Reunions: It’s complicated
by Brad Ewell Adoption reunions, even at their very best, can be horribly complicated. This is what I tell adoptees, first parents, and adoptive parents when the topic of reunion comes up. My goal isn’t…
On the Origin of Species, Adoptive Relationships, & the Question of Culture
By Shannon QuistWhen I was a kid, I wanted to be a veterinarian. Or possibly work in a zoo (I’m still holding onto the zoo dream for retirement purposes). I love animals. As a kid,…
Adoption, Truth, and Independence
by April Dinwoodie Eleven years ago, I sat down around the Fourth of July to write about what freedom and independence meant to me as a transracially adopted person. Looking back at that 2015 piece,…
Raised by Yoda: Fatherhood, Adoption, and Unexpected Wisdom
by Jean Widner My adopted dad was Yoda. All of 5’6”, he was round, mostly bald, and never terribly physical. He had large-ish ears that stuck out broadly on the sides of his head. He…
Mother Love
by Laura L. Engel When I was a teenager in the 1960s, I would bluntly announce to anyone who would listen that I wasn’t going to have children. I was going to move to New…
Mothering Ourselves
by Joanne Bagshaw, PhD, LCPC The last time I spoke with my adoptive mother was on my birthday five years ago. Surprised to see her number on my phone, I cautiously yet hopefully answered. After…
Relinquish(ed)
by Aimee Sones For quite some time I’ve had this idea to make a neon sign that spells relinquish(ed), where the (ed) blinks on and off. As a hypervigilant adoptee, for much of my life,…
Letting Go and Moving Forward
by Kathleen Kirstein I describe being a late-discovery adoptee as having lived my life in the grooves of a vinyl record. My hand guides the needle onto the record as it plays pitch-perfect music. Winning…
The Stories That Were Never Told: Ancestry, Silence, and the Weight Women Carried
by Dr. Adam Anthony (he/him) There is a common story people tell about adoption.And then there is the story that never gets told or perhaps is less heard of.The version that is more nuanced, complex, and messy.…
Herstories, Histories, and Hidden Stories
by Taya Reed There are stories written in ink.And there are stories written in the body.I came with paperwork.A decree.A new birth certificate.A file sealed and placed somewhere official.On paper, my story looks…