Abandoned at Birth: Author Janet Sherlund
Abandoned at Birth: Searching for the Arms That Once Held Me Author Janet Sherlund
November is National Adoption Month, and there are approximately 5 million adoptees in the U.S.—many of whom are searching for their biological roots on DNA websites. Janet Sherlund understands this primal urge for genetic connection all too well. In her heart-wrenching memoir, Abandoned at Birth, Janet offers an unflinching examination of the grief and trauma caused by this primal separation and the dogged determination it takes to find answers finally. In sharing her journey honestly, Janet hopes to enlighten, encourage, and console anyone searching for a sense of belonging.
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November is National Adoption Month: Poignant Memoir Paints Vivid Picture of Woman’s Search for Biological Roots
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WESTPORT, Conn. — It’s stunning to realize that only 10 states make birth records available to American-born adoptees and their biological parents: Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, and Rhode Island. For adult adoptees born in the 20th-century era of closed adoptions, this presents a painful obstacle to discovering their origins and ending the agonizing hunger to know their own identity.
Janet Sherlund poignantly captures this journey in her elegant and heart-wrenching memoir, Abandoned at Birth: Searching for the Arms That Once Held Me (Forefront Books; May 7, 2024). Sherlund paints a vivid portrait of the detachment and longing of an adopted child and the lifelong quest to find her biological mother. It’s an unflinching examination of the grief and trauma caused by this primal separation and the dogged determination it takes to finally face the forces of internal and external opposition to achieve answers.
Abandoned at Birth illuminates the darker side of adoption and what it takes to heal. “I hope it starts conversations about the rights of those given away, loss and grief in adoption, the biology of belonging and identity, and why love is not always enough to extinguish the pain,” Sherlund says.
Like many adoptees of her generation, Sherlund was the offspring of teenage parents. Her mother was forced to have her baby in secrecy. Sherlund would come to learn that her mother was unusual for her time. Not only did she not tell the father she was pregnant, she wanted nothing to do with her baby and never even looked at her newborn.
When Sherlund began her search, all she had to go on was a false narrative written about her biological parents by the adoption agency. The twists and turns, setbacks and disappointments, and surprising familial connections finally achieved make Abandoned at Birth a page-turner of a memoir.
JANET SHERLUND raised her family and served on nonprofit boards in education, health, and the cultural arts before writing her memoir, Abandoned at Birth. Her single most significant life event was being given up for adoption at birth. Being adopted undermined her sense of trust and personal value and impacted every decision she made. It also led to a lifelong quest to find her biological mother, with the hope of finally feeling a tether to this world, a sense of belonging, and, ultimately, herself. Her memoir fulfills a lifelong dream of raising awareness about loss and grief in adoption and why it takes more than love to survive that trauma. A graduate of Colgate University, Sherlund lives on the island of Nantucket off the coast of Massachusetts.
Abandoned at Birth
Publisher: Forefront Books
ISBN-13: 9781637632758
Available from Amazon.com
PRAISE FOR ABANDONED AT BIRTH:
“Eloquent, intimate, detailed, exceptional…”
– Midwest Book Review
“Abandoned at Birth is a truly remarkable depiction of the journey of an adopted child. Janet Sherlund has brilliantly poured herself into the book, describing her emotions and feelings in near-perfect detail. In this book, you truly learn what it is to be an adoptee and how it affects your whole being. It is a must-read for any adopted person and all adoption and foster care agencies. Sherlund’s book will contribute to many families, past, present, and future.”
— Ed Hajim, author of Island of the Four Ps and the memoir On the Road Less Traveled
“Janet’s book is a gift to anyone touched by adoption or wonders what it is like to be adopted. Her personal story of search and reunion is beautifully and honestly told. Through Janet’s journey, we understand what it is like to discover your identity after years of wondering and searching.”
—Jennifer Eckert LICSW, founder of Boston Post Adoption Resources
“For healing to begin, our wounds must be examined in the light. That’s what Sherlund does in Abandoned at Birth. She removes the obfuscating narrative of false cheer used to conceal societal shame. She reveals the lingering trauma adoption can have on children, their adopted parents, and their parents of origin.”
—Judy L. Mandel, New York Times bestselling author of the memoir Replacement Child and White Flag
“Janet Sherlund’s beautifully written and powerful memoir dives into the heart of her life as an adoptee and the painful sense of otherness that shaped her experience. It is a remarkable guide for all touched by this challenging world.”
—Jeffrey Werden, Ph.D., psychoanalyst and past president of the National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis
“Janet Sherlund has crafted a moving, dramatic, and wonderfully written account of her quest to uncover her origins. Part mystery story, part voyage of discovery, Abandoned at Birth is a tour de force.”
—Nathaniel Philbrick, author of In the Heart of the Sea and Travels with George
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