'Hope For Joy, Be Prepared For Catastrophe': Stories From Listeners Looking For Their Birth Parents

Last week,
Here & Now’s Peter O’Dowd spoke with author Gabrielle Glaser about her new book, “American Baby,” which details one woman's lifelong search for her son.
In the 1960s, as a young, unmarried mother, Margaret Erle was forced to place her infant up for adoption — and then the records were sealed. In the U.S., unethical adoptions were a common occurrence for decades in the mid-20th century, Glaser reports in her book.
After the conversation with Glaser aired,
Here & Now’s email was flooded with responses from others searching for their birth parents.
“I'm crying right now because I'm trying to find my family. And it's been 35 years. Iowa refuses to open any records to find my family. And I'm 73. It's just heartbreaking,” said Mary Sue Hayes of Colorado in an audio recording.

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