I WAS ONLY NINETEEN Shares Story of Having a Baby in the Year 1966

By: Nov. 12, 2015
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It was a different world in 1966. Considered a social and moral outrage to have a baby out of wedlock, babies were taken from single mothers because they didn't have husbands.

In her new book, I Was Only Nineteen, Raewyn Harlum tells readers how she relinquished a baby to whom she had just given birth.

At the time, 19-year-old Raewyn was homeless and sleeping on the floor of people she'd known four days. Destitute, her possessions filled one suitcase.

"I had no family or friends in Australia and my partner, although separated, already had a wife," said Harlum. "When I went into labor, my partner left me at the hospital telling me I couldn't keep the baby."

In this heartbreaking memoir, she shares her story that includes the reunion of the birth parents with the baby after she'd grown into a beautiful young woman.

"I wrote the book to try to help my adopted daughter understand why I could not keep her," Harlum said. "She has had a hard time accepting that I relinquished her due to circumstances beyond my control."

I Was Only Nineteen
By: Raewyn Harlum
ISBN: 978-1452527635
Available at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.

About the author
RAEWYN HARLUM grew up on Waiheke Island in New Zealand in the 1950s. She married an Australian and became an Australian citizen. Raewyn is a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, writer, poet, artist, and gardener. She lives in the Noosa Hinterland, Queensland, Australia, with her cat Panda.

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**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
EDITORS: For review copies or interview requests, contact:
Jake Doll
317-602-7137 ext. 2070 | jdoll(at)bohlsengroup(dot)com
(When requesting review copies, please provide mailing address.)



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