Introduction 1. Some of the myths surrounding illegitimacy and adoption. 2. Bastardy 3. The prelude to the Adoption Act of 1926. 4. Birth mother, illegitimacy and adoption. 5. Fathers and their illegitimate sons and daughters. 6. Foster carers. 7. The adopted child. 8. Adopting parents today. 9. Reproductive adoption
Prophecy Coles is a retired psychotherapist. In all she has written she has been pursuing the idea that the relationships we have with those other than our parents can leave a lasting impression on the patterns of our adult life. Her publications include, The Importance of Sibling Relationships in Psychoanalysis, Sibling Relationships, The Uninvited Guest from the Unremembered Past, The Shadow of the Second Mother and Psychoanalytic and Psychotherapeutic Perspectives on Stepfamilies and Stepparenting.
"This is a timely book, as Adoption Services are structurally and
bureaucratically being reorganised. In the confusion and chaos that
inevitably follows, it is easy to forget that adoption is
ultimately a relational experience. This well researched book looks
at the attachment relationships, for all parties involved.
Attachment is the touchstone of that experience and Prophecy adds
depth, history and neuroscience to enrich our understanding of that
experience. She also adds her clinical experience and that of
others, to add to the narrative. A very rich and rewarding read.
"Alan Burnell. Co-founder and Director of family futures"This
remarkable book provides a riveting historical account of British
society’s evolving understanding of not only mothers' but also
fathers’ painful experience of giving up a child to adoption.
Prophecy Coles has succeeded yet again in vividly conveying the
emotional impact of being a child existing for 9 months in a
mother’s womb only to face anxieties of separation from her and the
father and placed in the care of others. It seems imperative that
professionals and both natural and adopting parents and their
offspring develop an understanding of adoption which this important
book provides."Jeanne Magagna. Former head of Psychotherapy
Services at Great Ormond Street Hospital and former Consultant to
Family Futures Adoption and Fosterning Consortium. "With wisdom,
and deep clinical and life-experience, Prophecy Coles has delivered
an evocative and thought provoking text on the important subject of
adoption. Her unique personal voice shines though, as she weaves
tales which are moving and peppered with understandings from
literature, history, politics and psychotherapy, and most
importantly, are infused with a heartfelt and compassionate
appreciation of the complex issues that adoption raises," Graham
Music. Consultant and Child Psychotherapist at the Tavistock and
Portman Clinic. "This sensitive book by an experienced
psychoanalytic psychotherapist, Prophecy Coles, extends her
fascination with the sad chances the newborn infant can suffer. It
is extraordinary that early disruption has for so long been
overlooked as a serious life event for the infant, and for the
child and adult that he/she becomes. Such long-term effects have
perhaps been intuitively known – as the book conveys a cow losing
its calf is a crisis even a child can know deeply. Coles does face
us with the stunning disadvantage and prolonged distress of
adoption. We want so much want to create an advantage for the
dispossessed that the disturbance gets silently shoved away into a
dark cupboard and can only with long persistence be taken out and
looked at again. This book can help keep the difficult-to-face in
front of us and recognise how profoundly we have always wanted to
hide it. Surely all care workers need to use it in the care they
provide for people they support."Bob Hinshelwood. Fellow of the
British Psychoanalytic Society, former Emeritus Professor in the
Dept of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies, University of
Essex.
"This is a timely book, as Adoption Services are structurally and
bureaucratically being reorganised. In the confusion and chaos that
inevitably follows, it is easy to forget that adoption is
ultimately a relational experience. This well researched book looks
at the attachment relationships, for all parties involved.
Attachment is the touchstone of that experience and Prophecy adds
depth, history and neuroscience to enrich our understanding of that
experience. She also adds her clinical experience and that of
others, to add to the narrative. A very rich and rewarding read.
"Alan Burnell. Co-founder and Director of Family Futures"This
remarkable book provides a riveting historical account of British
society’s evolving understanding of not only mothers' but also
fathers’ painful experience of giving up a child to adoption.
Prophecy Coles has succeeded yet again in vividly conveying the
emotional impact of being a child existing for 9 months in a
mother’s womb only to face anxieties of separation from her and the
father and placed in the care of others. It seems imperative that
professionals and both natural and adopting parents and their
offspring develop an understanding of adoption which this important
book provides."Jeanne Magagna. Former head of Psychotherapy
Services at Great Ormond Street Hospital and former Consultant to
Family Futures Adoption and Fosterning Consortium "With wisdom, and
deep clinical and life-experience, Prophecy Coles has delivered an
evocative and thought provoking text on the important subject of
adoption. Her unique personal voice shines though, as she weaves
tales which are moving and peppered with understandings from
literature, history, politics and psychotherapy, and most
importantly, are infused with a heartfelt and compassionate
appreciation of the complex issues that adoption raises." Graham
Music. Consultant and Child Psychotherapist at the Tavistock and
Portman Clinic "This sensitive book by an experienced
psychoanalytic psychotherapist, Prophecy Coles, extends her
fascination with the sad chances the newborn infant can suffer. It
is extraordinary that early disruption has for so long been
overlooked as a serious life event for the infant, and for the
child and adult that he/she becomes. Such long-term effects have
perhaps been intuitively known – as the book conveys a cow losing
its calf is a crisis even a child can know deeply. Coles does face
us with the stunning disadvantage and prolonged distress of
adoption. We want so much to create an advantage for the
dispossessed that the disturbance gets silently shoved away into a
dark cupboard and can only with long persistence be taken out and
looked at again. This book can help keep the difficult-to-face in
front of us and recognise how profoundly we have always wanted to
hide it. Surely all care workers need to use it in the care they
provide for people they support."Bob Hinshelwood. Fellow of the
British Psychoanalytic Society, former Emeritus Professor in the
Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies, University
of Essex
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