Listen To Adoptees

All the moms I know would do anything necessary for their kids. If they needed to take a bullet, they would. If they need to skip meals in order to make sure their kids bellies get full, they do. We want to give our kids everything they need to brave living.

So when an entire generation of adoptees are shouting “Listen to me, here is my voice & experiences & pain,” I think “Wow, I want to listen & learn & do better. I want to understand.”

Maybe I’ll never need to physically take a bullet, but what if pieces of my ego & entitlement, privilege & comfort needs to?

What if Doing Anything For Our Kids, especially the children not born to us, means quieting all the voices that sound & look like ours —the ones bringing us comfort— and listening to the voices from our children’s unique lane of living.

I see the irony — I am a white adoptive parent talking a lot about adoption. My hope is to continually point to adoptees & birth mothers. My hope is to help you begin to understand trauma, the brain, your own self & how that affects your mothering.

I would go to the ends of the earth for my son, for all 3 of my boys.

I know you would too.

Seek out voices that make you uncomfortable, inviting you to sink deeper into understanding.

No excuses, here are some options, suggest others in the comments!

Books:
1. All You Can Ever Know by @nicolesjchung
2. Akin to the Truth by Paige Adams
3. In Their Voices by @rhondaroorda

Forever recommending @angieadoptee ‘s documentary Closure and her video series where she interviews adoptees on her website.

Podcast: @adopteeson & @waitimadoptedpodcast

IG accounts: @adopteelilly @_heytra @adoptee2adoptionworker @adopteeoutloud @blackadoptioncollective @blackadoptees @brewlikecoffee @fromanothamotha @bigtoughgirl @shardayrenee @dominiquebwhite @dearadoption @fosterthefamilyblog @fereraswan @diaryofanadoptee @therapyredeemed