GABRIELLE GLASER…will be featured Apr. 26.
Temple Beth Sholom Sisterhood will be hosting Gabrielle Glaser, author of “American Baby: A Mother, A Child, and the Secret History of Adoption” on Tuesday, Apr. 26 at 7 p.m. This event is part of TBS Sisterhood’s 10th Annual Author Program, in conjunction with the “Author on the Road” speaker series of the Katz JCC Festival of Arts, Books and Culture.
“American Baby,” a NY Times Notable Book and Amazon Editors’ Pick: Best Biographies & Memoirs, reveals the shocking truth about post-WWII adoption through a Jewish adoption agency in America, told through the bittersweet story of one teenager, the son that she was forced to relinquish, and their search to find each other.
In 1961, 16-year-old Margaret Erle fell in love and became pregnant. Her enraged family sent her to a maternity home, and after she gave birth, she wasn’t even allowed to hold her own son. Social workers threatened her with jail until she signed away her parental rights. Her son vanished, his whereabouts and new identity known only to an adoption agency that would never share the slightest detail about his fate.
Gabrielle Glaser dramatically demonstrates the power of the expectations and institutions that Margaret faced. Margaret went on to marry and raise a large family with her baby’s father, but she never stopped longing for and worrying about her firstborn. She didn’t know he spent the first years of his life living just a few blocks away from her; as he grew, he wondered about where he came from and why he was given up. Their tale—one they share with millions of Americans— is one of loss, love, and the search for identity.
This event is open to the community. Tickets are available at TBS ($5 for TBS members, $6 non-members). Please RSVP by April 19 and complete the jotform to register for the TBS 10th Annual Author event. form.jotform.com/213407249803050. You may also submit a check payable to “TBS Sisterhood,” Temple Beth Sholom, 1901 Kresso n Road, Cherry Hill, NJ 08003.
In-person option subject to change based on Covid-19 guidelines. TBS requires all attendees to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
For more information, please contact TBS Librarian Minna Siegel at minnasiegel@comcast.net or Amy Blackstone at amyblackstone1@gmail.com.
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