Lorraine Dusky

Lorraine Dusky (born June 13, 1942) is an American journalist, editor, and author and an advocate for adoption reform. She is more commonly known as the author of "Birthmark" (1979), the first memoir from the perspective of a birth mother.

Early life and education

Lorraine Dusky was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Victoria Wrozek and Harry Dusky. She attended Wayne State University, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism in 1964.

Career

She became the senior editor at Town & Country magazine before working as a reporter for The Saginaw News in Michigan. Dusky has authored books, including "Birthmark" (1979), the first memoir from the perspective of a birth mother. She has also co-authored works such as "Still Unequal: The Shameful Truth about Women and Justice in America" (1996) and "The Best Companies for Women" (1988).

Dusky has been an advocate for the adoptee rights movement, advocating for the unsealing of original birth records. She has written opinion pieces for various newspapers across the United States, addressing this issue and calling for reform. She is a birth mother who relinquished her daughter for adoption in 1966.

Later, in 1981, she was reunited with her daughter, Jane Pertzborn. 

In 2009, Dusky started a blog called First Mother Forum. She has written posts on adoption issues from the birth mother's point of view on the platform. Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. presented Lorraine Dusky of Sag Harbor with a signed copy of the bill passed by the New York State Legislature.

Publications

• "Birthmark" (1979)
• "Still Unequal: The Shameful Truth about Women and Justice in America" (1996)
• "The Best Companies for Women" (1988)
• "How to Eat Like a Thin Person" (1982)
• "Total Vision" (1978)
• "Hole In My Heart" (2015, 2nd edition 2023)