Adoption, once a clandestine process shrouded in shame, is rapidly evolving into a radical new form that is both sweeping the nation and changing it. It is accelerating our transformation into a more multicultural and multiethnic country, even as it helps redefine our understanding of "family." But negative stereotypes still remain, and new problems-mostly stemming from the corrosive influence of money-are becoming pervasive.Adoption Nation provides valuable insight into the pleasures and perils of adoption, while laying out the ways in which policymakers should revise our laws to improve the process, stop treating members of the "adoption triad" as second-class citizens, and remove the obstacles that keep the children who most need permanent homes from getting them. Filled with up-to-the-minute information and a wealth of dramatic real-life stories, Adoption Nation is essential reading for adoptive families, for anyone contemplating adopting a child, and for everyone touched by this extraordinary cultural transformation.
Adam Pertman is a former reporter on children and family issues for The Boston Globe. He currently conducts research, writes, and lectures on a broad range of issues relating to adoption, children and families -- including infertility, new reproductive technologies, infant abandonment, and the changing face of the American family.
Pertman's book "Adoption Nation: How the Adoption Revolution is Transforming America'' was recently named Book of the Year by the National Adoption Foundation and won the prestigious Leonard Silk Journalism Fellowship from the Century Foundation. He was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for a series of stories he wrote about adoption in The Boston Globe. He received the Year 2000 Journalism Award from Holt International Children's Services for his writing about adoption, children and families; and, in 2001, he was given the Dave Thomas Center for Adoption Law’s first Public Awareness Award for “the nation’s greatest contributor to public understanding about adoption and permanency placement issues,” as well as the American Adoption Congress’ first award for the person who has done most to inform our nation about adoption issues and “for his eloquent witnessing of contemporary adoption.”
News and feature stories about Pertman and his book have appeared around the country, including in People magazine, Oprah and the Today show. He has also been a guest on many other radio and television programs and, as one of America’s leading experts on adoption, family and children’s issues, Pertman also is frequently quoted in media outlets nationwide.
Before embarking on his current career, Pertman, 48, was a journalist with The Boston Globe for more than 22 years. His jobs there included foreign editor, Washington news editor, West Coast bureau chief, diplomatic correspondent, national political correspondent, family and children's issues reporter, and restaurant reviewer. His assignments included the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Philippine revolution, the Gulf War, the Middle East peace process, the O.J. Simpson trials, and several presidential elections.
Pertman and his wife, Judy Baumwoll, live in Massachusetts with their two children (both adopted): Zachary, 7, and Emilia, 4.
