Adoptee
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My nationality,
over and above all else,
is adoption.
—Michelle Madrid Branch
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I want to know what you feel like, when you look at your family and people look like you. I want to know what you feel like when you‘re at your grandparents‘ house, and they haul out the box of family photos, and all the aunts and uncles talk and laugh about how you‘re the carrier of the family nose or the family eyes, or how you look just like your aunt when she was your age. What does that feel like? What does it feel like when you hug your mother, and you‘re just the right size so that your face comes up to her belly, where you came from? What does it feel like to pass a mirror and not be surprised?
—Jane Jeong Trenka
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What I never had
is being torn away from me.
What I did not live
I will miss forever.
—Volker Braun
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Our homeland is each other.
—Michael Mullen
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Note: This page is informed and inspired by my partner, who identifies as a transracial, transnational adoptee, as well as by my adopted brother. Their respective journeys have touched my heart and opened my eyes to the singularly resilient and courageous paths of all adoptees.
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Available adoptee-therapist referral list
100 heartfelt adoptee quotes that honor the truth of adoption
20 responses to #adoptionislove
Ambiguous loss: when what you don’t know hurts… forever
Adoption is trauma. It’s time to talk about it.
Best adoption books for adoptees
Blue Bayou (note re controversy)
Korean American Story: Adoptee
BIPOC adoptee curated list of resources
Invisible Asians: Korean American Adoptees, Asian American Experiences, and Racial Exceptionalism
Adopted Territory: Transnational Korean Adoptees and the Politics of Belonging
You Should Be Grateful: Stories of Race, Identity, and Transracial Adoption
All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir
Journey of the Adopted Self: A Quest for Wholeness
Living in adoption’s emotional aftermath
Outsiders Within: Writing on Transracial Adoption