Tag Archives: Adoptee voices

Lost Daughters Flip the Script: NAAM

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This is for day 24 of National Adoption Awareness Month, so this is my daily post to amplify the voices of adoptees, posted on day 27.

Lost Daughters is an adoptee-founded, adoptee-led, adoptee-centric amazing resource. It was founded by Amanda Woolston, MSS, LCSW, a U.S. adoptee, author, and therapist.

From The Lost Daughters page:

“Lost Daughters is an independent collaborative writing project founded in 2011.  It is edited and authored exclusively by adult women who were adopted as children.  Our name was chosen in the spirit of BJ Lifton’s concept of one’s Self becoming “lost” and “found” throughout the journey of being adopted.

Our authors come from a variety of walks of life, world views, religions, political stances, types of adoption, countries of origin, and countries of residence.  Our ages span from early 20’s to late 60’s.  Although we cannot possibly cover every experience and perspective of adoptees on our blog, we try our best to provide insight on what it is like to live adoption from the adoptee perspective. The only position we take on adoption is that adoptee voices make it better.”

The mission of Lost Daughters is to “provide an adoptee-centric space that brings readers the perspectives and narratives of adopted women, and to highlight their strength, resiliency, and wisdom. We aim to critically discuss the positives and negatives of the institution of adoption from a place of empowerment and peace. We aim to bring change to the culture of adoption that undervalues the adoptee voice by lifting our voices as women who have adoption as an intersecting variable across many aspects of life and identity, and empowering other adopted women in the process.”

In 2014, one of the Lost Daughters, Korean adoptee Rosalita Gonzalez, proposed a #flipthescript movement in response to National Adoption Month.

“#flipthescript began as a Twitter hashtag movement headed by Rosita González at Lost Daughters that began in the beginning of November 2014 for National Adoption Month. The movement’s phrase “flip the script” originated with Amanda Transue-Woolston in a video trailer for a book called Dear Wonderful You: Letters to Adopted and Fostered Youth. The context of the statement reflected on how adoption books have traditionally been written by adoptive parents. When adoptees write books for others adoptees, they get additional perspectives more like their own.

#flipthescript sought to address social media’s inundation with messages about adoption in which adoption professionals and adoptive parents are overwhelmingly represented during the month of November, National Adoption Month. Whenever education is taking place about an issue or community, all voices of that community must be included. The world needs to hear adoptee voices included in the dialogue about adoption.”

Among the tangible results of the #flipthescript hashtag was the creation of a powerful video, featuring the voices of eight women adopted as children domestically and internationally. Bryan Tucker was the videographer.

The truths these women expressed so eloquently resonate today. The video and all the writing and resources on the Lost Daughters page are profound.

Adoptee Voices—Supporting Adoptee Storytelling: NAAM

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This is day 18 of National Adoption Awareness Month, so this is my daily post to amplify the voices of adoptees.

Sara Easterly, an author and adoptee, founded Adoptee Voices to create a writing community that is all “about supporting adoptee storytelling.” As the website says, “Adoptees, it’s your turn to have a voice in conversations about adoption. You’ve lived through relinquishment. You know adoption from the inside. Your voice in the adoption narrative is both needed and necessary.”

To this end, Sara and her facilitators, who are all adoptees and all writers, have created Writing Groups for adult adoptees with stories to share. They meet weekly via Zoom, use adoption-specific writing prompts, and provide publishing and writing advice. They note that adoptees may all be adoptees, but their experiences may be vastly different. They call for grace and respect, and they acknowledge the reality of sensitive and difficult topics. They also are clear that these are not therapy sessions, but are facilitated peer writing groups, intended to serve a community of adoptees.

In her book “Searching For Mom: A Memoir,” Sara shares how, as an adoptee, she “had difficulties attaching to her mother, struggled with her faith, lived the effects of intergenerational wounding, and felt an inherent sense of being unwanted that drove her to perfectionism, suicidal ideations, and fantasy mothers. When she became a mom, her search to find and become ‘the perfect mother’ intensified … until her mother’s death launched a spiritual epiphany. Sara’s perspective as an adoptee offers insight for anyone in the adoption constellation.”

I’ve known Sara through our work in the adoption community, and was thrilled to hear she had created this series of online writing groups. This Saturday November 19, Sara will moderate a free, online panel along with Alice Stephens, a Korean adoptee and author of the debut novel Famous Adopted People.The eight panelists are all adoptees, from Korea and China, who will discuss what the Adoptee Voices Writing Group has meant to them. Learn more about this UniversalAsian conversation here.

Upcoming Adoptee Voices writing sessions include “Write Your Way Through the Holiday Season,” and “Writing Resolutions Winter 2022.” You can learn about all the writing groups and register for them here.

It is wonderful to have more adoptees writing and sharing their stories.

National Adoption Awareness Month: Elevate Adoptee Voices And Adoptee Reading

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This is the first day of National Adoption Awareness Month, aka National Adoption Month. For years, information and comments came mainly from adoptive parents (and mostly white women). In recent years, adult adoptees have increasingly spoken out, and have been heard and listened to; many are Brown or Black (BIPOC). We are also hearing more from birth/first parents. We need to hear lots more from both adoptees and birth/first parents if we are going to bring about much-needed change in adoption policy. On another, equally important level, we need to hear the stories and wisdom from both as well.

During National Adoption Awareness Month, I am going to post an adoptee-related resource every day: an adoptee-led orgainzation, an adoptee-focused blog, an adoptee author, and so on. I will also include resources from first/birth parents. The primary focus, though, will be adoptees, the experts in adoption.To start, take a look at this wonderful site, AdopteeReading, all about books by adoptees or recommended by adoptees. Also, follow them on Facebook here.

A great start to the month.

http://adopteereading.com

http://adopteereading.com