Spotlight
SPOTLIGHT BY ADOPTEE WRITER It was the night of dress rehearsal, and students were flitting around the room, preparing for their last run-through of the Wizard of Oz. Everyone was on edge, and the choir room was buzzing with excitement. “I can’t find my stockings!” a student screeched as she rummaged through her bag, while onlookers only minimally engaged their attention. “Who has the props for scene one?” I overheard
How to Find Your Birth Parents
HOW TO FIND YOUR BIRTH PARENTS BY ROBERTA HOLLAND 1. Keep your search a secret mission until it’s accomplished. Do not tell anyone else of your desire to find your birth parents. 2. When you tell everyone, including random strangers, of your desire to find your birth parents, be prepared to answer questions like, “Why would you want to meet your mother?” Or, “What if you ruin their lives?” Or,
Spotlighting a Deer
SPOTLIGHTING A DEER Instructions on hunting with an artificial light BY JENNIFER SCOTT Spotlighting deer has historically held negative connotations. But there are a growing number of well-intentioned hunters working outside the law to use this technique for positive purposes. If you should decide to add an artificial light to your hunting repertoire, getting started is as simple as purchasing a strong flashlight. This aids in observing and locating
Child of Wonder
CHILD OF WONDER BY ANITA GARBER Child of Wonder, you are home.
From Shadow to Shine
FROM SHADOW TO SHINE BY DAVID D It dawned on me when upon looking upon the brightness of the spotlight, and all I could see was the darkness surrounding. When in the darkness, I could be anyone, blending in with the crowd. But in the light, I have no choice but to shine. As an adoptee, I could see myself in the spotlight on my adoption day, gotcha day, being
Responding to My Wake-Up Call
RESPONDING TO MY WAKE-UP CALL BY DARYN WATSON In 1997, I attended a 12-Step based recovery program for 28 days. The facility was located in North Carolina. This program was unique because of all of the clients who went through the program together from start to finish. This program was unlike many similar programs where clients or patients can be added or discharged daily. The success rate of the program
Severed
SEVERED BY LORAH GERALD Quiet and timidShe sits aloneThe chaos builds As she
On My Mother’s Birthday
ON MY MOTHER’S BIRTHDAY BY CARI CORNISH She was just a girl when she met my father. He was a ski coach and she was working in a local bar. He was nine years her senior, but that doesn’t seem like much when you think about love. Before she knew it, she was driving from Vermont to be with him in Aspen. There, they would decide to marry. She was
A Late Discovery Adoptee’s Journey
A Late Discovery Adoptee’s Journey BY DAUGHTER DEE It was my 53rd birthday, and I had just received my “23 and Me” DNA Kit – ironically arriving on the day I was born. I was scared to open it and take the test right away, so I waited a week to submit the DNA kit through the mail. At the end of the month, my biological father was revealed to
LETTER FROM THE FACILITATORS
Personally, I avoid the spotlight. Even writing this editorial note generates discomfort for me. Odd, I’m sure it sounds, for someone who has stood up at festivals or conferences to talk with thousands over the years about my films and taught classes for the last 20+ years. [Insert elementary school story about being spotlighted during a talent show for playing xylophone] [delete story about xylophone – seriously? Xylophone?]
Growing up, I happen to recall sharing an unpopular opinion would lead to my (adoptive) dad’s brother saying, “You know, in my house, children are seen and not heard.” I didn’t know that I was adopted, so in retrospect my ironic reply to him was often, “Good thing I’m not in your house, then.” For how many adoptees (especially Late Discovery Adoptees like me) are we that curious possession, devoid of actual autonomy or being, more dolls than humans?
Most of the time, I avoided the spotlight from fear. Fear of doing it wrong, fear of messing up, fear of being known, fear of being seen. Fear. Where did that spring from? I don’t know. But this concern molded my future. I’d much rather be the person behind the camera, making the edits, or mentioned in “thanks” than to have my name on the spine or marquee.
During this Adoptee Voices Writing Group cohort, we had a visual prompt (photograph) framing a stage with spotlights, asking writers if they wanted to write their reaction/response to this image. Several wrote that night and then again through the rest of our weeks together. Some wrote from actual experiences, others fictionalizing experiences, and some reflecting on these ideas in different ways. I wish you could have read them all.
Adoptee Voices’ founder, Sara Easterly, has highlighted the need for adoptee-specific writing groups to help adoptees understand that they have a voice and a space to talk, not only in adoption spaces, but in their lives. And here we are “spotlighting” these writers.
So we have this, our second e-Zine, dedicated to and springing from adoptee voices. If our writers had any fear, they stepped toward it rather than away, taking away the power and making it work for them. I’d like to tell you (and them) how proud I am of their work during our eight-week group – not only the ones who submitted pieces for publication, but all of them who dig in and dive down into their creative pool, coming to the surface with pearls.
–Ridghaus with Sara, Alice, Jennifer