Essay in Grown and Flown
“Grown and Flown” published my essay, “We Found Our Children’s Birth Mothers” back in November, but so much was going on then, I think I forgot to post the link. The piece explores the evolution of my thinking on the subject of reunion. The first few paragraphs: “When we began the process to adopt my daughter Olivia from Guatemala in 2002, we never considered open adoption. Why would we? No one mentioned it–not our agency, not our social worker, not our in-country facilitator. I hadn’t known it was possible. Over the course of my life, I’d been close with people who are adopted—including two cousins—and not one had met their birth families. I’d never heard the subject discussed. “Then, during Olivia’s adoption, which went on for nearly two years, I quit my job in San Francisco and moved to Antigua, Guatemala to expedite the process. We lived together in a small rental house, and sometimes I’d stare at my beautiful daughter and silently question, “Who made you? What’s her story? Does she know where you are?” “Occasionally, at the market or on the street, at a restaurant or church, I’d see a woman who closely resembled Olivia, and I’d be seized by a mixture of curiosity, fear, and elation as I wondered, ‘Are you my daughter’s mother?‘” You can read the entire essay here. As always, thanks for your interest! xoxo
#30 Portraits in 30 Days
November is National Adoption Awareness Month and I’m honored to have my essay included in Chicago Now’s 10th annual “30 Adoption Portraits in 30 Days.” The title says it all– “Adoption is the Most Complicated Relationship I’ve Ever Been Involved In”–and I’ve been in a few complicated relationships. Thank you to Carrie Goldman for publishing this essay (and another in 2016) and for her 10 years of raising awareness of adoption with a series that includes all voices of the triad: person who is adopted, birth parent, and adoptive parent. PS: The post includes a short excerpt from my novel, Mother Mother, that you’ll find at the end. Thanks for reading! Read the essay here.