It's Finally Published!

Lost Daughters:   Writing Adoption from a Place of Empowerment and Peace is now available in ebook format with print copies forthcoming, on Amazon.com.

This anthology, boasting nearly 30 Lost Daughters authors, was edited by Amanda H.L. Transue-Woolston, Julie Stromberg, Karen Pickell, and Jennifer Anastasi. It features a collection of writings aimed to bring readers the perspectives of adopted women and highlight their strength, resiliency, and wisdom.

In his review, Addison Cooper, blogger at, “Adoption at the Movies,” says: 

Lost Daughters: Writing Adoption from a Place of Empowerment and Peace gathers the well-articulated stories of around two dozen adult women who have been adopted. The stories shared are powerful and painful, open and honest, and realistically complex. No one is standing on a soapbox; these are real, lived experiences that the Lost Daughters continue to process, understand, and share. The book does not tell adoptees or adoptive parents how to feel, it simply believes that “the voices of adult adoptees make adoption better.”

Again… conversation can bring about understanding. Understanding creates interpersonal health.

That’s why I write Adoption at the Movies. That’s why the Lost Daughters write. That’s why people read stuff like this. We are all taking steps in the right direction in an emotionally loaded situation, forgoing polarizing polemics in favor of insightful, honest, and considered dialogue. And I think this is the road that will lead to healing for those who have been hurt through adoption, and to better experiences for the people yet to be adopted. Adoptees can find healing and community; adoptive parents can make better choices, social workers like me can learn to be more sensitive. This is a good book, and I hope it's joined by many others like it.

Read the free sample of this book that contains the entire Table of Contents and some sample chapters, here. 

Purchase the book, here.

  

TWO Blockbuster Adoption Books in One Week? My Cup Runneth Over!

Fate would have it that two hot things in adopt-o-world are happening THIS WEEK!  It’s the release of two breakthrough books, and my only dilemma is which one to talk about first.  These books will change the world as we know it! I truly believe that.

I’m so honored to be a contributing author to both books. Both are anthologies and feature some of the most incredible people I’ve ever had the privilege to know.

The two amaaaaaazing books are:

Adoption Reunion in the Social Media Age,  the brain child of my bestie, Laura Dennis who compiled and edited this masterpiece.  

And...

 Lost Daughters: Writing About Adoption From a Place of Empowerment and Peace edited by Amanda H.L. Transue- Woolston, Julie Stromberg, Karen Pickell and Jennifer Anastasi, published by CQT Media and Publishing, LGA.  

Already, the Lost Daughters book has hit #1 in Amazon's adoption hot new releases and #4 in adoption bestsellers!

Both books are a MUST HAVE for anyone who cares anything about adoption. 

Right now they are both available on Kindle and in the months forthcoming they will be available for paperback purchase.

On Wednesday I’m going to share more about the Lost Daughters book. And on Friday, I’m doing an interview with the lovely Lori Lavender Luz, one of the authors of Adoption Reunion in the Social Media Age. She's someone I've grown to love and respect, a lot. 

Here at Adoptee Restoration, I’m going to be talking about both books in all of my posts this week, because I believe strongly in both projects. When you read these books, you'll see for yourself that every chapter in these books is a home run.

With Laura Dennis’s permission, I’m going to share a portion of my chapter in the Adoption Reunion in the Social Media Age book, in today's post, below.  

Why Many Adoptees Including Me Are Undergoing DNA Testing

“What do you want right now, Deanna?” asked my therapist.

“I want to be empowered in this situation and right now, I’m feeling powerless.”

She reassured me I was not powerless. Then she helped me make a list of the ways I have power, or can get power. 

One way that I am becoming a fully empowered adoptee is through DNA testing.

This past Tuesday was a big day for me as I took my first DNA sample, in an effort to find my original father.

What Does Adoptee Resilience Mean?

Some friends have been relentlessly encouraging me to be good to myself,  so I gave myself permission to put housework aside and  read the book Adopted Reality, by my good friend, Laura Dennis, this past Saturday.   

Curling up under my down comforter leaning against a bunch of pillows, I read it in it’s entirety. Alternating between laughing and crying, I couldn’t help but come face to face with Laura’s resilience again and again.

(If you want to put off your chores and do something much more fun, you too can read the  new and updated 2nd edition of Adopted Reality as it is now available FREE on pre-release at Story Cartel.) 

What Every Adoptee Needs More Than Anything

Six months ago when I first began writing at Lost Daughters, my (adoptive) cousin, Grace, read my first post there, and commented.

 It was a scary time for me, daring to open up and write about my experience, feelings and beliefs about adoption .


I feared people's reactions, but not enough to suppress my truth anymore. I bared my soul at Lost Daughters, and hoped for the best and braced myself for the worst.

Why Adoptee and Restoration Are In the Same Sentence

Photo Credit:Mike Cogh: Creative Commons

 
Some people restore old cars.

Others restore furniture.

I sense a calling to restore something far more valuable.

If you are reading this today, and you wonder why in the world  adoptee and restoration are in the same sentence, I'm so glad you've landed here. I know many of my adoptee friends will read this and never need an explanation. I'm glad all of you are here, but I'm especially glad that people who have yet to understand may read this and have pause for thought.

The prolific adoptee writer B.J. Lifton once said, "No one has yet put into words the complexity of being adopted."

That hasn't stopped some people from trying.

To be honest, I've only been "trying" publicly since July of 2012. I wasn't brave enough to write about this just a scant six months ago.