Growing in the Dark

About the Book

Generations of adults who were adopted as children have been kept in the dark about their original identities. The law sealing birth records, passed in 1935 in California during the Great Depression, swept adoption´s emotional complexities under the rug and made it possible to keep adoption itself a secret.

Reflecting extensive archival research and written for general audiences as well as professionals, Growing in the Dark: Adoption Secrecy and Its Consequences takes you through California´s early adoption laws, the sealing of records in the era of baby seller Georgia Tann, and the various consequences of this policy as they unfolded throughout the 20th century.

WHAT REVIEWERS HAVE SAID:

"...articulate, easy to read, and filled with real facts concerning sealed records."
     - Jean Brown, adoptee

"If you work or live with adoption, you cannot afford to skip this book. Everyone seeking to reverse outdated sealed records laws should also provide a copy of the slim paperback to their legislatures."
- Mirah Riben, author

"...full of fascinating information...you won´t be able to put it down."
    - Anita Field, Bastard Nation

"Janine Baer, who was adopted in California, focuses on the California law enacted in 1935 sealing original birth certificates. Contrary to the popular perception, the intent of this law was not to protect the privacy of birthmothers.
    Rather, these records were sealed to protect children from the stigma of illegitimacy, to protect adoptive parents from intrusions by birthparents, to allow adoptive parents to keep the child´s adoptive status a secret, to create the illusion that the birthparents did not exist, and to prevent adoptees from finding their birthfamilies.
    ...This is an excellent book for birthparents, adoptees, and adoptive parents who want to know how we got to where we are."
     - Jane Edwards, Portland, Oregon

"Growing in the Dark, by virtue of its modest length and accessibility, can be used to educate people both within and outside of the adoption reform movement about the effects of sealed records and the faulty premises used to support them."
     - Barbara Busharis, American Adoption Congress "Decree"

"Extensive notes and bibliographic information make it an excellent resource for those arguing for open records."    
     - Sandra Falconer Pace, Canadian Council of Natural Mothers

Note on price: Nonprofit organizations and resellers get 40% off. Call Xlibris for these orders: 1-888-795-4274.

About the Author

Janine Baer is an adoptee who studied adoption at San Francisco State University in the 1990s; she then published her master's thesis as "Growing in the Dark: Adoption Secrecy and Its Consequences." A lifelong Californian, she published the "Chain of Life" newsletter from 1989 to 1997 in which contributors articulated a feminist vision of adoption. Janine currently lives just outside Berkeley, California. As of 2018, adoptee birth certificates are still sealed in California, though DNA tests and social media have helped adoptees circumvent this archaic law. Janine has met her birth parents and several other family members, which was possible only because her adoptive mother had asked the doctor who facilitated her private adoption for her original mother's name and city when Janine was born.