Letters The following are letters that were read by presenters at the successful, joint Land of Gazillion Adoptees/Lost Lit “Adoption Lettters: Unsealed” event in Brooklyn, New York. Some audience members shared their letters as well, and we will be sharing them in a couple of weeks. Enjoy. Back row: Kevin Vollmers, David Amarel, John Sanvidge, Joy Lieberthal RhoFront row: James Lane, Kathryn Joyce, Andy Marra, Martha Crawford, Lynne Connor Joy Lieberthal Rho Dear Hwang On Soon Halmoni, Abuji, FVP, It is ironic to me that I chose three unrelated dead people to address this letter. However, you are all survived by...

Learning how to be a critical consumer of adoption research Several years ago while I was cleaning out some files, I came across my adoption papers. Included in my file was a 1969 research report, “OUR Children: A Study of Korean Adoption.” This study report based on interviews with 46 Korean children adopted through Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota and their parents was fascinating, largely because reading it now reveals that little has changed since 1969. This study is one of many that have been conducted on adoptees or foster alum since Sophie van Senden Theis’s groundbreaking 1924 study on the outcomes of foster children.1 As Dr. Myers points out...

Jennifer Schupp Name: Jennifer SchuppAge: 36Gender: FemaleIdentify as: Asian American, Korean American, Korean, Adopted, etc. Have you always felt comfortable in your skin?: No, but I don’t know many who have. I assume my experience is similar to other non-white adoptees who grew up in small-ish towns peopled mostly by Caucasians with small-town mentalities. In short, I stood out when I didn’t always want to. In addition, I don’t have the lean-hipped, birdlike frame and diminutive stature of many Korean women, so I felt I didn’t fit that mold either. I remember being in Korea when I was a teenager and towering...

Jenny Kelly of Asian Adult Adoptees of Washington (AAAW) Washington state adoptees are privileged to have an amazing local resource and support community through the Asian Adult Adoptees of Washington (AAAW). Unlike many other adoption support groups that usually separate according to ethnicity, AAAW opens its doors to Asian and Pacific Islander adoptees of any kind. Founded in 1996, AAAW seeks to provide a place for camaraderie between adult adoptees through cultural programs, events, and a soon-to-be-launched youth mentoring program. The latter will be the first adoptee mentoring program in Washington state, pairing kids between the ages of 8 and 18 with a cluster of adult adoptees. The program...

Jeff Leinaweaver Jeff Leinaweaver is a professional storyteller, so it makes total sense that when he told me his personal adoptee story, I was interested from the get-go. Originally born in Colombia, South America, Jeff was adopted in the 1960s by an American man who himself was adopted. Imagine being an adoptee in an era when international adoption was hardly a hot topic, and being raised by an adoptee. Altogether, it was a positive experience that Jeff was grateful for, but at the same time, he recalls his youth as being a time when he often felt like the “only aardvark at...

I’m articulate, and no that does not mean I’m White My love affair began in second grade. This relationship started with playful cuddling on comfy chairs during reading time in Mrs. Brown’s classroom. By my teenage years, we spent time late into the night together in my room. Since my days as a bright eyed elementary school boy, books and I enjoyed an intimate relationship. Books blessed me with the opportunity to learn diverse and beautiful words in English. My parents labored to ensure my bilingual upbringing did not compromise my ability to speak both English and Spanish effectively. People often call me articulate because I speak well. Most people,...

It’s hard out here for a WLW When I think of WLWs (White Liberal Women) in the context of adoption, it is hard not to think of my Birth Mother, my Biological Grandmother, the WLWs I sling gluten-free beers and pinot grigio to on the regular with their families looking more like Brangelina’s than the typical Midwestern portrait of fair-hair and skinned Scandinavian Idolatry. I think of how those WLWs look at me like, “Oh, what a dream she is? With her nice hair, slamming bod, and her generally smiley disposition. Or so I imagine as I receive a smile filled with the smug gratitude, “Thank you...

I Hope You Dance Four Last Names At a recent trip to the Social Security Administration to check out my retirement options, I received a two-page profile of my life as seen through the eyes of the government. Among the various data and employment history, I read with interest four last names that identified me: birth name, adoptive name, “failed” adoption and subsequent second adoptive name, married name. The journey through those various names began in an orphanage after my birth mother’s death when I was two, followed by an adoption arranged by my birth father (the adoption disrupted when I was 16), a...

Hello, My name is Kurt Rosenwinkel We step into the Village Vanguard on a Tuesday night: my first night in New York City. The intensely humid, hot air from the city manages to slink with us down the stairs, but it is halted abruptly at the door. Air conditioning. It is a dark and brilliant thing to be within the Vanguard’s walls. This is what going to church must be like for the most pious of believers. Tonight: Paul Motian, Enrico Pierunanzi, and Marc Johnson play in trio. Enrico is an old Italian and so, I’m familiar with his ways. My adoptive mother’s family is Italian....