Ghost Kingddom: a true story of adoption

What if the truth about your past was buried in 150 pages of bureaucratic silence? What if the mother who gave you away never told you why - and never meant to? Steven Tod was born in 1959, a mixed-race baby in a white world that didn't want him. Handed over to foster care, deemed "unadoptable" because of his skin colour, and hidden from his own family, Steven grew up in the shadows of secrecy, racism, and shame. Decades later, armed with two long-suppressed social work files, he finally uncovered the staggering truth of his early years. Ghost Kingdom is not a feel-good adoption story. It's a blunt, emotionally charged journey through hidden files, failed reunions, and the ghosts of what could have been. Told with biting honesty and dark humour, this memoir exposes the cruelty of the adoption system, the complexity of identity, and the deep scars left by abandonment. This is not just Steven's story. It's a warning to every adoptee chasing answers: be prepared for what you find.

Pages: 204, Paperback, Independently published