
Hole In My Heart
a memoir and report from the fault lines of adoption
by Lorraine Dusky
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
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Pub Date Jun 03 2015 | Archive Date Aug 12 2015
Description
Advance Praise
--Pam Hasegawa, adoptee, founder of AdoptionNS@yahoogroups.com former board member, American Adoption Congress
Dusky writes the truth, but with a gentle poetic quality which makes those truths easy to understand and accept. HOLE IN MY HEART is beautiful, powerful, and painful. But most of all it is the truth. --Nancy Verrier, adoptive mother, psychologist, author of The Primal Wound and Coming Home to Self
"Dusky's compelling memoir is a tough reminder of the shame of being an 'unwed mother' in the sixties, as we both were. With lyrical prose and unwavering commitment she advocates eloquently for adoption law reform." --Justice Faith Ireland, Washington State Supreme Court, (Ret.)
"...an intricately-crafted, tender and honest reminder of the damages suffered by parents and children amidst even the best-intentioned of adoption decisions. Hole in my Heart should be required reading for all who are contemplating placing a child or adopting for this precautionary tale offers poignant lessons about the importance of adoption being an option of last resort; the inadequacy of openness and/or reunion as a salve for lifelong adoption losses; and the need for adoptee rights legislation in America."
--Elizabeth Jurenovich, director of Abrazo Adoption Services, San Antonio
"Birthmark changed my life. Dusky's words gave me the courage to search for the mother who lost me to adoption. Now Lorraine has done it again. I read Hole in My Heart cover to cover in one sitting. It is high drama--and a riveting case for adoption reform. Dusky shines a spotlight on the harmful outcome of closed adoption, and the lasting impact of secrecy upon relationships." --Jean Strauss, adoptee, author of Birthright, filmmaker, A Simple Piece of Paper
"...a tour de force you won't be able to stop reading til the final page. Her story is modern and retro, tough and tender, romantic and profoundly honest. She illuminates the power of transgenerational longings and enduring genetic attributes. All richly enhanced by historical details about adoption laws and practice. Another masterpiece by a gifted writer.--Delores Teller, natural mother, post-adoption therapist, past president of the American Adoption Congress
"Dusky eloquently evokes the painful circumstances and social pressures that led to the loss of her child to adoption, and the multi-layered complexities of reunion and relationship with her daughter. ...a compelling manifesto for why our culture and legal system must re-think and reform adoption down to its roots.--David Smolin, adoptive father, Professor of Law and Director, Center for Children, Law, and Ethics, Cumberland Law School, Samford University
Available Editions
EDITION | Paperback |
ISBN | 9780692455937 |
PRICE | $11.98 (USD) |
Links
Average rating from 4 members
Featured Reviews

Lorriane Dusky's riveting memoir about her journey to find her birth daughter was both inspiring and heartbreaking. With passion and a sense of righteous indignation she gives us a concise history of adoption and its practices and the fight for reform by birth mothers, adoptees and others in the past few decades. With no small risk to herself Ms Dusky put herself at the forefront of this political battle and met her birth daughter at a time when this was rarely done. As an adoptive mother I have learned so much about adoption in general, from this book and also from the political movement that has arisen from the pain of birth mothers and their children and am grateful to them. I enjoyed reading about the mother-daughter relationship and seeing how similar they were to each other; both strong, stubborn, fragile and of course, their differences. The relationship was fraught with its ups and downs which is not unusual given that many mother-daughters relationships can be rocky and given their own particular circumstances. Sometimes I felt concern for each of them; empathy for Ms. Dusky when her Jane, daughter would willy-nilly stop speaking to her and concern for Jane when Ms. Dusky sometime had a hard time listening to who Jane was and what she needed if it didn't fit her agenda (the adoption of her grandchild). Yet, overall I was overwhelmed by their connection and love and fierceness. I will make sure to recommend this unforgettable book.
Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to review this book for an honest opinion.