Unwanted-Wanted: An Adoption Story

By Sharon Anderson

I have decided to write this memoir to encourage others who might be thinking of adopting. My parents were young when they decided to foster a child and then adopt me. The most important quality they had was loving hearts. Their dedication will be obvious as you read. Other adoptees may find my experiences interesting too. A dear friend in the present has enjoyed comparing her experiences as an adoptee with mine. She, too, had wonderful parents and two brothers who were also adopted. Of course, each person's childhood is unique because each of us are unique. I hope you enjoy the time travel from now back to the '40s and '50s. However a family is formed, it is one of the most challenging and rewarding things you may ever do.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 23, 2020
• ISBN: 9781645590125

Book preview

9781645590125_cover.jpg

Unwanted/Wanted

Unwanted/Wanted

An Adoption Story

Sharon Anderson

ISBN 978-1-64559-011-8 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64559-012-5 (Digital)

Copyright © 2019 Sharon Anderson

All rights reserved

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Covenant Books, Inc.

11661 Hwy 707

Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

www.covenantbooks.com

Table of Contents

Preface

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Epilogue

About the Author

This book is dedicated to my adoptive parents James and Eleanor North, in gratitude for their loving care.

Preface

I have decided to write this memoir to encourage others who might be thinking of adopting. My parents were young when they decided to foster a child and then adopt me. The most important quality they had was loving hearts. Their dedication will be obvious as you read. Other adoptees may find my experiences interesting too. A dear friend in the present has enjoyed comparing her experiences as an adoptee with mine. She, too, had wonderful parents and two brothers who were also adopted. Of course, each person’s childhood is unique because each of us are unique.

I hope you enjoy the time travel from now back to the ’40s and ’50s.

However a family is formed, it is one of the most challenging and rewarding things you may ever do.

Chapter 1

Earliest photo 8 months with mother Eleanor

My birth began with rejection! That seems like an odd thing to say, doesn’t it? I was born six months before Pearl Harbor; the world was in turmoil.

Due to the contentious state of my parents’ marriage, my father did not think I was his child. My parents would argue and physically fight. Mother would leave for varying amounts of time. After one such interval, it soon became apparent that she was pregnant. Keep in mind in 1940, a woman would not know this for at least a month. Due to his own insecurity, my father assumed that I was not his child.

There were many factors involved with my being dropped off at the local foundling ward at two days of age. I was born at home with my maternal grandmother assisting. The next morning, my sister, who was three, was allowed to see me, and she reached up and touched my head.

When I was not there a few days later, after she had been staying with Grandma, she did not question my absence. It is a fact that women had little power in those times. My father dropped me off at the county hospital.

My father was drafted shortly after my birth. I was in that county hospital ward for about six months before being placed in a foster home. This couple were to be my future parents.

My mother’s niece happened to be in this ward at some point after my arrival. She was taken by my smile. She was there briefly, for a tonsillectomy. Somehow, she