Her young life changed in an instant. Now she shares her story with the child she gave away. Adopted at birth, Marylee’s parents told her she was a “chosen child.” She tried her hardest to make them proud, but her parents’ divorce sent her into the comforting arms of a handsome Catholic boy. Convinced that he was her Romeo and she a modern-day Juliet, she surrendered to passion. Unfortunately, it was 1961. Pregnant girls were sent away, and their babies given up for adoption. Nature vs. nurture: Which plays a greater role in who we become? The family we were raised in, or the parents we never knew? In telling her adult son the story of his birth, can the narrator find compassion for her own wounded inner child? If you like truthful accounts laced with the passion of youth and the wisdom of age, read Marylee MacDonald’s funny and poignant memoir about how we grow up, grow old, and learn to accept ourselves. From Professional Reviewers "A touching personal account of a journey to understanding and acceptance; informative and unsettling."— Kirkus Review "Proud and introspective, ...a gripping and defiant memoir about personal identity and motherhood."— Clarion Review Surrender is a fine memoir that speaks to the very essence of our evolution as women in modern America. MacDonald adds a puzzle piece that illustrates both how far we've come and how far we still have to go.— Story Circle Network "...should be in any family issues collection and on the reading list of anyone interested in the lasting impact of an adoption choice and process on everyone involved."—Diane Donovan for Midwest Book Reviews "...an extraordinary story."—Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorites "Although this is a work of nonfiction, I was thrilled that Marylee approached this book like she was writing a novel. This helped to make her story more intriguing and engaging for me. I often had to be reminded by the images in the book that I wasn't reading a novel."—Jachike Samuelson for the Online Book Club "...psychologically rich and emotionally moving."—Ruffina Osario for Readers' Favorites From Other Authors "Savor this book. Enjoy being in the hands of a generous and visionary writer."—Eileen Favorite, author of The Heroines "...brimming with emotional wisdom and eloquence."—Melissa Pritchard, author of Palmerino "...a vivid and visceral story that explores the great distance between human hearts."—Tara Ison, author of Reeling Through Life and Child Out of Alcatraz Adoption has touched my life in many ways. I was adopted as an infant and raised by parents who did their best to keep a roof over our heads. However, I secretly longed to know my origins, where I came by those qualities that made me "me." Hans Christiaan Andersen's story, "The Ugly Duckling," revealed the landscape of an inner world very much like my own, which is to say, the world of a swan being raised by ducks. When I was a sophomore in high school, I became pregnant, and like many girls in 1961, I moved a thousand miles away and hid in a home for unwed mothers, fearing that the shame of what I had done would endanger my mother's already fragile health. Two years after surrendering my firstborn son, I married his father, my high school sweetheart and, eventually, a Stanford PhD. He and I had four more children, full siblings to their absent brother.   As an adoptee myself, I knew that it was very likely my son would have the same questions I'd had. Where did I come from? Who did I look like? Why was I smart?   I wrote this book to try to recapture the chaotic swirl of events, cultural influences, and emotions that led me, a devout Catholic and passionate young woman, to sign the surrender papers. But, even more than that, I wanted to write about identity from the perspective of someone who has straddled the nature-nurture divide.   I believe adoption presents special challenges to teens being raised outside their families of origin and to the loving adoptive parents who must deal with the often baffling personality shifts—and anger—that can erupt during these developmental years.   Surrender invites readers back to 1961, to the days before birth control and Roe vs. Wade, when the hopes and dreams of two young lovers drove them apart and brought them together again. With perspectives offered by adoption researchers such as Rickie Solinger, Reuben Pannor, and Nancy Verrier, the book takes a fresh look at the central question that continues to haunt adoption discussions: "What is truly in the best interests of the child?" When a teenage adoptee surrendered her firstborn child, she believed he would be lost to her forever. But fifty-one years later and after an emotional reunion, she recounts the story of his adoption and her own. Surrender is an in-depth look at the life of a courageous woman eager to share the wealth of her experience. The memoir asks which is more important: nature or nurture? Without the crucial, and missing, puzzle