Ever since I started mentioning the book I've been writing (and have now published) about being adopted, about finding my birth family and finally feeling that I fit in, I've discovered that I'm far from alone. At times it seemed that just about everyone I spoke to had their own personal experience of adoption - whether from a brother or sister they never knew existed suddenly turning up in their lives, from being adopted themselves, or from having adopted - or their partner having adopted - a child, often many years ago.
Being adopted has always been integral to the way I am, to my DNA! From the time my mother sat me on her knee and read "The Chosen Baby" to me, I knew I was someone special. But when I became a teenager, I wanted more than that - I wanted to know who my "real" mother was, where I came from.
Later, when I had children and the doctors asked me what hereditary diseases were in my family, I wanted to know what was in my genes that they might inherit.
Eventually, my search provided the answers. Now I have two families - my genetic family and my adoptive family - and I am doubly blessed.
Writing about the adoption triangle - standing in the shoes of both my mothers, hence the title - has absorbed me for several years now. It's been a story I wanted to tell. I knew it would have to be fiction, because there are so many details of my birth mother's life I simply don't know and similarly, details I know she would prefer to keep a secret. And I knew it would have to be written in a different style from my earlier novels. That's why I enrolled in the Victoria University creative writing course last year. It gave me the motivation, the encouragement, the advice and assistance that I needed to get the story down on paper. I'm so glad I took the course and finished the book.
You can have a free look at it here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008KQ4G42
You're lucky that you’ve already found your real family and are still connected with your adopted ones. Having two families means doubled love and support that they can give you, especially with your writing career. As for that book above, which is The Chosen Baby, even though it has been published in the 1970s, its lessons about the miracles and blessings of adopting a child still rings true to the lives of the people at present.
ReplyDeleteAiko Dumas
Thank you for taking the time to make such a thoughtful comment, Aiko. Do you work for the adoption organisation in Indianapolis? I'm so thrilled you found my blog. Like you say I now have two families - the best of both worlds - and I have finally found a sense of belonging, that I fit in. That's what my novel is about.
DeleteCheers, Felicity