Ann Fessler, "The Girls Who Went Away" (2007)

Subtitle: "The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade."

Fessler has produced a striking text, filled with short testimonials from women whose babies were taken from them (this is one of the core arguments of the text, that these women rarely voluntarily sought to "dispose" of their children) during the 1950s and 1960s. Building around a solid skeleton of statistical and policy history regarding adoption and pregnancy among unmarried young women, the text offers a concise and clear introduction to a complex and challenging issue. The real strength of the text, however, is the testimony from voices rarely consulted.