The co-op bookstore for avid readers
Book Cover for: Born and Raised: An American Story of Adoption, Jerry K. Cline

Born and Raised: An American Story of Adoption

Jerry K. Cline

Most adoptees have little idea of their genealogical past, and this gap casts a constant shadow of angst over their lives. At age 61, the author's curiosity about his origins overcame his fear of finding it. Part I of this book chronicles the engrossing and successful search for his roots. The surprising discovery that Jerry's birthfather was a famous lawman of the Old West adds a fascinating twist to the tale. Part II follows the story of his adopted parents, and the positive effect they had on his life. To add context to the details of Jerry's roots, the stories in both Parts I and II are told against the backdrop of America's Westward expansion.

Among many other pearls of knowledge, readers of this book will learn:

  • A legal way by which an adult adoptee can obtain original birth records.
  • A glimpse of what life on the Texas Frontier was like in the mid-19th century.
  • What it can be like to meet blood relatives for the first time.
  • Some U.S. history relevant to Jerry's birthparent's meeting and developing a relationship.

The book is an entertaining and sometimes humorous ode to the author's four parents and to the wondrous possibilities of adoption.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Toplink Publishing, LLC
  • Publish Date: Apr 16th, 2018
  • Pages: 196
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 9.00in - 6.00in - 0.56in - 0.98lb
  • EAN: 9781948962452
  • Categories: General

About the Author

Cline, Jerry K.: - Jerry Cline got his first lucky break in life at age three months when he was adopted by a colorful couple from East Texas. He thrived in their care, and went on to obtain a Ph.D. in mathematics from Purdue University. Professionally, Dr. Cline enjoyed dual careers in aerospace and education. At the Boeing Company in St. Louis, he worked on several programs of national interest, including the Tomahawk Cruise Missile, Harpoon Antiship Missile, The Galileo Mission to Jupiter, and the Viking Mission to Mars. As a highlight, he was part of the team which worked with NASA to design the Space Shuttle Orbiter. He retired as head of Boeing's Operations Analysis Department. From 1967 to 2004, Jerry taught various math courses at Washington University in St. Louis as an Adjunct Lecturer. The author still lives in St. Louis with his wife Phyllis. He has two successful sons, two charming daughters-in-law, and four adorable granddaughters. His recreational passions are duplicate bridge, golf and pocket billiards. For his first sixty-one years, Jerry's life was too full to be much concerned with the fact he was adopted or who his biological parents might be. That indifference dissolved shortly after his adopted parents died, and that in turn, led to this book.