In this meticulously researched book, Gabrielle Glaser gives her readers a detailed and empathetic portrait of adoption in twentieth-century America. Glaser centers her writing on the experiences of Margaret Erle and the baby boy she gave up for adoption in 1961, following the impact of this decision across countries and upon generations of families. The history that she uncovers is often discomfiting, and often simply cruel; parents, doctors, and service workers considered it more important to uphold the standards of propriety and social engineering than to provide care.