Ireland's Great Famine led to the most severe refugee crisis in Europe during the nineteenth century. Over 1.5 million individuals departed from Ireland, with many finding their way to Canada. Among the most at risk were nearly 1,700 orphaned children who suddenly faced destitution in a foreign land. The narrative that Canada often shares is that these orphans were welcomed into kind families and quickly adjusted to their new circumstances, but this cheerful conclusion is largely a fabrication.

In Finding Molly Johnson, Mark McGowan explores the fate of these children. Lacking state assistance, the Catholic and Protestant churches united to become the main caregivers for the orphans. The children were collected, nourished, educated, and placed in family homes across Saint John, Quebec, Montreal, Bytown, Kingston, and Toronto. However, most were not regarded as true family members but rather as inexpensive labor. Many escaped their placements, joining countless other Irish refugees on the Canadian frontier in search of employment, extended family, and the chance to start anew.

This book is a compilation of essays from Greek-born adoptees who lived through the 1950s, a time following two wars that devastated the nation. This collection is unique, as it marks the first time this group of adoptees has united to share their personal narratives and express their deeply held emotions. While many adoptees may have similar experiences and share common thoughts regarding their adoptions, their individual stories are remarkably diverse, with some being distressing and others inspiring. The collection aims to illustrate the long-term effects of adoption, regardless of whether children were separated from their parents and homeland as infants or as young children. The book will explore adoption from various disciplinary perspectives, including sociology, psychology, and anthropology. Additionally, it will contextualize these adoptions within a larger historical framework. The work is further enriched by a Foreword from Dr. Andrew Mossin, a Greek-born adoptee, academic, poet, and writer; by Dr. Gonda Van Steen, a distinguished modern Greek scholar, who contributes the first chapter discussing the historical context of such adoptions; and in the final chapter, by Dr. Eirini Papadaki, who has extensively researched the women of Greece and adoption, providing readers with a contemporary evaluation of adoption practices in Greece today.