Shadow Train: A Journey Between Relinquishment and Reunion A true adoption search and reunion story. Shadow Train is a book describing one woman's story as she moved through her life after relinquishing her first born child to strangers. Not only was she continuously affected by her loss, but her entire family dealt with the effects of the adoption, thrust upon her as the only possible solution, despite the fact that she wanted to raise her child herself. Shadow Train also describes the courageous journey to reunion undertaken by the author, her daughter, the author's family, her daughter's adoptive family and the birthfather's family. The book outlines the emotional experience of an adoption reunion and rebuilding a relationship after a nineteen year forced separation and the depth of pain which must be overcome by the author and her daughter in building their relationship.

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Book Excerpt (Introduction): The most important thing to remember about 1961 is that it was not really in the sixties. 1961 was firmly embedded in the rules, mores and values of the fifties and before. Women were allowed to further their education, but their ultimate goal was to achieve the title of "Mrs." Men were to work to support their families; women stayed home to take care of those families. If a woman worked, she was taking that job from a man. Woman were not even supposed to call men on the phone. They were expected to sit home and wait to be called. Women who were daring enough to call men were considered aggressive. Women who were "pregnant too soon" were "in trouble." I have tried to explain to all of my four daughters and my son the reality of life for women in the late fifties and early sixties, but find that an accurate portrayal of the milieu in which young women found them selves at that time is unbelievable to individuals raised in the culture of the late sixties, the Women's movement, and the opportunities of the nineties. While no one would argue that we have achieved full women's rights, it's safe to say that we are light years ahead of 1961.