An intelligent memoir that will challenge stigmas, shift viewpoints, open eyes, and start the conversations that matter most.
Adoption in the United States is not an uncommon arrangement and, whether we realize it or not, some of our friends, coworkers, and neighbors are adoptees. Still, knowing someone who has been adopted and knowing how it feels to have been adopted are two wildly different things. What is it like to field those uncomfortable questions? What happened to my other family? What are they really like? Why did they abandon me? An effective reply to these nagging questions, Belonging Matters: Conversations on Adoption, Family, and Kinship is a collection of gripping essays, experiences, anecdotes, and retrospections written by a woman whose decades of keen insights, firsthand knowledge, and quiet confidence permeate her writing.
The composition of each singular essay is well-rounded and complete, making the collection approachable as small, thought-provoking snippets that provide a unique perspective, as well as being an intriguing whole book that readers will become instantly invested in. Reading this first-person narrative is a very personal invitation into a full, love-filled life that weathers a fair share of challenges stemming from a closed adoption. As her family is extended through the birth of some siblings, the adoption of others, and the introduction of formerly secreted relations, one distinctive aspect of the author’s life is her beautiful twinship. This precious relationship is a lifelong blessing and serves as an anchor through turbulent waters.
Figuring out who we are and where we fit in is closely linked to where we’ve come from. But how can you fill in those gaps when you’ve been adopted? An open relationship with birth parents helps for some, yet in the case of closed adoptions, very basic information might be inaccessible. Even a routine doctor’s appointment begins with a multi-page family history health questionnaire, but too often, an adoptee is left with nothing but blank spaces. The author considers this and other pertinent issues with a sharp awareness of the varied sides of the adoption coin. Another empathy-building topic covers the ups and downs involved in the search for birth parents. While maintaining a hopeful, positive tone, the author brings into sharp relief the emotional uncertainty and the inevitable hurt this complicated yet deeply merited search for identity brings. An honest and heartfelt showcase of the elements that help us discover the core of our identity, Belonging Matters is an intelligent memoir that will challenge stigmas, shift viewpoints, open eyes, and start the conversations that matter most.
