Unspoken by Eve Hatton

Unspoken by Eve Hatton

Liz is one of 185,000 victims of forced adoption between 1949 and 1976 in England and Wales. As a young unmarried mum, Yvonne, Liz's birth mother, was deemed unfit as a parent and made to give up her child against her will. Although reunited, Liz and Yvonne are still working to overcome their trauma.

'Unspoken is a deeply personal journey of failed, harmful social engineeringIn 1974 both society and the state thought Liz's adoptive parents could provide a better home, a better future, than her young, unmarried birth mother. Despite being told she was “chosen”, Liz still wrestled with issues of longing and belonging. She felt out of place and at times unloved in what, from the outside, seemed an otherwise idyllic Middle England family. The secrets and pretences upon which this idyllic family was built went unseen and unspoken. Recounting the unresolved trauma which returned at different stages in her life, Liz offers a heartfelt, harrowing and heroic story of finding her family. The book provides an opportunity for this injustice, which impacts so many adoptees and mothers, to be felt and above all spoken.'

-- Dr Michael Lambert, Research Fellow

'Liz’s book left me feeling numb at first, but then humbled and angry to learn that adoption does not, as birth mothers were told back then as part of the coercion to relinquish our babies, always lead to a ‘better life’. Liz weaves the emotional consequences of adoption throughout her book… her desire to be heard and her quest for justice and reparation is strongly evident.'

-- Ann Lloyd Keen RN, former Labour Health Minister 2007–2010, birth mother and campaigner for an adoption apology

‘All those feelings, the injustices, the pain. Brava, Liz, for your hard work to help others and well done for allowing yourself to travel through such a challenging journey. Thank you from a fellow adoptee.’ 

-- Louise Allen, author of Thrown Away Child and the Thrown Away Children series

Eve Hatton is the co-author, with Shy Keenan, of the bestselling Broken (Mardle Books, 2022) and of Unspoken, with Liz Harvie (Mardle Books, 2023). Liz Harvie was born in Northampton in 1974. She stayed with her mother in a maternity home for ten days before being taken by a social worker and placed into foster care. Her adoptive parents took her home eight weeks later. Liz is a victim of forced adoption, among 185,000 other babies taken throughout thirty or so years after the Second World War. As an adoptee, Liz has appeared in several press articles, radio and television pieces and has featured in a BBC Documentary, If You Love Your Baby, on historical forced adoption. In 2022, Liz gave written and oral evidence when she spoke in parliament for the Joint Committee on Human Rights Inquiry into Forced Adoption - the right to family life: adoption of children of unmarried women 1949-1976. After having known only 1 other adoptee as a child, Liz has since met many other adult adoptees. In them, she found kindred spirits, comfort, solace and reassurance that in fact she never was the only one. In May 2022, with this newfound sense of togetherness and community, Liz and six other women formed The Adult Adoptee Movement, which aims to challenge attitudes to and change the narrative on adoption, campaigning to raise awareness of the lifelong trauma adoptees face and ensure appropriate support is available for all those involved. A lover of creative writing, Liz has always wanted to write a book, but she never knew what about. She is empowered, touched and humbled to have the chance to use her experience as an adoptee to share her story, in the hope that it reaches other adoptees, and all those affected by forced adoption and its aftermath. Liz lives in Camberley, Surrey with her husband, two daughters and two dogs. She is an end of life and pastoral care companion volunteer at her local hospital and hospice. Eve Hatton is the co-author, with Shy Keenan, of the bestselling Broken (Mardle Books, 2022).

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781837700462
ISBN 10	183770046X
Title	Unspoken
Author	Eve Hatton
Series	Stolen Lives
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Gemini Books Group Ltd
Year published	2023-11-09
Number of pages	240
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable