New Year, New Introductions

Hello Readers,

Happy New Year! I hope that 2019 brings you all good things. For those of you who have been reading my blog for the last five and a half years, thank you so much for your comments, personal messages, and encouragement.

When I started this blog, I decided very intentionally to stay anonymous for several reasons. I didn’t know how my opinions would be received and hadn’t quite developed into the thick skinnned woman I am now. I didn’t want my image to color the way readers interpreted my words. And perhaps most importantly, I was 19 years old when I started writing on this platform. While intuitive readers have figured out that I was quite young (and I certainly have received a number of ageist remarks), I didn’t want to make that information easily available or for my youthfulness to determine how seriously people read my posts.

I gradually started taking ownership of this blog in adoptee only spaces or with limited audiences when I presented at conferences. In 2014, was interviewed by Mei Fong for her book, One Child: The Story of China’s Most Radical Experiment, in which a chapter is named after this blog.  I made corresponding Facebook and Instagram pages for Red Thread Broken, and with the hyper connectivity of the internet, I knew that I was no longer anonymous.

This past year, I learned that people had misidentified this blog as belonging to another prominent Chinese adoptee in the community. Upon hearing this, I thought that it was perhaps finally time to officially introduce myself on my blog. So this is me.

Seoul, South Korea – Sept 2017

My name is Grace Newton, and I was adopted from China when I was three years old. I graduated from Macalester College in Minnesota, USA, and I am currently working in the non-profit sector. When I am not writing, speaking, or facilitating groups on adoption, I enjoy spending time with my parents, friends, and cats. I like to travel, paint, read, attend lectures, play the ukulele, eat sweets, and volunteer in my community in my free time. I also genuinely like blogging and am so thankful for all of the personal and professional connections this blog has brought me.

When I first started blogging, my mother asked me how long I thought I would do this. I responded, “As long as it makes me happy.” And this answer remains true. I couldn’t have imagined that more than five years later, you dear readers would still be following along and sharing my work. Thanks for being a part of my journey. Best wishes for a great new year!

-RTB