Abraham Maddison

On 21 March 2013, then Prime Minister Julia Gillard apologized on behalf of the Australian Government to people affected by forced adoption or child removal policies and practices. Abraham Maddison was one of those children. When an anguished letter his mother wrote almost half a century earlier arrives five years after her death, it raises more questions than it answers.

The man who was born Abraham Maddison embarks on a quest to find the truth, uncovering a story of heartbreak and lies that echoes the pain of tens of thousands of mothers and children, robbed of each other by Australia's Forced Adoption era.

After 30 years as journalist Derek Pedley, he abandons his career to find a way to bridge the visceral disconnection of adoption, reunion, estrangement, and death to achieve peace with his mother, Joye Maddison, who was allowed to hold her newborn just once before he was taken away in Perth, in 1972.

When: Wednesday 29 March, 5:30 pm for 6:00 pm

Where: Writing Studio, Level 2, Barr Smith Library

Entry: $10 at the door. Eftpos preferred. Students free. Proceeds support the Library.

Bookings: by Monday 27 March to friends_library@adelaide.edu.au

Copies of Crazy Bastard by Wakefield Press will be on sale at the event.

Sponsored door prizes. Wines by Coriole Vineyards.