Relinquished

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This essay fuses memoir, oral history, and creative nonfiction to tell a personal historical geography of abortion and adoption before Roe v. Wade in the United States. I narrate the story of my birthmother’s unplanned pregnancy in the early 1970s and her fraught journey that ultimately led her to surrender me for adoption. Drawing on scholarship from history and geography about abortion and adoption, I contextualize her decisions to better understand the choices she made nearly fifty years ago that led to my relinquishment. Narrating her story and mine will help scholars in the geohumanities glimpse the challenges women with unplanned pregnancies faced in that era.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)413-423
Number of pages11
JournalGeohumanities
Volume6
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2020

Keywords

  • abortion
  • adoption
  • creative nonfiction
  • memoir
  • oral history

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
  • Geography, Planning and Development
  • Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)

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