Hana Williams died outside her adoptive family home May 12, 2011, from malnutrition and hypothermia. So many people keep her in their hearts, and always will.

This year the anniversary of her death falls with a special poignancy on Mother’s Day in the U.S.

In 2013, Hana’a adoptive mother was sentenced to 37 years in prison for manslaughter; Hana’s adoptive father was sentenced to 28 years.

I often think of Hana. I am the adoptive parent of Ethiopian twin daughters, each of whom is now a mother herself. Hana’s brief time in the United States was full of sadness, horror, and cruelty. There was no oversight of her adoptive parents, who essentially isolated themselves and their 7 biological children here in Washington state, along with another Ethiopian adoptee (Immanuel, who is still alive). All of the children suffered, whether at the hands of their parents or as a result of the trauma they all went through. I hope they have found peace and solace in the world.

I often think of what we in the adoption community have learned as a result of Hana’s death. I don’t have any quick or comforting answer.

Today, I hold Hana in my heart. As a mother and a grandmother, I think of Hana’s Ethiopian mother as well, on this Mother’ Day, and on the anniversary of Hana’s death at 13 years old.