A New Essay in Under the Sun

I have a new essay in Under the Sun about losing my first child to adoption. A writing accident I never meant to write about any of this. For decades…
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How to Adopt from Ukraine

How, exactly, do you adopt a baby from Ukraine during a war? By any means necessary. What is necessary? I will tell you what I learned from a story I…
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Dystopia’s Child

National Adoption Month “Dystopia’s Child” was originally published in LUMINA vol. XVIII. Yesterday I republished it on Medium.com. Because… November is National Adoption Awareness Month. Not just happy stories As…
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Families at the Border

Separating parents and children Families at the border are suffering. We weep. Tear our hair. Exclaim to the heavens about the un-American practice of separating children and parents at the…
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Hart Family Tragedy

Six children are dead There were six Hart children, all adopted from foster care. And now, though not all bodies have yet been found, authorities think all of them perished…
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Adoption is Everywhere

Adoptees and birthparents are everywhere But sometimes it feels like a secret society, this adoption thing. I’ve been at a writer’s residency the past month at the Vermont Studio Center….
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The Handmaid’s Baby Scoop

The Handmaid’s Tale and adoption As is often the case, I’m a little late to the party. I just finished watching the last episode of the Hulu version of Margaret…
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The Handmaid’s Tale: Episode 2

Dystopian future/dystopian past Probably you’ve at least heard of it–“The Handmaid’s Tale.” It seems like everyone is talking about the Hulu series set in the dystopian future. Women with two…
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Senior Citizen Birthmother

Senior Citizen Birthmother might seem like a contradiction in terms, but as the linked article points out, women who lost children during the Baby Scoop Era from 1945-1975 are now…
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Refusal to Unseal Adoption Records

A refusal to unseal adoption records by a judge in Iowa leaves an adoptee with no recourse. http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2016/03/11/iowa-supreme-court-denies-alcoholic-woman-seeking-open-adoption-record/81664750/ Above is a link to a news story that will break your…
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