Books

Please visit Erin Siegal McIntyre’s Author Page on Amazon.com by clicking here.

Select praise for Finding Fernanda

[McIntyre] does a fantastic job of breaking down a complicated story, and gives voice to the distinct players involved in Guatemalan children being adopted by US families. “Finding Fernanda” is a gripping read that offers glimpses of hope in what was an otherwise heartbreaking system. —The Christian Science Monitor

“Heavy-duty investigative reporting and compelling personal testimony…. Some of the details of the dark side of the industry in Guatemala are Dickensian in their cruelty. But the tone of the book is, perhaps surprisingly, not despairing…. Upon finishing Finding Fernanda, one realizes that supporting of that very civil society, along with the work of bodies such as CICIG [Comisión Internacional contra la Impunidad en Guatemala], will advance the cause of justice for victims such as Alvarado. Along with its moving personal story of a family torn asunder, Finding Fernanda can also be read as a call to action.” —The Miami Herald

”Finding Fernanda may be the most illuminating book about abuses in international adoptions yet written. This is not just fearless public service journalism, but also a moving, acute, gracefully-written work of story-telling. Erin Siegal is an extraordinary young journalist.” —Francisco Goldman, author, “Say Her Name” and “The Art of Political Murder”

A moving story… really tugs at your heartstrings.  —CBS Radio News

[McIntyre’s] work rings true, and is the most in-depth and compelling treatment of the topic I have ever read. —Boing Boing

Erin Siegal [McIntyre] peels back layers of deception to reveal a twisting and engrossing saga of two deeply wronged mothers and the girl they both claimed. Her brave account is chilling, and should be required reading for policymakers and anyone who cares about children. —E. Benjamin Skinner, 2009 Dayton Literary Peace Prize author, “A Crime So Monstrous: Face-To-Face With Modern-Day Slavery”

Fernanda’s story carries us into the darkest regions of the human heart… Erin Siegal [McIntyre] has written a saga of seduction and betrayal so sinister that anger pushes you from page to page. Rarely has an investigative reporter unveiled so compelling a narrative of motherhood from Guatemala to Tennessee. —Wayne Barrett, investigative journalist and author of “Trump: The Deals and the Downfall” and “Rudy: An Investigative Biography Of Rudy Giuliani”

The research on this book is impeccable. It is so hard to read or hear about these kinds of stories… Though this book is non-fiction, the story moves along so well that the end you go – wow, this is really real. You get mad reading this, making you want to do something, be an activist.  —Hanging Off the Wire

We continued to get more impressed as we turned the pages… an excellent read for anyone concerned about human rights and human trafficking. A remarkable job of reporting and storytelling. —Sad City Hartford

Finding Fernanda by Erin Siegal is a piece of masterful reporting on the issue of black market international adoptions. Siegal tells the story through two women… Their hells are documented, as well as the role played by high-level and low-level crooks, public officials and international law. —Women’s eNews

Select media (English)
“Central American Horror Story,” Racialicious
“For Sale, Baby,” Guernica Magazine
“In The Land of Lost Children,” Human Goods
“Finding Fernanda: Pictures from an Investigation,” The New Yorker
“Fernanda’s story: The dark side of the Guatemalan baby trade,” Reuters TrustLaw
“The Horrors of International Adoption in Finding Fernanda,” Kirkus Reviews
“Freeing the information: From a high school teacher to the Bay Citizen: this year’s heroes in journalism,” San Francisco Bay Guardian Online
“International Adoption or Child Trafficking?” The American Prospect
“Journalist Traces Corruption in International Adoption,” Adoption Today Magazine
“Child Abduction for Adoption and the Tangled Web of Deceit in Guatemala: A Review of Erin Siegal’s ‘Finding Fernanda,’” RH Reality Check
“Gruesome Tijuana, Mexico find underscores need to humanize stories, border reporter says,” Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas

Select media (Spanish)
“Finding Fernanda, libro sobre tráfico infantil,” El Economista
“Erin Siegal: Periodismo En La Frontera,” Revista Cuello Blanco