I was pulled in right away! Emotional, moving story of family, justice, and the trauma, and occasional corruption, tied to adoption especially when it comes to adoptees searching for their identity.

I really related to the infertility depictions and thought they were beautifully handled. Although it does drive home the point that adoption isn’t some plan C if you can’t get pregnant because it’s full of harm and trauma!

Shows the dark and corrupt side of the adoption industry and how parents like Jonathan adopt for the wrong reasons (to fill a void and wish they could have a “clean, history free” child). I hated Jonathan 😳😂

The characters are well written, even the one I didn’t like, with so much depth and care added! The writing was beautiful, I can’t believe this is a debut and look forward to more from Sanford!!

Overall this was a moving story about a piece of history I hadn’t known about! I flew through this book and loved getting to know the characters. I’d highly recommend if you enjoy stories about family secrets, finding your identity, and strong resilient women with seeds of hope planted throughout the pages 🤍

Rebecca J. Sanford, the Author of “The Disappeared” has written an intense, memorable and thought-provoking novel. In this well-written Historical Fiction novel, the author vividly describes a traumatic and heartbreaking tragic time in the history of Argentina. This book was inspired by many of the grandmothers who protested in their own way to find out what happened to many of their families and grandchildren that just “disappeared” under the political climate and dictators. This period in time was referred to as Argentina’s “DIRTY WAR”.

I was not aware of this tragic period, and found it quite disturbing and educational. In 1977, Lorena and her husband were taken in the middle of the night by the Paramilitary in Argentina, leaving behind their young son and Lorena’s mother Esme. There is no record of where they are. Esme joins a group of other grandmothers seeking the return and information about their families. Esme does find out that Lorena had a daughter while imprisoned, and spends years looking for both her daughter and granddaughter.

Almost three decades later, Rachel Sprague, who is adopted and lives in the United States is informed that she has a brother from another country. Through the testing of DNA, investigating and researching, Rachel becomes part of this historical movement. I would highly recommend this powerful and educational read for others.

The Disappeared by Rebecca J. Sanford is a captivating and thought-provoking novel that I enjoyed.

The story is set in Argentina in the 1970's. The topics of unrest and unbearable tragedy are explored. The main characters Loriena, Esme and Matias.

This story is inspired by the mothers and grandmothers who spoke against Argentina's dictatorship.

The research the author did is outstanding.

This is a well written heart-wrenching novel that opened my eyes to a history I did not know about.

Argentina’s ‘desaparecidos’ (disappeared) are the subject of Stanford’s multi timeline novel, set mainly in 1976 & 1977, during the oppressive rule of the military junta, and in 2005. When Lorena and Jose are arrested without warning, Lorena’s mother, Esme, is left to raise their young son, Matias. The parents are never heard from again and gradually Esme comes to terms with the fact that the government will never give her closure, no matter how many questions she asks. Initially she is too afraid to engage in any kind of protest, but when contacted by another bereft mother they form a protest group, wearing white head scarves and walking silently around the Casa Rosada Plaza with placards, asking for their children and grandchildren to be returned to them.

This is very much Esme’s story, as Lorena’s mother and Matias’ Abuela, and there is an inspirational aspect to this tragic story, which offers hope at its conclusion. Although a difficult subject which is sometimes hard to process, this is an important novel about extreme fascism and the ability of citizens to force the government into some kind of accountability for their heinous and shocking actions. A stand-out read, which brings home not just the loss of children, but how many grandchildren were stolen from the pregnant detainees. I highly recommend this novel to anyone interested in Argentinian history specifically, and despotic governments in general.

While I had heard of Argentina and it’s military dictatorship before, I gad never herd of or really thought of the people who opposed it and what happened to them. But I wasn’t surprised since this has happened plenty of times in history.

So even though it is clear that Rachel is adopted from the beginning it is not clear what happened to her bio parents Lorena or Jose. The time jumps are made clear with the time and place being written at the beginning of every chapter. We follow the grandmother Esme, Rachel and Lorena and their journeys until we find out what happened to Lorena and how Rachel ended up in her adopted family. So even though it’s quiet clear from early on what’s happened, we don’t get to know how any of it happened until towards the end.

This is what kept me reading, wanting to know exactly what happened. But what I also found interesting was Rachel’s adoption story and what happened to her adopted family as she found out what happened, her parents reaction to her figuring out the truth of where and how she ended up with them.

While there is no dearth of cultural explorations about the dictatorship period in Argentina —documentaries, movies, books, podcasts, archive efforts, etc. about the disappearances, the death flights, the appropriation of children, the Junta trials— it's frequently come from Argentines. So I was interested to read how a U.S. author with no relation to people who lived this and a view from abroad would broach this period in a historical fiction.

I think the novel mostly succeeds in that depiction of the era and of the search for these grandchildren, especially as it's kind of aimed at an English language audience that may not know much about what went on. In that sense the novel is helped tremendously by its fidelity to some events (like recapping the Cordobazo or hinting at how some U.S. officials chose to turn a blind eye to the atrocities at the ESMA) and to some people (sometimes even with real names used, like that of the lawyer for the Abuelas' grandchildren appropriation cases, of the geneticist who developed the index to determine links to a grandmother or what I took to be a nod between main character Esme and EStela de Carlotto).

However, I think in my case the too-constant jumping between time periods and between the many characters sometimes undermined how invested I was able to get in these fictional depictions of what many many many real people went through — like sometimes there just wasn't enough time with a given character in the 2005 timeline to really get a sense of them before it was suddenly back to 1988 or 1977 with another character. Partly because of that the story dragged a smidge for me towards the middle when the U.S. main character Rachel/Ana starts finding out the truth about her adoption. And while reading I had a small gripe with the inconsistent uses of Spanish, at points showing up with the right accentuation and at others very much not so, or with nicknames that feel weird (never heard of anyone in Latin America that uses Mat for Matías tbh).

That said I appreciate that this novel was ambitious in covering this tragic era in Latin America, in trying to include many character voices and in helping to make the story known and feel tangible for readers who aren't well versed in this history.

The Disappeared by Rebecca Sanford is a poignant and deeply moving novel that intertwines the lives of two women across continents and decades, against the backdrop of Argentina’s Dirty War. Lorena Ledesma, abducted during the military dictatorship, and American adoptee Rachel Sprague, on a quest to uncover her roots, form the heart of this narrative. Sanford skillfully navigates themes of identity, family secrets, and the enduring bonds of maternal love, drawing inspiration from the real-life courage of Argentina’s mothers and grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo. The novel’s dual narrative structure captivates with its emotional depth and historical resonance, offering a compelling exploration of loss, resilience, and the search for truth. The Disappeared is a testament to Sanford’s storytelling prowess, delivering a gripping tale that lingers in the reader’s mind long after the final page.

This is a haunting story based on real events in 1970s Argentina. The military dictatorship dealt with opponents by making them disappear. Pregnant women were allowed to birth their babies which were not delivered to their families. Eye-opening story about life under an evil government.

Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Blackstone Publishing, and Rebecca J. Sanford for the advanced reader copy of the book. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

This is one of those books that hit me right in the gut. The author, Rebecca Sandford, doesn’t state that she’s an adoptee. If she isn’t, then somewhere along the lines she had some honest conversations with people who are. Her descriptions of what it’s like to be adopted are spot on.

Argentina in the 1970s was marked by “The Dirty War” where the US Government propped up a military junta as a protection against communism in South America. Political dissidents during this time were silenced by being “disappeared” and for a long time no one knew what became of them.

In this setting, we meet the Ledesma family. Jose is a mild-mannered man, concerned with protecting his wife, Lorena, and young son Matias. One night the junta arrives and grabs Jose and Lorena out of bed. Fortunately, her mother Esme is there at the time so Matias is left in her care. Esme never hears from either of them again.

In New York City in 2005, Rachel Sprague is contacted by a woman who says she can help her find her family. Rachel was allegedly abandoned at birth and adopted by John and Vivian, a couple desperate for a child of their own. Rachel grew up feeling the ghost in the house of the child that John and Vivian wished they’d had, and no answers to be found about why she was abandoned. The woman, Mari, tells Rachel she was actually the daughter of Lorena, born in Argentina.

The Disappeared is a powerful tale on many levels. On one hand, you have the US Government interfering in the politics of another nation. John was a soldier who served his country in many areas, including Argentina during this time. He turned a blind eye to much of what he saw, with the ends seeming to justify the means. That is extended to how he builds his family as well.

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Beyond the political, there is the social implication of what he does, taking a baby away from her family because he thinks it will solve his marital problems as well as give the child an opportunity she would not have otherwise. He expresses this near the end, when confronting Rachel and stating she should be grateful that he brought her to the U.S. and raised her. This is what many adoptees face: we are supposed to be grateful to our adopters for “rescuing” us. Rachel’s feelings ring so true throughout her journey to figure out exactly who she is, especially as she is embraced by the family who lost her.

The story is based on real events, and I found it very interesting to read what the people of Argentina went through during this time. Reading about the junta and how the Abuelas stood up for their missing children and grandchildren as best they could kept me turning the page. It skips back and forth between the present and the past, with the entire story not coming out until close to the end. It’s tragic, and yet at the same time uplifting as Rachel learns the truth about who she is. Esme and Matias also finally feel like their life’s work is complete as they learned Lorena had given birth to a girl, but not what happened to either of them.

I highly recommend The Disappeared. It’s not just about adoption and the damage the secrecy and lies surrounding it do, it’s also about coming to terms with the mistakes that were made in the past. This country’s decision to prop up “friendly” governments like the military junta in Argentina had an effect on the people of Argentina that is still being felt to this day.

✨️ I loved it. A dark time in history, I hadn't known about. Heartbreaking and honest account of mother's fierce love for their children. Story unfolds through the past and the present seamlessly with gripping mystery throughout. Emotional depth of suffering in everyone's lives is heartbreaking, yet their courage has profound influence on readers. Stories of other mothers were equally heartbreaking as Esme. The truest example of motherhood. Thanks a lot to the author for bringing this story forward in such a respectful and encouraging way. The ending is perfect, inspiring, and hopeful. Impressive writing style with excellent storytelling. I got goosebumps reading some of the scenes. A brilliant debut by the author. Highly recommended. Thanks a lot to the author, @Netgalley , and Blackstone Publishing for providing an eARC.

The novel tells us about what happened in Argentina in the 1970s
through the lens of unrest, revolution, and personal tragedy. The
lives of Lorena, Esme and Matias are being told in this
heart-wrenching drama. Their personal turmoil of searching for a lost
family member for the last thirty years has been told in a beautiful
way.

Inspired by the real mothers and grandmothers who spoke out against
Argentina’s military dictatorship. The Disappeared is an award-winning
debut of the author Rebecca J Sanford.

I liked the book as it tells the story in real time and the writing is
quite fast paced. Despite the heavy subject the book is absolutely
impossible to put down.

My first 5 star read of 2024. I went into reading this book with high expectations, knowing that the inspiration for the story was based on real-life events, and the heartache and pain that came after them. Rebecca Sanford does a beautiful job bringing these events to light. The history was written with the respect and knowledge it deserved.

Following the military coup and subsequent Dirty War of Argentina (1974-1983) the life of Esma is turned upside down when her daughter Lorena and son-in-law José are taken in the middle of the night by junta officers. She and other mothers like her risk their lives to find their missing children and grandchildren.

Covering themes of social justice, activism, family hardship and the power of identity, I adored every page of this book. Sandford has a beautiful way of writing characters that are compelling and strong, it had me weeping and cheering for the characters all on the same bus ride home.

Sanford has created characters that you can truly root for, and knowing that the people on the page are based on women in real life makes the book all the more invigorating to read. I couldn't recommend it enough!

"The Disappeared" is a poignant and gripping narrative that unfolds against the tumultuous backdrop of Argentina's military dictatorship. Inspired by the real stories of the Plaza de Mayo mothers and grandmothers, the novel delves into the heart-wrenching experiences of Lorena Ledesma and her mother Esme, who courageously confront the regime's brutality in their quest for truth.

Set in 1976 Buenos Aires, the story follows Lorena, a housewife with dangerous secrets, and her husband as they are violently separated from their home by the paramilitary forces. The absence of any record of their arrest sets the stage for a riveting exploration of the harrowing disappearances during this dark period in Argentina's history.

Esme's journey, as she joins an underground group of mothers seeking their missing children, adds a compelling layer to the narrative. The discovery that some of the kidnapped daughters have given birth in prison propels the story into a new pursuit—the search for stolen grandchildren.

The novel seamlessly weaves together the threads of Lorena's past and the present-day revelation for American adoptee Rachel Sprague. As Rachel uncovers her origins, the narrative skillfully exposes painful family secrets that could jeopardize her loved ones.

The strength of "The Disappeared" lies in its ability to blend personal stories with the broader historical context. The three-decade-spanning drama provides a comprehensive exploration of the characters' lives, making it a profoundly moving read. The risk of exposing painful family secrets adds an element of suspense, ensuring the narrative remains gripping throughout.

With an award-winning debut, the author captures the resilience and determination of those who endured decades of hardship to expose the truth. "The Disappeared" is a powerful testament to the human spirit, offering an emotional and enlightening journey that lingers in the reader's heart.

I thought this was a great read on a topic that I knew very little about before reading the book. While the story is fiction, I did feel like I learned a great deal.