
Taken: Experiences of Forced Adoption seeks to break the silence surrounding the historic forced adoptions that tore apart the lives of thousands of mothers and their children up until the 1980s.
Through painstaking research, first-hand accounts, and heartfelt narrative, author Karen Constantine brings to light the experiences of young women and girls who were institutionalised, silenced, and ultimately stripped of their newborns, alongside the life-long impact on those children who were taken from them.
Discover a groundbreaking exploration of forced adoption that combines heartfelt personal stories with an urgent call for justice. This essential read not only sheds light on a painful chapter of our history but also emphasises the ongoing impact of these injustices today. With compelling narratives and a focus on accountability, Karen’s transformative work inspires change and fosters a deeper understanding of a reality that demands our attention.
Don’t miss the opportunity to engage with this powerful narrative that is both timely and necessary.

This book is one of the most important works I’ve read in a long time. Full of real experiences and heartbreaking realities, alongside poignant healing and a look to the future, Karen highlights how the scandal of forced adoption still permeates and affects our lives today.
Daisy C.

This book is heartbreaking. It is a beautiful collection of interviews by the author, whose own story is equally worthy of telling.
An important read to understand our (horrifyingly recent) history.
A long overdue book, and the author this important topic justice.
PS.

Having heard Karen speak at an event I promised I would read the book to increase my awareness of a practise I was blind to. The individual experiences are well captured and put plenty of meat on the bones as to why an apology is essential. Well done Karen for putting this across.
Julie H.
Karen Constantine has always believed in speaking truth to power, in making positive change, and fighting for the rights of others, since her incarceration into Father Hudson’s mother and baby home when she was fifteen and expecting her first baby. Taken: Experiences of Forced Adoption is her first non-fiction work. She intends to publish two further books, her memoir, Rattlechops, and When Dogs Barked at Cars, a novel based on a mother and baby home.
Taken: Experiences of Forced Adoption is published at a time when historical forced adoption is gaining wider public attention. The movie, Small Things Like These, released this autumn and starring Cillian Murphy, follows in the footsteps of Philomena, The Magdalene Sisters, The Women in the Wall, Into the Fire, The Removed and The Marian Hotel. ITV News has aired regular reports on the topic and the Movement for an Adoption Apology has stepped up it’s campaigning, seeking the attention of the new Labour government.


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