Book Reviews

Children of the Decree

Children of the Decree: A Journalist’s Battle to Save Romanian Children and Herself by Maria D. Holderman. Review by Janis Couvreux Many of us remember the children’s adoption scandal in Romania of the late 1990s. Thanks to the dogged efforts of journalist Maria Holderman, this scandal came to light. However, this is only a fraction of her story, as Maria sorts through the social, political, and ideological events and issues of Romania’s Communist regime during her childhood and the post-1989 Communist bloc break-up. Through her personal story that intertwines with a 40-year timeline, Maria reveals how she became passionately involved in seeking and bringing about changes through her investigative journalism. Then suddenly it all comes to an abrupt halt. Like a cat’s nine lives, Maria has lived several as well, vanquishing tragedy to fall back on her feet. This is a story of a remarkable woman told through her own…