memoir that explored it from the perspective of someone who actually lived it. Patricia Knight Meyer's story completely pulled me in from the beginning, and I found myself wanting to know how everything would unfold.

What I appreciated most was how honest this memoir felt. Patricia doesn't try to make anyone the hero or the villain. She shares her experiences, the complicated relationships with both her adoptive and biological families, and what it was like spending decades searching for answers about who she really was. It was emotional, heartbreaking, and gave me a lot to think about.

I also loved that Patricia narrated the audiobook herself. Hearing her tell her own story added so much emotion and authenticity that I don't think would have come across the same way with another narrator.

This memoir is about so much more than adoption. It's about identity, family, secrets, trauma, and the lifelong search for where you belong. While I've heard stories about black-market adoptions over the years, this gave me a much deeper understanding of what that experience could actually look like for the person living it.

This isn't always an easy listen, but it's an important one. If you enjoy memoirs that are honest, emotional, and leave you thinking long after they're over, I'd definitely recommend picking this one up.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ 4.5 stars (rounded to 5).

[Sharon Corner · Rating 4 out of 5]

WONDERLAND: MEMOIR OF A BLACK MARKET ADOPTION, written by Patricia Knight Meyer is an autobiography, Patricia's parents picked her up at the hospital curb and brought her to their dysfunctional home. Known as the Baby Scoop Era, babies were sold, in her case, for $30,000, by an unscrupulous attorney to the highest bidder.
Her mother was an alcoholic; her father ballooned from 300 to 600 pounds during her childhood. She knows she is adopted, but isn't aware that her adoption papers were never filed and she could be taken away at any time. When she is faced with her own pregnancy at 18, she imagines what her birth mother went through to give her up, believing she was a college student who found herself pregnant and knew she couldn't give the baby the life she deserved.
After her parents pass away, with her mother's spirit by her side, she eventually meets her birth parents and uncovers the truth about her adoption.
The additional question is, with the current state of Roe VS Wade, is the USA ready for Baby Scoop 2.0?
Narrated by the author, with "Alice in Wonderland" quotes added throughout the book, I learned a lot about adoption, the struggles adoptees have, the birth parents, and reuniting with their child. The adoptive parents who fear losing their child.
I found the first few chapters very confusing, but I soon enjoyed the narration, the pace of the book, and the conclusion.
4.5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this coming-of-age double feature that explores black market adoption, generational trauma, addiction, mental illness, belonging, and self-discovery, Patricia Knight Meyer recounts the story of a tumultuous childhood raised by her adoptive parents and her eventual reunion with her birth parents. This memoir, especially the first half, is beautifully written and narrated in stark, vivid detail. Fascinating research on black market adoption is woven throughout, taking readers on an entertaining and informative journey.

Certain parts of this really stuck with me. Patty’s experience of feeling shortchanged by winding up in such an unstable household, while at the same time loving her parents deeply, is so relatable, even for those of us who weren’t adopted. The excerpts about her grandfather, Homer, were absolutely heart-wrenching.

“I’d learned to accept inconsistent affection as the norm, and dissociation became my closest friend.”

This is the first time I’ve come across the topic of black market adoption, and it left me feeling eager to learn more. The author shared many very interesting facts and statistics. It’s simultaneously shocking and not at all surprising that it went on for as long as it did, but it absolutely deserves to be a part of the discourse.

I would recommend this book to absolutely everyone, but it may resonate best with adoptees and/or people who enjoy memoir and true crime. Read-a-like: Educated by Tara Westover.

Thank you to NetGalley, Booktrovert, and the author for the free ALC (NetGalley) and digital ARC (Booktrovert).