She was later forced to give this child up for adoption, never to set eyes on him again. The book is the story of her desperate search to find the son she loved and lost, helped by the journalist, Martin Sixsmith, more used to researching Russian history, than the kind of human interest story presented by Philomena's life.
Sixsmith's research produced the shocking statistic that in 1952, the year of Anthony Lee's birth, there had been more than four thousand illegitimate babies in the Irish Republic, placed into the care of the church. Many of these were disappearing overseas with no questions asked on Irish passports. A scandal was quickly covered up when the press found out that the childless American actress, Jane Russell, had bought an Irish child and taken him back to the States. She was one of many Americans who turned to the church mother and baby homes in search of a child to adopt. The church, in turn, were more than happy to solicit "donations" of up to a thousand pounds for each adoption they processed, whilst the poor mothers were forced to work for three years unpaid, unless their families could pay a hundred pounds. Politicians and civil servants were afraid to question the actions of a powerful ally. There was nobody to defend the rights of the children or the mothers, who were often very young girls, abandoned by families who could not bear the shame and disgrace of a pregnant, unmarried daughter. This is precisely what befell Philomena.
Anthony's adoption into a family of boys, was almost accidental, since Doc and Marge Hess were looking for a girl to complete their family. Marge had settled on Mary, Anthony's closest friend, but when Marge was looking for a goodbye hug from the little girl, and didn't get it, it was the sweet-natured Anthony, who waved and kissed her goodbye. At that moment, Marge Hess resolved to adopt both children. Looking back over the course of Anthony's life, (renamed Michael by his new family), it is amazing to think that this twist of fate opened up opportunities to him in a foreign land, that would never have been available to him in his native Ireland.
Whilst the film follows her search for Anthony, after fifty years of secrecy, the book has more about Michael's search for his mother from the other side of the Atlantic, once he reached adulthood. It is based on interviews and diary entries from people who knew him. In an amazing twist, Sixsmith realises during this research that he actually met Michael in Washington when he was working for the BBC.
It is a very poignant account of a man, who never really came to terms with his past, and who despite his success, did not feel accepted, or worthy of being loved. Sadly, Michael's way of coping with this, was to push the self-destruct button, even though those who loved him, desperately tried to show him how much they valued him as a person.
There was unfortunately no happy reunion for Philomena and her lost boy, but discovering how her Anthony became Michael, and rose through the ranks to become one of the most powerful men in America; and to discover how much he loved others, and was loved by them was of great comfort to his mother. She thought about him every day of her life, and it transpires that once he was old enough to realise his origins, he had never ceased in his desire to find his birth mother.
