Thank you to NetGalley and Between the Lines Publishing for access to the audiobook of Shameless by Marilyn Churley in exchange for an honest review.

This is part memoir, part political commentary about the adoption process and the sealing of adoption records. Churley was a champion of legislature that changed the process of adoptions so that she could ultimately be reunited with her adult son, whom she gave up for adoption when she was young.

This was an insightful memoir in exposing the coercion and ethical dilemmas inherent in the adoption process. I wish that Churley would have leaned more into the disadvantages of the adoption process beyond just the open v. closed adoptions.

I was touched by her reunion with her son and the ultimate result of being able to form a new, whole blended family that brought emotional healing for both mother and son.

While this synopsis really grabbed me, I think I may have liked the physical book more. Hearing audio descriptions of photographs and maps included in the book made me feel more disconnected because I couldn't visualize them. I hate the idea of critiquing a memoir because it is their life story, but I feel like this could have been written in a more interesting way. It felt more like a textbook than a book. I ended up not finishing this audiobook, but may return to it when I have a physical copy checked out from the library.

I requested this audiobook because the topic is interesting to me. I only listened to half of it, however, because I found it extremely boring.

I read / listen to a lot of memoirs. They are typically told with many details, with imagery, and other literary features that draw the reader in. I found this book to be devoid of these features. It was a straight narration, and rather than really focus on the story of mother and son, there was far too much about the author's political life, which I found poorly elaborated. Moreover, her narration was not animated. It was flat.

"Both a personal and political story, Shameless is a powerful memoir about a mother's struggle with loss, love, secrets, and lies and an adoption system shrouded in shame."

I snagged this on NetGalley interested as an adoptee and adoption counselor. Marilyn Churley provides fascinating insight into Canadian politics and the journey of a mother who surrendered a child for adoption in the years when this was virtually an enforced choice for unwed mothers in North America. The second part of the book is heavy with politics and occasionally read more like a research paper. Fasinating and informative nonetheless. What a powerful story she has.

Thank you to Between the Lines & Marilyn Churley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I have been listening to this audiobook as I am getting ready for bed the last few weeks and it is definitely keeping me from getting to sleep on time - it is so good!

Shameless is a memoir written by Marilyn Churley, with the narrator for the audiobook being Ellen Davis. It is about the author's experiences as a young adult when she had no choice but to give up her son for adoption as an unwed mother in a time when society had very different moral rules. Churley kept her entire pregnancy a secret from her parents and lived with a male friend who was not the father. She goes on to enjoy her young adult years, falls in love and eventually has a second child, always remembering and thinking of the child she gave up. For many years she considers searching for her son but comes across many obstacles related to the secrecy of the adoption process and documents from the 60s and 70s. In the 80s Churley enters the legislature in Ontario and begins a decades long battle to change laws and procedures related to the closed adoption documents. Her fight for rights for both adult adoptees and biological parents was met with great backlash for many years, demonstrating the problem with government decisions not considering the people who the decision concerns. Many adoptees and adoptive parents were asking for change but a resistance to move away from the secrecy of the past on the part of the government overweighed those voices.

I really appreciated the explanations of how things went in the government and the slow progress carefully detailed over time. I also really liked the references to organizations who were supportive of adoption rights. But by far the most valuable part of this book were the personal stories Churley shared about her own search to reconnect with her biological child and the pain, vulnerability, excitement, joy and fear that came along with that search.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to listen to and review this book. Even more though, I would like to thank the author for both the work she did to advocate for adoptive rights, as well as the writing about this important part of Canada's history.

While the story itself was solid, I definitely believe I would have enjoyed this more as an actual book or an ebook over the audio copy I received from NetGalley- I say this because it’s clear there are pictures in the book and the narrator says “image (description of image)” very often and it drove me nuts. I wanted to fast forward past it but then I’d miss things and have to go back.

I’ve always been interested in the background of adoption since my birth father was adopted and I never really knew his birth family. This book was presented from the side I don’t have experience with and I found that interesting. I also think it’s worth mentioning this was clearly written before the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the US and our author is Canadian so some of what she says is no longer accurate but I’m sure it was when this was written and is probably still accurate in Canada - but I have no idea as an American what their abortion laws are.

The story itself was a solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ but the audio with the irritating descriptions of the photos I can’t see really knocked off a star. So I’m gonna give this ⭐️⭐️⭐️

In Shameless, former Member of Provincial Parliament Marilyn Churley shares her personal and political struggles with adoption laws in Canada.

The memoir begins with a recounting of Churley’s early life and her struggles as an unwed mother in the 60s. She then shares the journey of reuniting with her son - more than 20 years after surrendering him for adoption. The latter half of the book covers her fight to reform adoption disclosure legislation as a member of the New Democratic Party.

Shameless is a wonderful story of how passion and determination can affect real change. Unfortunately, it also reminds us of the slow-moving nature of political change.

Marilyn Churley‘S Story without her being the one who changes the laws would’ve been a great story, anything associated with shame and regret always makes for a great subject to a book but the fact that she was the one Who would eventually change the laws that affected her and so many others it’s just amazing. In the 60s things were changing but they weren’t changing fast enough for Madeline to be able to keep her child without being shamed and looked at with distain. So she did what most girls did at the time and gave her baby up for adoption she was one of many young mothers who were unmarried but when it came time to do something about the adoption laws in Canada she would be the only one to open it up for everyone. I don’t think anyone could give birth to a baby and never once think about that child again it’s all the fact that she wanted to meet her son was apropos for the situation not only does it seem she became a great politician but now she is a great author of an awesome book. Eight truly moving a count of adoption laws that affect adoption and the woman who changed it. With great narration Shameless is a great book About redemption in the power of love and also about how some politicians really are out there to help everyone. I highly recommend this book! I receive this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving my review totally voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley.com. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

As the Executive Director of an adoption agency this spoke to me. The struggle of adoptees to obtain a copy of their original birth certificates is still going on. Although many states have now allowed this there are many that have not. With the new normal of open adoption this isn't as much of an issue for this new generation but there are hundreds of people who have no medical history and no understanding of their roots. Some aren't even sure what race they are.

Marilyn Churley's honest and gripping tale of being a pregnant woman during a time when this was not considered acceptable could be any woman's story. She wasn't special or different than any of the other however her ambition did take her to a place where she could make a difference. And through years of struggle and fighting she finally helped pass adoption disclosure laws in Canada and found her biological son that she placed for adoption.

Marilyn Churley shines a light on the struggles so many women at that time faced and her fight in the legislature helped so many be able to reunite, discover their medical background and openly grieve for the losses they encountered.

This is a wonderful book, the narration is excellent and it really opens the doors to practices that were barbaric, unhealthy and filled with shame and judgement. The judgement still remains but practices are much different now and more empowering to the women who choose adoption.

This book and the conversations it presents are so important. I've just started learning about these women who were forced to give their babies up and it's so heartbreaking. Even more disturbing is the fact that it still happens internationally.
Very powerful and very important, everyone should read this book.

This is a heartbreaking, yet uplifting memoir. As a Single mother in the 1990s, my appreciation for those who found themselves in similar situations and the anguish that occurred only a generation before me was eye-opening.

For those interested in women's issues, this is a good one to pick up. Not only does the author go into her story, she follows through with her advocacy work to help change the situation for many others who have been through the same ordeal.

Shameless by Marilyn Churley follows author's personal story from growing up in Newfoundland, to young adulthood when she gave her first child up for adoption, on to her later career in politics where she championed legislation to enable pathways for adoptees and birth parents to discover each other's identities. Churley was ultimately able to reunite with her son and shared a strong relationship with both him and his adoptive parents.

The story is quick paced and it is easy to empathize with Churley as she faces the ire of those who judged her decisions. The author's view is clear, that children have a strong need to know their family roots and their personal history. I wish there was more discussion on the benefits of open adoption for the child and their development and further analysis of the fears expressed by those who wish to preserve closed adoptions.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in adoption or adoption rights. Churley has led an inspiring life and it was refreshing to learn about how we can make an impact in the world for others.

Listened to the audiobook.

I received a free Advanced Reading Copy via NetGalley in exchange for a complete and honest review.

This was so beautiful!

I though this book would be more emotional than it was, turned out to be more factual and explaining the legal fight for birth parents to find their children. It tells the true account of the author who successfully found the son she gave up for adoption. The laws at the time prevented her and others from opening adoption files even after the babies were adults. The route to changing those laws and explaining the plight of reuniting those families who wished too was immense. The narration was Canadian and therefore the pronunciations were not quite right. Thank you #NetGalley for the audiobook to review.

Extremely insightful, packed with details, and emotional descriptions of the Canadian adoption disclosure hurdles faced by the author. Hearing how she was treated, as an unwed pregnant woman, by the healthcare providers was heartbreaking. It’s reassuring we have progressed a bit from that nonsense. However, we have a lot of work to do when it comes to government and bureaucratic barriers/hurdles, as is evidenced in this autobiographical account on this specific matter. Overall, a great read.