The relinquishment and adoption of children at or near the time of their birth is a long-standing practice with enduring consequences for those involved - at present around 400,000 people in Australia.

Binding Ties, written by an adoptee struggling with many dilemmas associated with being adopted and the issues created by reunion with a birthparent, offers an insightful assessment based on personal experience. The author's own dramatic story is interwoven with an examination of the changing context of adoption and its social, moral and legal implications.

Binding Ties will touch the heart with its honesty and candour as much as it will persuade the mind with its detailed research and analytical clarity. Adoptees, birthparents and adoptive parents will be enlightened by this challenging discussion of an important aspect of social policy and practice that is long overdue for community debate.