Out of the Fog and Into Consciousness: A Model of Adoptee Awareness
Hello all, If you’ve been following my social media, you’ve seen hints about this post in my “soft launch.” I am so excited to finally share with you this paper […]
Category Archives: For Adoptive Parents
The Box of Lost Things
Last year, I took a class on social work practice with children and families. One of the final assignments during the semester was to create a presentation of either a […]
Culture Keeping on the Christmas Tree
With Christmas just two weeks away, I’ve seen several adoptive parents asking where to find Chinese or culturally themed ornaments for stocking stuffers and small Christmas presents for their children. […]
Stop Centering Whiteness in #StopAsianHate
This past week has been overwhelming to say the least. I am so sad for those whose lives were lost in the tragic Atlanta shooting. I am frustrated that conversations […]
Updating Your Child’s Bookshelf
Adoption books are hard to come by; good adoption books are even harder to find. Many adoptive parents trust older classics or may get so excited when they see a […]
Love is NOT all you need
Unpopular Adoption Opinion: Love is NOT all an adoptee needs! I oftentimes hear this sentiment as a justification for adoption and people’s desire to help all of the “orphans” around […]
Balancing Emotions with Adoption Jenga
Adoptive parents often mistake silence for a lack of curiosity or questions about adoption, but this is not necessarily true. The adoptee may be waiting for the parent to bring up the topic or may be unsure if they are allowed to ask questions around the circumstances of their adoption. I have adapted the grief Jenga game for adoptees in the hopes that this can increase communication around adoption in your families if this is not something that you currently do.
ADAPTED Podcast, Season 4, Episode 5: Grace Newton
A few months ago, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Kaomi Goetz over Zoom to talk about my personal experiences as a Chinese adoptee. Our conversation ranged from […]
Adoption/Searching Online Groups
A few weeks ago, I decided to restart my birth parent search that came to an almost immediate halt in China in 2015 (read about it here). I realize that time is going by – time that I will never get back – and feel confident that I am in an emotionally strong enough place to begin again. I decided to join a number of search groups on Facebook and on WeChat for information about searching, templates for language used on search posters, and camaraderie from others who are also going through this complicated process. Below, I’ve shared a list of potentially relevant searching groups for Chinese adoptees.
Adoption Themed Book Club List
I recently participated in a FCCNY book club discussion of The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See. The book revolves around a Chinese adoption story. The author, Lisa See, is not an adoptee, and her limited knowledge of adoption and adoptee identity development was very apparent throughout the book. At the end of the meeting, the adoptive mothers in the group began discussing book possibilities for future meetings. This prompted me to put together a list of adoption reading for anyone considering an adoption themed book club or wanting more information about adoption.
Red Thread Broken 