SOMA Living October 2024

BOOK RELEASE

“HIDDEN GIRLS: A BIRTH MOTHER’S STORY

Julia MacDonnell, a resident of Maplewood, released her latest book, Hidden Girls: A Birth Mother’s Story of Reunion and Reckoning. This hybrid memoir combines journalistic insights into the history of closed adoption with MacDonnell’s personal experience of relinquishing her first child as a teenager in 1967. When MacDonnell “gave him up,” she believed she would never see him again and would always keep it a secret. However, her life changed dramatically fifty years later when her son reached out after Massachusetts opened adoption records. “My jubilation about this reconnection soon upended my life,” she recalls, as she faced memories of shame and love. The author feels compelled to share her story, particularly amid concerns about women’s reproductive rights following the recent changes to Roe v. Wade. “I feared that women would lose control of their reproductive rights again,” she explains.

Kirkus Reviews praised Hidden Girls as “a visceral, moving account of adoption and the systems that prioritize profit and propriety over people.” Kathryn Joyce, author of The Child Catchers, called it “an important beautifully-told accounting of a terrible history.” Marylee MacDonald, author of Surrender, noted, “It is both every birth mother’s story and a story that is completely unique to the author.” MacDonnell’s memoir is set to resonate with readers, shedding light on a significant social issue.

Julia MacDonald

Answers on page 17

Greg Snitkin is a dad with 3 small kids and a resident of South Orange. His puzzles have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Andrews McMeel Universal, and various indie outlets.

OCTOBER 2024 | SOMA LIVING 31

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