Category: Late discovery
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“They do not give the names of the real parents”
Many parents used shortened certificates as proof of name and birth date for their children, but to adopters there was an additional advantage: the fact of adoption—in theory, at least—was not disclosed. This helped hide the shame and embarrassment of adopted status and thus the stigma of illegitimacy for which many adoptees were bullied (as…
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Enid Blyton and “The Child Who Was Chosen”
It is clear that there was a great deal of anxiety about when and how to tell your child they were adopted. And perhaps a reluctance, for why else would adoption professionals and others need to talk about how important it was?
Adoption History 