I was drawn to the title as the daughter of an adoptee who has been on her own reunionhh journey. I was struck by the many similarities in their stories, even with very different circumstances. I’m very appreciative to the author for sharing such an intimate and nuanced account. She paints such a true picture; though she includes failings and flaws, it’s clear that she deeply loves her family. I hope others will read this story and better understand that adoption is not a simple solution to anything.

Deeply moving, raw and eye opening memoir about her growing up with both being adopted and being adopted from the black market. The book made me really emotional and thoughtful. She details growing up in a broken home with parents (adopted) that where deeply flawed and in many way caused pain and trauma but still the love for them and between the family she grew up in
The up and downs in finding out who she was, who birthed her and what happend. About the very complex emotions and situations. A high 5 stars. One of my favorite memoirs or this year and the second favorite to talk about the complex mother- daughter relationships.

Listening to “Wonderland” was less like listening to an audiobook and more like attending a one-woman show. The strength and grace of Meyer created a sacred space for her story. Although slow in parts, the overall effect was not unlike Alice’s experience as she tumbled into a very different Wonderland.

I was intrigued by the topic of Wonderland right away, and Patricia Knight Meyer’s telling of her experience was incredibly powerful. Stories involving adoption can easily become one-sided, but one of the things I appreciated most was the compassion and perspective she brought to everyone involved.

It’s evident that Patricia has put a significant amount of time, reflection, and effort into her healing journey. She shares the complicated emotions surrounding her story without placing blame, and she seems to truly understand and honor the challenges, choices, and circumstances faced by both her biological and adoptive families.

This memoir was heartbreaking at times, but also filled with resilience, understanding, and growth. It’s a powerful and impactful story that stayed with me after finishing it.

I was so excited to dive into this audiobook ARC because the whole premise of black market adoptions completely fascinated me, it’s a topic I honestly didn't know much about before this ARC. Having the author narrate her own story was such a huge plus, her voice added an extra layer of emotion that kept me totally hooked. While I went in hoping for a bit more deep-dive information on the trade itself, her actual life journey was incredibly interesting nonetheless. It definitely leans way more toward personal memoir than a historical or informative text, but it is a deeply compelling listen. If you love raw, authentic personal stories told right by the person who lived them, this one is absolutely worth your time.

What a great book that looks at something we never think of. Having looked into the process of adoption it is not hard to see how these things happened, but heart breaking for some families.

"Handed over along a Texas hospital curb in 1970—no judge, no paperwork, no questions asked—Patricia grew up celebrating a made-up birthday, haunted by nightmares of "The Dark Man." Her parents, blackmailed by the attorney they hired to skirt the adoption system, faced an impossible choice: go to the police or pay up. They paid $30,000 to keep their paperless baby.

Navigating her mother's violent alcoholism and caring for her disabled and depressed 600-pound father, Patricia spent her childhood trying to save her saviors—unaware of the lifelong threat that haunted them: at any moment, someone could come back for the baby.

At eighteen, pregnant and standing in her birth mother's shoes, Patricia discovers a shattering secret that launches a lifetime search for answers. But it takes decades—and her adoptive mother's death—before Patricia realizes the secret-keepers won't live forever. Guided by her mother's ghost, she races to uncover the truth.

A tumble down the rabbit hole of America's baby trade, part detective story, part searing family portrait, Wonderland exposes what happens when adoption's house of cards finally falls—when falsified documents and dark family secrets can no longer sustain one woman's relentless search for truth."

I flew through this audiobook that I would describe as a mix of Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate and The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls in that author Patricia Knight Meyer was basically a non-existent baby all the way into her adulthood, when she began to research her roots as an adopted baby with a false "delayed birth certificate".

Like many adopted children, at some point they may be curious about their birth parents, but not having a legal birth certificate, or anything that could identify her birth, or even her citizenship in the US sent Meyer on a deep dive. Thankfully she was coming into the era of DNA testing and Ancestry.com

What she found about what she calls "open adoptions" was so sad. I do have to disagree with her definition of open adoptions, because not all open adoptions are these shady deals that were done in her case. Some are actually legal and above board. In fact, we support one of these. But during this time, hundreds of thousands of children were literally just handed over with no legal documentation.

And what you find when you find your birth parents could be a joyous reunion, or just more problems. I am left thinking, no one is perfect, including birth parents and adopting parents. One thing that stuck in my mind is how she repeats that "adoption was something that was done to her"; she had no say-so like the birth mother and adopting parents. She also points out that the birth father is also left out of all decisions in this time period. The era of 1940's-1970's was a wild west in adoption! Read Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate.

But her story growing up with her adoptive parents, her search for her birth mother, her actual birth date, and how she has landed today, is a compelling story that I highly recommend.

Wonderland is a powerful and deeply personal memoir that tells the true story of a woman who discovers she was sold on the black market as a baby. More than a search for answers, it's an exploration of identity, belonging, and the lifelong effects of being raised in a family struggling with mental illness.

As she searches for her biological family, she is forced to navigate complicated relationships, confront generational trauma, and wrestle with the age-old question of nature versus nurture. Her journey is heartbreaking, honest, and filled with moments that make you reflect on what truly shapes a person.

This is not a light read, but it's an important one. While the emotional weight made it slower to get through at times, the raw honesty and resilience behind the story made it a memorable and worthwhile memoir.

What a wild story! I can’t imagine how Patricia has dealt with all of the insecurities she’s been dealt but I’m glad to hear she’s in therapy working on them. It seems that she’s broken the cycle and I hope she continues to live out the rest of her days in a happier, more contented environment.

I really enjoyed Wonderland: A Memoir of a Black Market Adoption. Patricia Knight Meyer tells her story with so much honesty and heart that it's hard not to get invested in her journey. Learning about the truth behind her adoption was both heartbreaking and fascinating, and I appreciated how she combined her personal experience with the history of black-market adoptions.

This is the kind of memoir that stays with you after you finish it. It's emotional, eye-opening, and makes you think about identity, family, and the importance of knowing where you come from. I definitely recommend it if you enjoy memoirs that are both personal and meaningful. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

This was such a well written memoir. I really appreciated how it explored the search for identity and also the lasting impact adoption can have on everyone involved. It was emotional, eye opening, and had me invested in Patricia’s journey from beginning to end.

If you enjoy memoirs that dive into family, identity, resilience, and the search for the truth, I’d definitely recommend picking this one up.

Thank you for the advanced listener copy. Wow! Pam's story is a roller coaster. She tells all the details, and leaves everything on the table. I thoroughly enjoyed reading her story.

4.5 stars

Texas

Autobiography of Patricia who was a black market adoption. She always knew she was adopted but as she got older, the story didn't fit and she didn't have a birth certificate. She grapples with her parents who raised her and how their habits affected her life. And when she goes to search for her birth parents and gets to meet her biological family - it opens up some old wounds and she has to learn how to navigate these new relationships.

This book was really well written and included all these ups and downs to take the reader on an emotional roller coaster. I totally felt for Patricia and was hoping there was a really amazing ending to her story.

I really had zero idea there was a trend of black market babies nor had I heard stories about them. So this was new. I guess thank goodness for Ancestry.com to help people find lost families.

There was one part of the book that made me really sad and I'm not sure I agree with. Patricia said that adoption is trauma and I'm not sure I can wholeheartedly agree. I adopted my son, whose mom died when he was an infant. He grew up seeing photos of his mom and hearing stories and connected to her side of the family. My family embraced him as our own. In my mind and heart he is mine and he knows it. So I think all adoption stories are unique and it's the adopted that determines if it's trauma or not

4.5 ⭐️, rounded up.
Patricia Knight Meyer has written a difficult and painful account of her own upbringing and discovery of her hidden truths. A very well-written and narrated memoir provides full detail of her life experiences and struggles with being a paperless adoptee, a person without a true identity. Despite her disfunctional and abusive upbringing, Meyer is able to set healthy boundaries in her adulthood and stop an all-too-often repeating cycle of abuse.

Note about audio -
The pause between chapters is too long in all cases and causes the listener to think the audio player has stalled or stopped.

This was a really compelling story and I think the author did a great job tying it all together and making it interesting to read as well as cathartic to write. I’d also never thought much about the trauma caused by adoptions, so that was informative. Thanks NetGalley for an ALC.

This memoir completely pulled me in from the very beginning. Knowing it was a true story made every discovery feel even more powerful as Patricia Knight Meyer unraveled the truth about her origins and the circumstances surrounding her adoption.

Her story is heartbreaking, courageous, and incredibly eye-opening. I appreciated how she blended her personal journey with the larger history of black-market adoptions, creating a memoir that is both deeply intimate and thought-provoking. It’s the kind of book that stays with you long after you’ve finished.

The audiobook was especially compelling because it was narrated by the author herself. Hearing Patricia tell her own story added an extra layer of emotion and authenticity that made the experience even more impactful.

If you enjoy memoirs centered on identity, family, resilience, and uncovering long-buried truths, this is one I would absolutely recommend.

Staring things off, I think the author did a great job narrating her story. I loved how the story was told first through the eyes of a child, as a teen, then as an adult. To me, this read as a honest story of a child growing up with parents, both adopted and birth, who also never got to fully heal or grow up themselves, which so often is the case.

About halfway through I started to struggle a bit while listening to this because it’s repeated that she did not choose to be adopted. While that is true, arguably no child was ever chosen to be born to their parents, if you view life in that way. I personally know many people who would really struggle listening to this because they suffered horrific accounts of abuse at the hands of their biological parents. It’s not to compare traumas, but even for myself, it was hard not to at times. So many kids just want a place to be safe. I also had a very hard time reading all the judgement that comes later in the story.

I think adoption can be a very beautiful thing, but like anything else, there can be evil. Children should never be a commodity.

Overall, it was a solid listen, narration was good and story was engaging. Definitely worth the listen or read if you want to hear an a story about adoption and the effects it can have.

Lastly, I want to say it takes A LOT of courage to be able to be vulnerable enough to open up and share a story like this, which I deeply honor and respect. I hope this encourages more people to speak up and tell their stories.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, Patricia Knight Meyer, and YAYDNA for the ALC of this book.
This review was also published on Goodreads

Wonderland is a powerful memoir that really made me stop and think. Patricia Knight Meyer shares the story of discovering she had been illegally adopted, but this is about far more than finding out where she came from. It’s an honest exploration of identity, family and the lasting impact of trauma.

What struck me most was the way the author wrote about her adoptive parents with such honesty and empathy. Her father, whose morbid obesity shaped much of family life, and her mother, who lived with bipolar disorder after an abusive childhood, were complex people rather than simply villains or victims. Their experiences helped me understand how trauma can be passed from one generation to the next.

The book also shines a light on the hidden stories behind infertility, unwanted pregnancies and illegal adoptions, and the lifelong consequences for children who were never given the chance to know their true identity.

Hearing Patricia narrate her own story made it even more moving. Her voice brought warmth and authenticity to an already deeply personal memoir.

A thoughtful and emotional listen that has stayed with me long after the final chapter.

With thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this advance copy.

I found this memoir to be an immersive and easy one to fall into. Patricia writes out her story so clearly, with emotion and showing the damage done by the black market adoption that went on for too many decades. I enjoyed her stories and discovery from childhood to adulthood and her looking back and attempting to understand why adults acted the way they did.

This is a mix of The Glass Castle and Before We Were Yours. If you like those books, you'll like this one.

November release.

Thank you to NetGalley and YAYDNA Press for the gifted ALC of this book. It is read by the author and she does a great job narrating her memoir.

This is the life of Patricia Knight. She had a father and a mother, but she knew all along she was adopted. She celebrated her birthday, and thought life was pretty normal. But when she starts finding out bits of information on how her adoption came to be, it just seems off. Her birthday was a guess, her birth certificate was no where to be seen, and according to her mother the lawyer was a slime ball. Patricia did her best taking care of her disabled and obese father, while her mother was an abusive, high maintenance, alcoholic. As she got older, made her own mistakes, she found out the truth that her adoption wasn’t exactly legal.

I really liked this book! It was sad, real, and so informative. I really didn’t know this was such as big of a problem as it was. It was crazy to think this stuff actually happened in the 70’s.

5/5⭐️ via audiobook

Wow, what a story & the easiest 5 star book of the year for me. As someone who is adopted this book was extremely relatable. While i was not part of the black market adoption, i was part of a private international one. The sentiment that adoption is a win-win process is false and this book clearly explains why. This book brought up so many thoughts and feelings.

I will be back to add more as i process this one.

Thank you NetGalley and Unsolicited Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Wonderland was a deep look into one woman's life who happens to be shaped, not only by her own black market adoption, but by the trauma and addictions of her adoptive parents. Split into parts, this memoir tackles several things: her childhood, her adoption, and finding her biological parents.

Sometimes I can really struggle with believing the author when they have very deep, fleshed out memories; much like part one of this book. However, the author comes off as very genuine. It's clear she's trying to be as clear as possible -even to the point of detailing intense, traumatic experiences- and never aims to pick any one person's side. In addition, while I do know her thoughts and opinions on topics, it never came off as "preachy" or pushing any one specific agenda. Meyer sought to expose the black-market adoption, as well as the impact of adoption on children, through the (perhaps therapeutic) lens of her own life experiences. Part three of this story, especially, was a heartbreaking look into what many adoptee's must experience when the birth parent of their dreams in no way mirrors the real, flawed human they have found. Her emotions throughout the story are so valid and raw in all their conflicting glory.

The one thing I can say I found lacking to this story was a more broad dive into adoptions (especially the Black Market aspects) and the struggles of being a legal, undocumented person. I always love to learn more about these niche types of topics, so more research information would have made this story that much more impactful. However, I understand that this is a memoir not a deep-dive, non-fiction story.

This was a very honest and authentic memoir. Made better through the narration from the author herself. She has a poetic writing style and is an excellent story teller. Overall, an excellent listen and highly recommended.

Thank you to Netgalley and YAYDNA Press for this ALC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I've heard stories about black-market adoptions before, but I've never read a memoir that explored it from the perspective of someone who actually lived it. Patricia Knight Meyer's story completely pulled me in from the beginning, and I found myself wanting to know how everything would unfold.

What I appreciated most was how honest this memoir felt. Patricia doesn't try to make anyone the hero or the villain. She shares her experiences, the complicated relationships with both her adoptive and biological families, and what it was like spending decades searching for answers about who she really was. It was emotional, heartbreaking, and gave me a lot to think about.

I also loved that Patricia narrated the audiobook herself. Hearing her tell her own story added so much emotion and authenticity that I don't think would have come across the same way with another narrator.

This memoir is about so much more than adoption. It's about identity, family, secrets, trauma, and the lifelong search for where you belong. While I've heard stories about black-market adoptions over the years, this gave me a much deeper understanding of what that experience could actually look like for the person living it.

This isn't always an easy listen, but it's an important one. If you enjoy memoirs that are honest, emotional, and leave you thinking long after they're over, I'd definitely recommend picking this one up.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ 4.5 stars (rounded to 5 on Goodreads).

Wonderland: Memoir of a Black-Market Adoption tells the real story of Patricia, who was illegally adopted as a baby, with no papers in Texas 1970. The book describes the trauma of adoption, especially a black-market one, and how it can affect the lives of the adoptee, adopted parents and birthparents.

Before listening to Patricia's story, I was not in any way familiar with the phenomenon of black-market adoption. I was not prepared to have my heart broken so many times during the book. The book was very informative, but also deeply personal, honest and brave. Patricia describes her childhood with an alcoholic mother and disabled obese father, who despite loving her fiercely, subjected her to abuse and neglect. Highly introspective, Patricia analyzes how the adoption could have affected everyone involved and how the same patterns of behavior can continue generation after another if not healed properly.

Throughout her difficult journey to find not only her birthparents but also her true self, Patricia openly recounts her experiences without hiding ugly truths, mistakes or disappointments. She also shares moments of love, hope and what family really means to her.

The story itself was an emotion roller-coaster and I was immediately sucked in and I could not put it down. Patricia Knight Meyer narrated the audiobook herself, which gave it even more personal touch. The topic was extremely interesting and still very relevant in 2026, with the possibility of a new Baby Scoop Era as reproductive rights are at risk. I highly recommend this memoir, but advice to check for possible triggers, since it discusses many heavy topics.

Thank you so much NetGalley for the eALC ♡

WONDERLAND: MEMOIR OF A BLACK MARKET ADOPTION, written by Patricia Knight Meyer is an autobiography, Patricia's parents picked her up at the hospital curb and brought her to their dysfunctional home. Known as the Baby Scoop Era, babies were sold, in her case, for $30,000, by an unscrupulous attorney to the highest bidder.
Her mother was an alcoholic; her father ballooned from 300 to 600 pounds during her childhood. She knows she is adopted, but isn't aware that her adoption papers were never filed and she could be taken away at any time. When she is faced with her own pregnancy at 18, she imagines what her birth mother went through to give her up, believing she was a college student who found herself pregnant and knew she couldn't give the baby the life she deserved.
After her parents pass away, with her mother's spirit by her side, she eventually meets her birth parents and uncovers the truth about her adoption.
The additional question is, with the current state of Roe VS Wade, is the USA ready for Baby Scoop 2.0?
Narrated by the author, with "Alice in Wonderland" quotes added throughout the book, I learned a lot about adoption, the struggles adoptees have, the birth parents, and reuniting with their child. The adoptive parents who fear losing their child.
I found the first few chapters very confusing, but I soon enjoyed the narration, the pace of the book, and the conclusion.
4.5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

This is a fascinating and heartbreaking book. If you are currently in your nonfiction era, I highly recommend picking this up. It is always difficult for me to rate memoirs, as it feels like I am grading someone’s actual life story, but I truly enjoyed this read.

This book pulled me right down the rabbit hole of the black-market adoption industry. I particularly appreciated how the author explores her complex relationships with her parents and navigates the dysfunction of her childhood. The descriptions of her interactions with her biological mother and siblings were so sad and you really just wanted to pull Patricia in for a hug, but one of the definite highlights was the bond she forms with her biological father. The writing is excellent and flows very well; I personally listened to the audiobook, which was fantastic.

I was so glad that the author, narrated the book. That is my preference for memoirs. I am always interested in adoption stories. I find many similarities between the stories. Patricia was very brave telling her story. This is a very important story to tell. The public is just starting to realize that adoption causes trauma. At times this book felt like a novel because so many of the things that happened to her were unbelievable. It's very clear that Meyer loves her family. I am so sorry for the different ways that she suffered. I hope others can read this book and see that adoption is not a simple solution.

Wonderland is a moving memoir of adoption, told with honesty and empathy. As Meyer investigates the mystery of her birth, she uncovers the unsettling world of black market adoptions and explores both the hope and the emotional complexity of searching for her birth parents.

Meyer has a real gift for capturing people's voices, bringing each member of her family vividly to life on the page. She portrays their flaws with fairness and understanding, and you can feel the deep love she has for them throughout. The result is a nuanced, deeply human story that avoids easy answers.

I especially enjoyed the audiobook, narrated by Meyer herself. Hearing her tell her own story adds an extra layer of authenticity, making an already engaging narrative even more affecting.

Absorbing and heartfelt, Wonderland has all the qualities of a great memoir.

As a librarian, I am always drawn to books that illuminate the deeply human stories behind history, identity, and the choices that shape our lives. Wonderland is a beautifully written and profoundly moving exploration of adoption, belonging, and the lifelong search for answers. At its heart is the author’s personal journey of discovering more about her birth parents and understanding how that search influenced the person she became.

The author’s adoption story is not presented simply as a search for biological connections, but as a thoughtful examination of identity, memory, family, and the complicated emotions that accompany unanswered questions. Her pursuit of the truth about her origins reveals how adoption can shape a person’s sense of self across an entire lifetime—bringing moments of discovery, grief, hope, and healing.

One of the book’s most compelling elements is its exploration of the darker history surrounding adoption practices a half century ago, including the black market adoptions and unethical practices that separated some children from their birth families without transparency or consent. By shining a light on this painful chapter of history, the author gives voice to those whose stories were hidden and encourages readers to consider the lasting impact these practices had on adoptees and families.

Wonderland is the kind of book that stays with readers long after the final page. It is a powerful choice for anyone interested in memoir, family history, adoption, and the enduring search for identity. Compassionate, reflective, and beautifully told, this book reminds us that every person’s story has many layers—and that understanding where we come from can be an important part of understanding who we are.

After seeing a couple of reviews from friends, I requested this audiobook, and I’m glad I did. It recounts the author’s personal experience of being a victim of black-market adoption. The vulnerable experiences that the author shares really had an impact on me. Sometimes the truth really is stranger than fiction.

‘Who in the world am I’? — Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Highlights |
✨Baby Scoop Era
✨Abandonment trauma
✨Domestic abuse
✨Black-Market adoption

I appreciated the candor that the author displays in sharing her story, flaws and all. And her desire to shed more light on what happened to her and thousands of other children. She had to go to great lengths to discover who she really was and who her biological parents were.

‘There were doors all around, but they were all locked.’ — Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

I’d definitely recommend this one. I enjoyed the references and quotes from Alice in Wonderland and how they were relatable to the author’s story and experiences.

CA | Contains some strong language sprinkled throughout and a few brief descriptions of sexual assault.

[Thanks to @netgalley for the gifted ALC in exchange for my honest opinion.]

I received this as an audio ARC on Monday evening and finished it in less than 24 hours.

I first would like to say, her story is incredibly eye opening. I don’t like to rate autobiographies because they are someone else’s stories. As far as the book goes, it was so wonderfully written and narrated. I felt in my bones for little peep. As a mother and grandmother, I just wanted to climb into the book and hug her. As a child and as an adult.
I am certain this is one of those books that will stay with me for a very long time.

I highly recommend adding this memoir to your reading list. It offers a fascinating and often heartbreaking look at the realities of black-market adoptions and the lack of protections that once existed. It's a story that is both unforgettable and deeply important.

Thank you to Unsolicited Press for providing this audiobook for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

My favorite book I’ve read this year! Patricia’s story is an argument to reconsider what you think about adoption. Even when adoption is in the best interest of the child, it is still deeply traumatic. This book is more relevant than ever after the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Patricia’s life was shaped by generational trauma from her adoptive and birth families. She grapples with difficult mother-daughter dynamics while trying to understand her origin.

This memoir is beautifully written and I especially loved reading about her relationship with her dad. Despite their failures, you can tell how much her parents loved her and how much they meant to her.

“Wonderland: Memoir of a Black Market Adoption” by Patricia Knight Meyer
🎧 Format: Audiobook
🎙️Narrator: Patricia Knight Meyer
📚 Pub Date: 10.15.26
⭐️ Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Stars

“Wonderland: Memoir of a Black Market Adoption ” by Patricia Knight Meyer is a riveting, fascinating true story about a black market adoption.

Patricia writes about how she came to realize that she was adopted on the black market as an infant. Her adoptive parents desperately wanted a child, even though they weren’t particularly well suited to being parents. Her adoptive parents were people who struggled with addictions, mental health issues, and financial difficulties. Patricia’s childhood was filled with various forms of neglect and abuse.

After spending years of her life searching for her biological parents and the story of her birth, Patricia is able to find some information that sheds some light on her birth. The saying “Be careful what you wish for!” immediately comes to my mind.

I don’t want to spoil anything about the storyline, and I encourage everyone to read Patricia’s search for her birth identity/birth circumstances. I highly recommend “Wonderland: Memoir of a Black Market Adoption ” by Patricia Knight Meyer.

Patricia is extremely gifted with words and she articulately and eloquently portrays her own life story, which at times was gut wrenching to read.

Though I personally don’t share her opinion that adoption is always traumatic and unnatural; I recognize that Patricia’s personal life experience has contributed to that belief.

I listened to this book by audiobook, and I really enjoyed the narration by the author. I am grateful that I listened to it by Audiobook, because I felt that it brought more depth and emotion to the story to hear the author’s own voice.

Thank you to Patricia Knight Meyer, NetGalley & Unsolicited Press for the Advance Review Copy. All opinions are my own.

#WonderlandTheMemoir
#PatriciaKnightMeyer
#NetGalley
#UnsolicitedPress

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A breathtakingly raw, honest, and triumphant memoir.
​Wonderland is an absolute masterpiece of resilience. Patricia Knight Meyer lays her soul bare, offering a raw and unflinchingly honest look at the horrific abuse she endured. She details the relentless verbal and emotional cruelty inflicted by the mother who raised her, and the devastating sexual abuse she suffered as a teenager. Tragically, the heartbreak doesn't end there; when she finally tracks down her biological mother, she is met with the exact same instability and verbal abuse.
​Patricia reminds us so powerfully that emotional scars can be deeply damaging, especially when the rejection comes from both sides of her history. Yet, what makes this book unforgettable is her awe-inspiring triumph. Seeing her rise above a lifetime of trauma, go to college, build a successful life, and—most beautifully—break the cycle to be the fiercely loving, stable mother her own daughter needed is nothing short of inspiring. Patricia is a remarkably strong, incredible woman. This is a profound, unforgettable beacon of hope. Once you start reading this book, you won't be able to stop. It will leave a mark on your heart.

Wonderland: Memoir of a Black Market Adoption. This is an incredible story.

Chronicling the upbringing of a woman given away through an illegitimate adoption during the Baby Scoop Era*, with a thread of themes from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland woven throughout, this memoir offers an honest account of the lifelong inner turmoil of an adoptee whose life was shaped by abuse, trauma, and addiction. Patricia Knight Meyer recounts her personal story while opening readers’ eyes to the world of black market adoption and the unique trauma experienced by adoptees.

Meyer holds reality and longing in tension in her search for identity and blood relatives, articulating her experience through heartfelt and heartbreaking storytelling. Going even further, she seeks to understand the people who hurt her and those she, in turn, hurt. This level of self-awareness and empathy is remarkable. Her story is worth listening to and learning from.

The author-read audiobook is a beautiful listening experience. Highly recommend.

* The Baby Scoop Era, roughly spanning the 1940s through the 1970s, was a period during which many unmarried mothers were pressured or coerced into relinquishing their newborns, sometimes through illegal adoption practices.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

Patricia Knight Meyer has always known she was adopted and as she grows older her adoptive parents share bits of information until she finds out she's been adopted on the black market.

I always get a little worried when the author narrates their own book, but I found Meyer to be a fantastic story teller. The inflection and emotion in her voice gave such depth to the story. I appreciated that she didn't hold back telling us everything, especially sensitive topics and exposing the ugliness of generational trauma.

I have always heard people refer to adoption as such a beautiful thing for the adoptive parents to choose a child to love, and I have never seen a side showing that not all adoptive families are good. Meyer does emphasize that her adoptive parents loved her, but the stories of abuse and selfishness made that hard to believe at times.

I was so excited for her very long journey of finding her birth parents to turn into a happy ending, and was absolutely heartbroken with the extra trauma her birth mother brought. I personally have always wanted to find my birth father, but after reading this book I think I need to make sure I'm prepared, if there is such a thing.

Thank you Patricia for bravely sharing your story with us, and thank you Netgalley for the advanced audiobook copy.

Thanks to NetGalley for the early access to the audiobook version of this memoir, read by Patricia Knight Meyer.

This memoir tells the story of a woman who was sold on the black market as an infant to an abusive mother and a passive father who doted on Patricia but allowed his wife to verbally and emotionally abuse both himself and his daughter. They also allowed Patricia to stay in the home of an abusive grandfather who physically abused his wife and children and had previously poured hot grease on his daughter. Later, Patricia had a child and allowed her to stay with and become a caretaker for her abusive mother.

So while this is a solid story and I do recommend it, I am left feeling torn. Patricia went into great detail about her life, and within that detail, her adoptive mother, "Mommy," was a monster, but the author seemed to look past the abuse again and again in her writing. Her birth mother was a pretty awful person, but Patricia did not give her much of a chance. From the get-go, her lack of a pedigree was held against her. Patricia didn't like her dialect, and it went downhill from there. I fully support her distaste for that woman, but I just can't get past how "Mommy" seemed revered despite being an abusive tyrant. What really seemed to be lacking here was accountability for anyone except the birth mother. I do feel bad for the little brother. It seems that once the birth mom was written off, so was he, despite his enthusiasm for finally finding his sister.

With all of that said, this was a solid memoir that evoked feelings of empathy while also educating the reader about black-market adoption. I do recommend this as a solid read. I hope Patricia and her daughter are doing well, and I am so glad she got the memoir published. This felt more like sitting down with a friend who had a traumatic background and listening to them tell their story than plugging away at a book. Having grown up with a lot of trauma, some of it similar in nature, this did not seem far-fetched. I hope it was cathartic to write, and thank you to Patricia for the epilogue. That really helped close things out.

A harrowing, dark and deeply personal audiobook from Meyer. A necessary look into the undercover adoption ring and how that affects so many children. Meyer's really opens up, and does such a fantastic job of understanding and reflecting on her childhood and how that affect her adulthood.

I was interested in Wonderland due to the Black Market aspect of it -- I have read a few books about the complications of adoption but had not learned anything about that aspect yet. However, this book is more of an adoption memoir with the black market aspect sprinkled in. This memoir will likely be a heart wrenching read for those who have connections to adoption, so I know my disappointment in that will not necessarily be there for other readers.

Knight Meyer did a great job of examining the relationships she had with her parents - both birth and adoptive - and understanding that people are complicated. She discusses her initial disappointment in meeting her birth mother in a way that was very honest with her own gut reactions and the deep complicated feelings that come up for adoptees. I think many adoptees who have looked for their birth families (or are considering doing so) will appreciate this.

Thank you to YAYDNA and Netgalley for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review

This memoir really surprised me. I knew adjacently that under the table adoptions happened, but hearing first hand from someone who experienced it is very important to get the picture of what it was like. There was a lot of love in this book, even with some very hard circumstances and events. I think the author was very brave to so earnestly share her story. I hope this book was cathartic, and that people who were adopted might have a story out there that represents how not every adoption story is perfect. The audio recording of her family after the acknowledgments was so beautiful, it brought me to tears and bumped this up to a 5 star for me.

I think this sounds a lot more like the way you naturally write—more conversational and focused on how the book made you feel.

I really enjoyed *Wonderland: Memoir of a Black-Market Adoption*. I went into it not knowing much about black-market adoption, and it ended up being such an eye-opening read. Patricia Knight Meyer shares her story in such an honest and personal way that I found myself wanting to keep reading to see how everything unfolded.

One thing I loved about this memoir was the way Patricia writes about her life. It honestly feels like you're experiencing everything right alongside her. You can clearly picture what's happening and understand what she's feeling in each moment. I've read other memoirs that can feel vague or like they're just listing events, but this one really puts you in her shoes and makes you feel connected to her story.

What I also appreciated was that this wasn't just about uncovering the truth of her adoption. It was about identity, family, resilience, and the lasting impact that secrets can have on a person's life. There were so many heartbreaking moments, but Patricia handled them with honesty and grace.

This is definitely an emotional read, and it covers some difficult topics, but I think they're important to the story. It made me think about adoption in a completely different way and gave me a new perspective on the long-lasting effects of unethical adoption practices.

If you enjoy memoirs that are emotional, thought-provoking, and make you feel like you're living the story alongside the author, I would definitely recommend picking this one up.

I learned a few years ago of the black market adoption that was taking place where hospital staff had stolen babies or pushed mothers to place their children up for adoption.

When I saw this memoir on NetGalley from Patricia’s own life experience I immediately jumped at the chance to listen to her story.

It is crazy to hear everything that Patricia has learned in her search for the truth. Lawyers asking college students if they knew any young women who were pregnant. Selling their babies without proper documentation and then blackmailing the adoptive parents.

I prefer to listen to my audiobooks at 2x speed, and the narrator was very clear and easy to understand at this speed. The only complaint I have is the long pauses at the start of a new chapter.

Release Date: November 3rd, 2026

Thank you NetGalley & YAYDNA for the opportunity to listen to an ARC of the Audiobook for an honest review!

Book 22/40 for the year! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I absolutely could not get enough of this one! When it ended, I was equally fulfilled and sad. Patricia Knight Meyer recounts her life story in tandem with quotes from Alice In Wonderland, and expertly weaves in details - both painful and joyous - about her adoptive family, upbringing, curiosity and propulsion into motherhood and the quest for her true identity as the victim of a black market adoption from the 70s. The dichotomy of reunions she experiences feels so relatable! Truly, this would be a fantastic documentary or movie, but the book is plenty moving and jarring in the best ways. Do yourself a favor and get the audiobook; there is such a bittersweet surprise awaiting you. Thank you to Net Galley for providing this ARC!

The title of the book piqued my interest in wanting to read this book. I am curious about the adoption system. I am saddened by how many kids are mistreated through adoption and foster system. I liked the fact that it was the author’s experience and wasn’t packed with statistics.

I went into Wonderland knowing very little about black market adoptions or the lasting impact adoption can have on the child. As a mother, I’ve often thought about the birth mother’s perspective, but this memoir opened my eyes to so many different sides of adoption and the complicated emotions and consequences that can come with it.

Patricia’s unflinching way of telling her story takes a tremendous amount of vulnerability and bravery. There were parts that were genuinely difficult to experience, but I also found myself deeply engaged and thinking about the story long after I stopped listening. It’s the kind of memoir that challenges you to look beyond the surface and consider perspectives that you may never have thought about before.

The pacing was uneven for me, and there were definitely sections that felt slow, but the honesty and emotional weight of the story kept me listening. This was a difficult, thought-provoking, and ultimately eye-opening listen that gave me a lot to reflect on.

I’m always fascinated by learning about the different challenges people have faced and overcome throughout their lives. Wonderland: A Memoir of a Black Market Adoption tells the powerful story of a woman’s journey to uncover the truth about her beginnings. As an adoptee, she struggled with feelings of incompleteness and a deep desire to understand her origins.

The author does an excellent job guiding readers through the defining moments of her life, weaving together personal experiences into a compelling and emotional narrative. Her complicated relationship with her parents feels authentic and relatable, highlighting how family relationships can be both tumultuous and deeply loving at the same time.

This memoir offers a thoughtful exploration of identity, belonging, and the lifelong search for answers, making it an engaging and memorable read.

Thank you to #NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Personal, honest and educational. This autobiography opened my eyes to the world of adoption - the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Wow. This is one of my favorite summer reads so far. The learning from this memoir will help women. I am so deeply impressed. Great writing and flow.

Wonderland was an intriguing memoir of a woman who was unofficially adopted as an infant. When she gets older and needs her birth certificate, she discovers that her adoptive parents never actually got her papers and she has no proof of her birthday or adoption. This sets her on a quest to find out who her birth parents are and how this adoption came to pass. I work with adoptees and always find it informative to learn about the feelings of adult adoptees and the things that made their lives better and worse. While the author described the somewhat difficult situations she grew up in in her adoptive family, she has always thought that her birth mother gave her up so she could have a better life. What she finds out may rewrite that thought. I appreciated her outlining the difficult emotional aspects of finding her birth parents and figuring out what to do with that part of her family. Having read some fictional stories and other factual accounts of the homes for unwed mothers in the 1950s/60s, this book made me wonder how many other babies were sold unofficially. It's a very informative read, though not a happy subject matter.

Feeling privileged to have been allowed so deep into the life of a woman fighting to find herself while giving her all to those she owes her life to. Loved this incredible memoir. My review is posted to GoodReads, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.