 |
 |
|
Welcome to the Clova Publications Website
Evelyn Robinson's fourth book
Adoption Separation - Then and now
is now available.
For the first time, Evelyn has produced a book which includes the work of others. Forty-five parents who have lost children to adoption in seven different countries were generous enough to allow her to publish their narratives. Their stories make poignant and, at times, harrowing reading. Their contributions represent adoption as it was then (ie between 1958 and 1989) and Evelyn has added some information and some of her own opinions on adoption as it is now. Together they provide compelling and thought-provoking reading and will contribute in a very positive way to validating the feelings of those who have experienced adoption separation and educating the community around those experiences and the resulting outcomes.
The official launch of Adoption Separation took place
in February 2011. Maggie Millar was a special guest. (Read Nikki's speech).
Also by Evelyn Robinson
This web site was created to provide access to the work of
Evelyn Burns Robinson
Master of Arts degree, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, 1970 Post Graduate Certificate in Education, University of Adelaide, South Australia, 1984 Bachelor of Social Work degree, Flinders University, South Australia, 1996 Certificate IV in Training & Assessment, Adelaide College of TAFE, South Australia, 2010
Evelyn is an unaffiliated adoption activist. She is also an internationally acclaimed author, consultant, educator and counsellor.
Evelyn is the author of
Adoption and Loss - The Hidden Grief
(first published in 2000, revised in 2003)
Adoption and Recovery - Solving the mystery of reunion
(published in 2004)
Adoption Reunion - Ecstasy or Agony?
(published in 2009). Adoption Separation - Then and now (published in 2010).
Evelyn's books are available on-line from:
BookPOD (http://www.bookstore.bookpod.com.au/)
Amazon.com Amazon UK
and from other on-line booksellers
and can be ordered from many book stores around the world.
They are also available as e-books. You can visit Evelyn's Amazon page at https://www.amazon.com/author/evelynrobinson Clova Publications is able to provide copies of Evelyn's books at a special discount price to individuals and organisations within Australia. Please contact us for details.
On a personal level, Evelyn has been providing support through post-adoption services since 1989.
At a professional level, Evelyn has been providing counselling
for adults whose lives have been affected by adoption separation
and training for those who work with them since 1996.
Evelyn has provided training for professionals involved in post-adoption work,
conference papers on adoption and
information sessions for members of the adoption community in
Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Romania and Korea.
Evelyn was the first author, in 1996, to link disenfranchised grief with adoption, with her ground-breaking paper, Grief Associated with the Loss of Children to Adoption, which she expanded into her first book, Adoption and Loss -The Hidden Grief.
Since that time, the concept that adoption loss leads to a grief which is disenfranchised
has come to be widely accepted by those involved in post-adoption counselling. Evelyn has taken a DIY approach, in that she has obtained the relevant knowledge and experience and then written and published her books in order to share with others.
On the our story page, you can read about how and why Evelyn created Clova Publications.
On the articles page, you can read the introductions to Evelyn's books as well as a selection of articles, written by Evelyn between 2001 and 2010. If you would like a copy of any article in Word format, please contact us and we will be happy to e-mail it to you.
On the presentations page you will find details of the many presentations which have enthralled Evelyn's audiences around the world over the last 15 years.
On the picture gallery page, you can see pictures of Evelyn with friends and colleagues in many countries.
Evelyn is always happy to hear from those who are interested in her work. You will find details of how to contact her through Clova Publications on the contact us page.
We hope that you will enjoy the new, updated Clova Publications web site. We are always happy to hear from those who visit our site.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
. NEWS
On the 21st of March, 2013, the Australian Prime Minister issued a formal apology to all those
in Australia whose lives had been adversely affected
by past adoption policies and practices. Evelyn was consulted by the Federal Government
and assisted them in formulating the apology. She is proud to have been able to assist in converting the private pain of mothers who have been separated from their children by adoption into a very public issue. Evelyn attended the apology with her son, Stephen, as invited guests of the Attorney-General's Department. There is a photograph taken on the day in Evelyn's picture gallery. ~~~~ Evelyn and her son, Stephen, were interviewed by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) for a current affairs programme called The 7.30 Report. The programme was broadcast on Friday, 15th March, 2013. The segment was entitled: "Women who fought for adoption rights" It can be viewed here - http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/sa/ ~~~~
The 10th Australian Adoption Conference took place in Melbourne on the 22nd & 23rd of October, 2012. Evelyn presented a paper entitled Sinking the Mother Ship and contributed as a member of a panel on the 23rd. The conference papers were published on-line in the Australian Journal of Adoption. ~~~~~~ On the 29th of March, 2012, the South Australian government announced that they would make a formal apology to those whose lives had been adversely affected by past adoption policies and practices. The apology took place on the 18th of July, 2012 at 11.00 am Adelaide time. Evelyn was present for the apology and was accompanied by her husband, her daughter and her son, Stephen, who was adopted. You may view the apology playback at: http://www.saapology.sa.gov.au You may also receive a DVD of the apology at no cost by e-mailing: apology@sa.gov.au. Evelyn represented the community as a member of the adoption apology working group, which advised the Premier and the Minister responsible for adoptions. The Premier, Jay Weatherill, spoke very highly of Evelyn at the 'after-apology' event and presented her with a lovely floral arrangement to thank her for her valuable contribution. Evelyn has lived in South Australia for thirty years and has been actively involved with post-adoption work there since 1989. She has provided counselling and support to those whose lives have been affected by adoption separation and information and education to members of the general community. Evelyn has contributed in many ways for many years and the South Australian apology is an indication of the effectiveness of her efforts. You can read about the apology here: You can read the speeches here: http://hansard.parliament.sa.gov.au/pages/loaddoc.aspx?aa=1&dt=2012_07_18 After the apology, US author and activist Mirah Riben paid tribute to Evelyn's work: http://familypreservation.blogspot.com/2012/07/south-australian-apology-guest-blog.html ~~~~~~ In June, 2012, Evelyn was interviewed by Tricia Fronek for podsocs, which is a web site of podcasts for social workers. There are some very interesting interviews there. This is the link to Evelyn's interview. http://www.podsocs.com/podcast/past-adoption-practices/ ~~~~~~ There is now a Movement for an Adoption Apology (MAA) in the United Kingdom. Evelyn is their Honorary Consultant. http://movementforanadoptionapology.org/ ~~~~ The Australian Senate Enquiry into the Commonwealth Contribution
to Former Forced Adoption Policies and Practices
was presented on the 29th of February, 2012. You may read the report via the following link: ~~~~~~ In February, 2012, Evelyn was invited to contribute to the National Research Study on the Service Response to Past Adoption Experiences conducted by the Australian Institute of Family Studies. Evelyn also submitted a copy of Adoption Separation - Then and now. You can read about the study here: ~~ In October, 2011, Evelyn was invited to give evidence to the Australian Senate Enquiry into the Commonwealth Contribution to Former Forced Adoption Policies and Practices. Evelyn also submitted a copy of Adoption Separation - Then and now. The report was presented on the 29th of February, 2012. The report can be viewed here - http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate_Committees?url=reports.htm You can learn more about the enquiry and read Evelyn's contribution here - http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/clac_ctte/comm_contrib_former_forced_adoption/index.htm On the 27th of May, 2011, Evelyn was a keynote speaker at an international conference at the prestigious Ewha University in Seoul, South Korea. The university published Evelyn's paper in both Korean and English. While in Korea, Evelyn met with those who are working hard to put a stop to the loss of so many Korean children to other countries, to change attitudes to motherhood and especially to single parents in Korea and to assist those adults who were adopted out of Korea as children and have now returned. In the Western Australian Parliament,
on the 19th of October, 2010, an apology was delivered to those who had been adversely affected
by past adoption policies and practices. This was the first time in the world that a government apologised for adoptions. Evelyn was present for this important event and was accompanied by her son, Stephen, from whom she was separated by adoption.
~~~~ In September, 2010, Evelyn presented a paper at a symposium on inter-country adoption which took place at Monash University in Victoria, Australia. Her paper was entitled: Are we creating another stolen generation? You can read Evelyn's presentation and listen to it at http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/psi/adoption-research/workshop-2010.php ~~~~ In May 2010 Evelyn contributed to the Monash University History of Adoption Project. Evelyn also submitted a copy of Adoption Separation - Then and now. You can read about the project and read Evelyn's contribution here - http://arts.monash.edu.au/historyofadoption/ ~~~~ In December 2009, a new on-line journal was created
by Thomas Graham through the
National Library of Australia.
It is called The Australian Journal of Adoption.
Evelyn has been a regular contributor since its inception.
http://www.nla.gov.au/openpublish/index.php/aja
~~~
In September 2009, Evelyn's knowledge and expertise were
recognised by the Australian government.
A special position was created for her on the
National Intercountry Adoption Advisory Group (NICAAG).
This group meets on a regular basis to provide advice to
the Australian Attorney-General. Evelyn was a member of NICAAG until March, 2012. She is the only mother who has lost a child to adoption to be appointed to NICAAG.
~~~~
In October, 2008, Evelyn's first two books were reviewed in
The Journal of the Association for Research on Mothering (Volume 10.2)
which is published in Canada.
~~~~
In September 2008, a speech was delivered, In Praise of Evelyn.
~~~
On the 18th of July 2008 Evelyn presented a paper at the
8th International Conference on Grief and Bereavement
in Contemporary Society in Melbourne, Australia.
680 delegates attended the conference from 17 countries.
Her paper was entitled
Disenfranchised Grief
and Adoption Separation
Conference papers are available on the web site of The Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement.
~~~~
An article by Evelyn was published in the Autumn 2007
(Volume 10, number 1) edition of
Grief Matters, The Australian Journal of Grief and Bereavement.
The article is entitled: Long term outcomes of losing a child through adoption:
The impact of disenfranchised grief.
It's very good to know that adoption loss and grief
are being acknowledged by those involved in grief work. ~~~ A new government-funded
Post Adoption Support Service (PASS)
opened in Adelaide in August 2006.
Evelyn provides training for their counsellors and, through PASS,
training for counsellors and other professionals
throughout South Australia.
Evelyn's dream is that Scotland will soon follow
South Australia's example.
~~~~ Evelyn was invited by Mirah Riben, author of shedding light on ... THE DARK SIDE OF ADOPTION, to write the foreword for her second book, The Stork Market America's Multi-Billion Dollar Unregulated Adoption Industry, which has now been published. Evelyn's foreword is available on the articles page. "The Stork Market" can be purchased from
~~~~ In February, 2006, Evelyn was invited by the Romanian government to be keynote speaker at a conference in Bucharest. The theme of the conference was The Rights of the Child. Evelyn presented her message about adoption loss and recovery to an international audience of 250 invited participants. A report of her trip is available on the articles page.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In 2002 an article by Evelyn entitled
Post-Adoption Grief Counselling
was published in Adoption and Fostering,
the journal of the British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF)
Volume 26, Number 2, Summer, 2002.
Unfortunately some unauthorised alterations
were made to the article
and an apology was issued
in the following edition of Adoption and Fostering.
~~~~
In 2002, Evelyn contributed a chapter to a book entitled Adoption: Opposing Viewpoints edited by Roman Espejo and published by Greenhaven Press, San Diego, California. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Between 1997 and 2001 Evelyn was a guest lecturer at Flinders University in South Australia, presenting workshops to social work students on the grief and loss associated with adoption separation. In 2002, Evelyn's workshop was included in the Flinders University on-line social work degree programme. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Evelyn's first book, Adoption and Loss - The Hidden Grief, was reviewed in Australian Social Work, Vol 54, Issue 2, June, 2001. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. Gandhi
by visiting the 'contact us' page. |
 |
