State Knows Best

Experience a raw, unflinching memoir that dismantles the glorified narrative of adoption and exposes the deep failures of the child welfare system in America.

Told through the eyes of a former foster youth turned teen mother, N. Hayes recounts how, at fifteen years old, the state pressured her to surrender her newborn son—framing adoption as "selfless" while offering no real support, resources, or alternatives.

Years later, Hayes learns that her son was never legally adopted. When her attem...