An Adopted Woman’s Journey to Motherhood

Zara H Phillipsmotherme

“A brave and compelling book”—Bob Geldorf
“…captures all the feelings, thoughts and emotions of what all adoptees actually go through…”
—Darryl McDaniels, DMC, Hip-Hop Artist and adoptee

The adopted daughter of loving parents, Zara Phillips nonetheless felt out of place in her family and a misfit in the world around her. Although cherished by a well-meaning mother and father, she grew up feeling deeply insecure and alone, consumed by a void she found impossible to fill. Isolation led to alienation, yet her talent brought her to the center of the thriving London rock ‘n’ roll scene of the 1980s. Her downward spiral fueled by its lifestyle, Zara became lost in drugs, alcohol and destructive relationships. An intense search for the truth of her birth led to an awakening and successful recovery. Yet, it was her experience of becoming a mother that revealed what being an adopted person really meant to her.
The tale of Zara’s search for her birth mother and her path to health is riveting, as are the stories of many people sharing her past. Zara’s activism for adoptee rights springs from a very personal passion. Mother Me is a brave and compelling memoir that illuminates the lifelong impact of adoption on every member of the adoption triad—adoptee, birth mother and adoptive mother—as well as the families of each.
“Zara Phillips tells us what it’s like to be adopted as she rocks and howls from adopteehood to motherhood.”
 — Betty Jean Lifton, Ph.D., author of Lost and Found: The Adoption Experience
“Many adopting parents have no tools to understand the children they are adopting. This book is a voice from the inside. Its value and impact are more universal than we can imagine.”
—Eliza and Eric Roberts, actors, producers and parents

Zara H Phillips
is a singer-songwriter, filmmaker, public speaker and advocate for adoptee rights. A backup singer to Bob Geldof and other rock bands in her youth, she recently released the song and video “I’m Legit,” featuring the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Darryl McDaniels of Run DMC. Zara wrote, directed and starred in the documentary “Roots Unknown,” which won the award for best documentary short at the Garden State Film Festival. Her website  features pages for music, film and events, as well as links to her BBC interview, the trailer for the documentary, the release “I’m Legit” and other original songs.
Zara speaks regularly at the American Adoption Congress and gives presentations and workshops throughout the US and the UK. She has inspired stories in many publications such as The New York Times and Adoption Today. Raised in England, Zara lives in New Jersey.
Mother Me: An Adopted Woman’s Journey to Motherhood
Zara H Phillips
Paper, 224 pages
978-1-934848-36-4 [p]
978-1-934848-86-9 [e]