ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I have come finally to appreciate my four parents, two who brought me into this world and two who raised me.
I am grateful to my daughter Elizabeth for her compassion, understanding and critical reading of the manuscript, for her many wonderful poems and her devoted persistence in our hiking plans. She has pushed for a strong relationship, question- ing, not letting things go, and has made me see her side of us, and allowed me to write about her pain as well. I believe that because of her tenacity I have matured as a mother.
To my friend and partner of thirty-five years and now husband, Steve, who has supported my writing over the years, who has read everything I have ever written and been courageously critical, I give my thanks. His careful reading and rereading of each manuscript, valuable suggestions, editing skills, emotional support, and patience when I seemed far away in the never-never land of adoption ville, for these I am eternally grateful.
I am most grateful to my friend of thirty years, Bonnie K., who edited the manuscript. This book would not have been finished without her. Her wise editing advice, helpful criticism and sensitivity for my words and thoughts, helped me examine my emotions and what I really wanted to say.
My thanks to Dan Frank Kuehn for reformatting the manuscript for printing. To all those people who have studied and written about adoption, in an effort to make clear our dilemma and bring to light the injustices of the system, I am thankful.