About Dr Barbara Sumner
Adoption Deconstructed challenges dominant narratives about adoption by centring the voices of adopted people, mothers of loss, and critical researchers.
We examine the culture of adoption as a legal, psychological, and social structure that affects the identity, autonomy, and equal rights of adopted individuals. We focus on adoption as it is lived and legislated in New Zealand and globally.
Created by Dr Barbara Sumner, researcher and author of On Human Adoption and the Manufacture of Identity and Tree of Strangers, this publication goes beyond personal stories to examine the systems that shape and silence adoptees.
Here you will find:
Longform essays on adoption law, history, health, politics, and reform
Memoir-infused commentary on adoption, identity and loss
Critical analysis of open adoption, sealed records, and intercountry adoption
Submissions to government and international bodies (including the Hague)
Guest posts and interviews with adoption rights advocates
Adoption Deconstructed explores:
adoption systems
adopted people
birth parents
adoption records
adoption trauma
adoption laws
open adoption
adoption secrecy
adoption reform
adoptee rights
Weekly essays with depth, urgency, and an unwavering commitment to truth.
If you care about truth, justice, and the human right to know who you are, join us.