REVIEW: No Stone Unturned: A Remarkable Journey to Identity

by Nadean Stone, MBA, CLM (2021, published by Nadean Stone, 269 pages, $19.95; available on Amazon.com)

Between 1945 and 1973, about 350,000 unmarried Canadian mothers were persuaded, coerced, or forced into placing their babies for adoption. Many babies were illegally given away, like a puppy at the pound, for a nominal donation to the church. On Christmas Eve, 1952 Nadean Stone was one of those babies. From the moment her grandmother shared the story of her adoption, her birthday wish every year was to find her mother.

The current law in Ontario, Canada, only permits legally adopted persons to access their birth registration records. Persons who were simply given away or whose adoption records were not perfectly executed are denied access to their records.

In 2013, Stone increased her search efforts with an intense focus on DNA which became her only source of hope. She tested with 23andMe and Ancestry. A DNA genetic genealogist, Olivia, found her post on a Canadian adoption website in February 2017 and offered to assist. Olivia downloaded Stone’s DNA information to Gedmatch, a website designed to assist adoptees. Olivia provided a quick primer on centimorgans, DNA, SNP’s, haplogroups, and how to review and understand the connections with new 3rd and 4th “cousins.” Many of Stone’s 150 “cousins” became invested in the search. Email addresses and telephone numbers, created a “Village of Cousins” to help “the baby find her mother.”

Stone’s interesting and sometimes harrowing life story dominates the first part of the book. But beginning at Chapter 28 on page 181 the search is on where it chronicles the use of DNA to find Stone’s birth parents. In sharing her journey, Stone says her goal is to inspire readers to find faith, hope and the courage to persevere, despite the odds. To continue to dream. To never, ever give up! She created a Birth Search Directory on her website (www.nadeanstone.com) to assist adoptees in their search. In July 2018 she filed a petition with the UN Commission on the Rights of the Child illuminating numerous Articles of the UN Convention that the Province of Ontario has violated in its treatment of illegally adopted children. To access Birth Search Resources in Ontario, Canada, click here. Also see video!

What would you do if you were given away?

Reviewed by Edith Wagner, Editor of Reunions magazine