Debut

Song for My Birth Mother

By: Lois Mathieu

Narrated by: Ann Rittenhouse

Debut: Song for My Birth Mother is a novel about the significance of giving up a child and the aftermath of adoption. Two families experience the irrevocable loss in different ways. The birth mother lives with guilt, regret, and a yearning for her firstborn. The adopted child wonders about the origin of her opera quality voice, and in adolescence she descends into a void, trying to understand the reason she was given up and wanting to know if her birth mother ever once wanted her back. The girl keeps this secret for fear of hurting her loving parents. The adoptive parents consider that their joy of adopting a baby is the birth mother's sorrow, and they mildly fear that one day the woman might come looking for her child.

This novel brings the listener close to the bone of the adoption triad - the birth mother, the child given up, and the adoptive parents, all of whom live with a secret that shapes their lives. Over time, their emotions change, having been transformed by life itself. The birth mother realizes that the child she gave up is a baby no more and that the grown woman might even reject her. She also considers the fallout that might occur should her three children discover that they have a half-sister, one who is on her way to fame. The adopted child wants to search for her birth family but she fears being rejected a second time. The adoptive parents become settled in their lives and they do not favor the idea of opening the door to the past and having their daughter come face to face with her birth family. The debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City is the denouement, as the future of both families stands to be changed once again.

©2012 Lois Mathieu (P)2014 Lois Mathieu