Abandoned at Birth: Searching for the Arms That Once Held Me

In Abandoned at Birth, Janet Sherlund explores the inherent need adopted children have for a sense of belonging and the pain and courage that is required to discover their true identity.

Adoption is often painted as a happy, inspirational act--a baby finds a family and lives happily ever after. But the truth is that adopted children experience displacement and rupture from their mother and that trauma can impact an individual for a lifetime. Adoption can lead to feelings of loss and grief not just for the adoptee, but for the biological and adoptive parents as well.

This startling fact comes vividly to life in Janet Sherlund’s heartbreaking memoir, Abandoned at Birth. In her literary debut, Janet Sherlund explores the complex issues so many adoptees and their parents grapple with, including the complicated emotions of rejection, loss, grief, denial, and shame.

Sherlund, who was given up for adoption within days of her birth, shares her journey to fulfill her lifetime longing for connection with her family of origin, her instinctive ache for connection with her birth mother, and what it was like to have a ＂borrowed identity.＂ In poignant detail, Sherlund describes her quest to find out who she is, where she came from, and why she was given away. And she reveals the pain and courage required to discover one’s true identity.

With 5 million adoptees in the U.S., many of whom are discovering their biological roots on DNA websites, Abandoned at Birth is the book for our time. The insight Sherlund derived from her journey will encourage and console others on the same path, while examining the inherent need of all of us to belong, and understand our origins, our culture, and our genetic roots.

JANET SHERLUND raised her family and served on nonprofit boards in education, health, and the cultural arts before writing her memoir, Abandoned at Birth. Her single most significant life event was being given up for adoption at birth. Being adopted made her feel as though she was living a ＂borrowed life,＂ undermined her sense of trust and personal value, and impacted every decision she made. It also led to a lifelong quest to find her biological mother with the hope of finally feeling a tether to this world, a sense of belonging, and ultimately, herself. Her memoir fulfilled a dream of becoming a published author, as well as raising awareness about loss and grief in adoption and why it takes more than love to survive that trauma. A graduate of Colgate University, Sherlund lives on the island of Nantucket off the coast of Massachusetts with Rick, her husband of forty-five years. Abandoned at Birth is Sherlund’s first book.