Dive into a collection of resources curated to offer insight from the perspectives that matter most: those of adoptees and first/birth parents. This is a space for learning and connection, featuring memoirs, articles, research, social media accounts, and groups that center the voices of those directly impacted by family separation. There will be the occasional resources from adoptive parents and non-triad members.

I will also highlight various organizations and non-profits that offer services for adoption constellation members. Please note that listing these organizations does not mean I endorse or agree with their specific approach, stance, or narrative around adoption. They are included because they provide resources that are beneficial for the adoption community.

This page is a work in progress. More titles and links will be added soon.

When We Become Ours:

A YA Adoptee Anthology

Edited by Shannon Gibney & Nicole Chung

There is no universal transracial/interracial adoption experience, and no two adoptees have the same story. This anthology for teens edited by Shannon Gibney and Nicole Chung contains a wide range of powerful, poignant, and evocative stories in a variety of genres.

Check out my review of the anthology, written for Pact, an Adoption Alliance in 2024.

RELINQUISHED

The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood

by Gretchen Sisson

A powerful decade-long study of adoption in the age of Roe, Relinquished reveals the grief of the American mothers for whom the choice to parent was never real. Adoption has always been viewed as a beloved institution for building families, as well as a mutually agreeable common ground in the abortion debate, but little attention has been paid to the lives of mothers who relinquish infants for private adoption. Relinquished reveals adoption to be a path of constrained choice for those for whom abortion is inaccessible, or for whom parenthood is untenable.

Another must read for anyone connected to adoption or interested in reproductive justice.

Books

Adopting Privilege:

A Memoir of Reinventing My Adoptee Narrative

By Abigail K. Hasberry, PH.D.

A memoir about adoption

A critical look at race relations

A deep dive into the adoption industry

A story of growth and healing.

Check out my review of Abigail’s memoir, written for Pact, an Adoption Alliance in 2025.

Check out Adoptee Reading for books written by and recommended by adoptees.

Adoption Mosaic

Portland, OR

AMERICAN BABY

A mother, a child and the shadow history of adoption

The shocking truth about postwar adoption in America, told through the bittersweet story of one teenager, the son she was forced to relinquish, and their search to find each other.

A must read for anyone touched by adoption (although it can be challenging if this is your personal experience), and for anyone interested in reproductive justice, the history of adoption and for those who can't understand why adoptees are upset/angry/not grateful.