Over the last couple of years, it seems that there have been a number of film documentaries made on inter-country/transracial adoption. But many people in Arizona do not have the opportunity to see such films, which are typically introduced at film festivals and then screened via special engagements. Earlier this year, we were able to … Continue reading »
During the first half of my life, I never thought of myself as anything other than being American. What I mean is, I always thought of myself as being white. My outward appearance, however, has never really fit the image of what most people typically think of as a white person. DUH. I was raised … Continue reading »
Did you know that May is Asian Pacific Heritage month? I didn’t– well, that is until a couple of years ago, and even then, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t that interested. Why the interest now? I guess as I’ve grown to appreciate my own cultural roots, it’s prompted me to appreciate and take an interest … Continue reading »
Some 8,668 children were adopted into U.S. families from abroad in the 2012 fiscal year; 105 international adoptions took place right here in Arizona (U.S. Dept. of State, 2013). Although declining in number since 2004, intercountry adoption is still prevalent throughout the U.S. and is so often misconceived. One of the most complicated areas of … Continue reading »
One of my favorite books is the The Secret Life of Bees (2002) by Sue Monk Kidd. I read it years ago, but it’s one of those books that I go back to. When the movie came out in 2008, I refused to see it. I didn’t want to see Hollywood mess up a perfectly awesome … Continue reading »
I’ve been meeting with a couple of colleagues who both have adopted children from China. One also has an adopted son from Korea. Both of my colleagues are licensed professional counselors, and one specializes in working with families with adopted children. Their own children are in middle childhood. We’ve been discussing and making plans to … Continue reading »
I am so happy to share the following piece below with my readers. It was written by one of the people I hope most to meet one day in person. Ma-Li and I connected a few years ago when she contacted me with news that she was also adopted in Taipei from The Family Planning … Continue reading »
It’s been rather busy lately juggling school, family and so on. I did want to take a few minutes away though to thank Luanne at Don’t We Look Alike for passing along to me a lovely blog award last week, The Beautiful Mama Blog Award. The award was created by Valerie at Atlanta mom of three. It was a such … Continue reading »
It’s been just over a year since I reunited with my birthfamily in Taipei, Taiwan. Distance, of course, puts us at a huge disadvantage for seeing each other more often. I think of them often, though, especially my two sisters who I spent most of my time with in Taiwan. In those brief ten days, … Continue reading »
One of the most difficult things in life is losing a loved one. In my last post, I wrote about the loss of my adoptive mom. She’s been gone now for exactly five years. Whenever the ache of grief revisits, sometimes out of the blue, I often immerse myself in some form of expressive art, … Continue reading »
This article has been updated and was originally posted on February 29, 2012 in memory of my adoptive mom. When I was a kid, I didn’t quite understand the concept of leap year. It seemed like a special day though. Leap year never held much significance to me until 2008. That’s the year my mom … Continue reading »
Have you ever considered writing a book? I have. A memoir, a children’s book, short stories, etc. I have no “formal training” in writing, however, and find the task quite overwhelming. Perhaps published authors feel the same way at times despite their training and/or success. Over the past year, I have toyed with the idea … Continue reading »
The other day I happened upon a video of an adoption reunion posted by writer, Vicki-lynn, who blogs at adoptionfind. The video, called “Recovering What Was Left Behind,” by Korean adoptee, Kira Donnell, documents her reunion with her birth mother, which took place in October 2010. Kira also blogs at starlingblue. Vicki-lynn describes the footage well … Continue reading »
I always wonder how much to divulge of a personal nature on my blog. Sometimes, I think I go a little too far and later regret it. This may be one of those times, but here goes. As I have expressed before, one of the things I’ve struggled with the most as an adoptee is … Continue reading »
Today has been one of those days. It started with the alarm clocking going off way too early this morning. Actually, it rang at the same time it always does, I just couldn’t drag myself out of bed. The night before, I couldn’t sleep and got little more than an hour’s worth of rest the … Continue reading »
Last year I met Victoria Linchong at the North American Taiwanese Women’s Association (NATWA II) Annual Convention. Victoria is a Taiwanese-American actress, writer, producer and director working in both theater and film. Her feature directorial debut, Almost Home: Taiwan, is currently in post-production. Almost Home was inspired by a 2008 family road trip back to Taiwan. Victoria recently held … Continue reading »
I was talking to my friend, Kathy, today about the Phoenix screening of Somewhere Between, directed by Linda Goldstein Knowlton (the one I’ve been plugging for the last month!). Last Thursday evening, adoptive families, friends, and members of the community joined us for the feature length documentary. It was such a wonderful event in many ways. … Continue reading »
