What They Stole: A Familicide Rooted in Intercountry Adoption
On Sale May 26, 2026
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In 1955, following the devastation of the Korean War, Bertha and Harry Holt made headlines for adopting eight Korean children. Driven by evangelical convictions and emboldened by a special act of Congress, the couple founded the Holt Adoption Program, which would facilitate the migration of tens of thousands of Korean children to the United States over the following decades.
The Sueppels were among the families profoundly shaped by the legacy of the Holt Adoption Program. To their suburban Iowa City community, Steven and Sheryl Sueppel were kind and charitable, humble yet magnetic—seemingly ideal candidates to adopt. But in 2008, when Steven found himself facing federal embezzlement and money laundering charges, he murdered Sheryl and their adopted children before ending his own life.
Paige Towers traces the interwoven histories of the Holts and the Sueppels, exploring the deeper, often hidden complexities of intercountry adoption: the ethical gray zones, the influences of religion and race, and the global inequalities that made such large—scale child migration possible. Meticulously researched and sensitive with its storytelling, What They Stole examines how good intentions can coexist with systemic harm—and how the consequences of systems like the Holts’ can reverberate across generations.
Praise & Reviews for What They Stole
“In this meticulously researched book, Paige Towers braids a modern-day familicide with the story of one man’s messianic zeal in the 1950s to find South Korean babies for childless American couples. With an unflinching eye, Towers reveals a history of cruelty to birth mothers and their children and the lingering pain of this sorry legacy. What They Stole questions assumptions of cultural hegemony and asks to whom a child belongs. A fascinating read.”
—Maria Laurino, author, The Price of Children: Stolen Lives in a Land Without Choice
“While their role in intercountry adoption has been examined by adoption-studies scholars, and many cases of fraudulent practices and unqualified adoptive parents have come to light, Paige Towers’ investigation of the Holts’ program, What They Stole: A Familicide Rooted in Intercountry Adoption, brings the receipts, and they are horrific and damning.” —Alice Stephens, author, Famous Adopted People
“Towers does not explicitly articulate her personal opinion or use the first-person; instead, via carefully accrued evidence, she constructs a damning, infuriating portrait of Harry and Bertha Holt that underlines how wholly unfit they were to care for vulnerable babies and children in Korea, transport them to the United States, and match them with suitable adoptive parents.” —Kristen Martin, author, The Sun Won’t Come Out Tomorrow: The Dark History of American Orphanhood
“In What They Stole, Paige Towers blends true crime, geopolitical analysis, and historical storytelling to examine the legacy of the Holt Adoption Program, which shaped international adoption for generations. Her gripping account of the trafficking, traumas, and tragedies at the core of the Holt story builds to an elegiac reckoning that is long overdue.”
—Gretchen Sisson, author, Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood
“But the [Holt] organization cannot erase its ugly history, and Towers has written a revelatory book that exposes the ways that good intentions can be derailed and unwittingly cause harm. What They Stole is important, insightful, and upsetting—a must-read for anyone interested in child welfare, social history, and family dynamics.” —Eleanor J. Bader, award-winning New York City-based freelance writer