This is a really interesting book on adoption between 1945 and 1972. It focuses on mothers whose children were adopted, often by bullying, coercion, or force, and the trauma they went through as a result of losing their children.

Most of this book is comprised of testimonials. Giving these women voices, most of whom were made to keep quiet for decades (and some until their deaths), is such a powerful statement. However, it did get a little tiresome at points. Like I feel so terribly for that because it's wonderful that these women finally had a platform to tell their stories, but there were so many and they were all so very similar. They stopped having so much emotional impact on me.

Fessler is an artist more than a writer and I feel like it shows here. The sections she wrote, which were honestly not a lot of the book, felt very dry. I don't think I particularly enjoyed them, regardless of how interesting the information itself was.

Mostly my disappoint comes from wanting to love this book and just not. Unfortunately, it was a little dry and repetitive for me. I think this could have worked if it had been put together differently, but it's mostly about the information for me. It was such a powerful statement to give these silenced women a platform. It's a highly emotional book with a lot of important insight into what many women and young girls went through. Highly recommend, despite my negatives. I think it's well worth the read and probably a better experience if you space out your reading.