Listed below are three of my personal favorite books about search and/or reunion with descriptions and my comments as well. I will provide you with a more extensive list later. For now though, I will share with you these very helpful books written by some talented authors!

1) “The Same Smile”

By Susan Mello Souza

Susan is sixteen, unmarried and pregnant and about to make a choice no woman should ever be forced to make—surrender the precious child she is carrying to adoption. A promise is made, and then, years later, that promise is broken when, yet again, tragedy strikes in her life. This is her true story.

The Same Smile ©
by Susan Mello Souza
2001

A smile
A simple thing
Something we inherit
Something we take for granted
Something that shows the world our personality
Something that validates who we are and from where we came
A smile.

My comments: Susan is a courageous, feisty birth mother with a moving and griping story nearly guaranteed to move one to tears. I have had the pleasure to meet and trade emails with her. One look at the cover of her book and you will find that Susan and her daughters do indeed all have "the Same Smile"!

2) “BirthBond “ – Reunions between Birthparents and Adoptees- What Happens After

By Judith S. Gediman and Linda P. Brown

“Birthbond is a book for anyone touched by adoption” Annette Baran

My comments: This is the book that my son began reading after he received word that the agency had found me. He chose it partially to try to understand the plight of birth mothers in my era. One of the authors is a reunited birth mother. The social worker told me originally that he was reading and wanted a few more days before contacting me. However, I am uncertain whether or not he finished this book before he first contacted me via telephone. It is a very long book and I think we were both anxious to talk that first time! I bought my own copy once I knew he was reading this particular book.


3) “Birthright” – The Guide to Search and Reunion for Adoptees, Birthparents and Adoptive Parents.

By Jean Strauss

“Adoption doesn’t end when the files are sealed....Compassionate and Insightful, ‘Birthright’ is for anyone seeking to connection with someone long lost. Jean is an adoptee who located her birth family in 1988.”

My comments: “Birthright” is one of two very insightful and useful books I have enjoyed reading by Jean. This book was the first book I read about adoption. Many others would follow. I purchased it days after I knew that I would be in touch with my son soon. It is one of the few books that I relied on so heavily in the early days of reunion that I attached tabs to it so that I could refer back to portions when I felt that I needed to. It became my well-worn and comforting companion - my reunion bible.

I have also had the pleasure of meeting Jean Strauss. She is a warm and well-spoken lovely woman. Her books are very moving and well-written. Jean is a wonderful advocate and a huge asset to the open records movement. Another of her books “Beneath a Tall Tree” is about her life story. It is an inspiring and poignant tale and I will share more about it later.