Over the past month, I’ve met with a handful of families and individuals affected by adoption. I am excited for the opportunity to speak with many more across the state of Wisconsin. Joy, sorrow, excitement, and confusion are just a few of the emotions that characterize the stories I’ve heard. Adoption is a complex topic, and I am so grateful for how willing so many Wisconsinites have been to open up and tell their unique stories.
Over the past weekend, I met with a woman named Pam who, 27 years ago, put her first born daughter up for adoption when she was only 12 months old. Her name was Jessica. Pam was 16 at the time. It was a closed adoption. Pam did not hear from Jessica until two years ago, but said she waited with complete confidence, knowing that her daughter would someday come searching for her. I sat with Pam and her second born daughter, Nicki, to look through the single photo album they had from the first year of Jessica’s life. Pam said she used the album to introduce Nicki to her absent older sister as she was growing up, an only child. The worn and weathered album was the only tangible reminder of Pam’s first born until Jessica picked up the phone to contact her birth mom.
Behind the Scenes Dispatch by:
Mary Duke, a member of the EngageWisconsin team
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PARTICIPATE: WPT’s EngageWisconsin team invites any Wisconsin resident with a personal story about adoption to participate. Whether you are a birth parent, an adoptee, a social worker, an adoptive parent, a sibling to an adoptee, etc., we welcome and value all your stories related to adoption. If this opportunity interests you, please contact Mary Duke for more information. Email: mary.duke@engagewisconsin.org
ABOUT ADOPTION STORIES — Wisconsin is one of the most prevalent states for both domestic and international adoptions to occur. Unfortunately, there are also some 1,244 children currently in foster care, waiting to be placed in a permanent home. Between those adults choosing to adopt, children who have been adopted already, and the many children waiting for an adoptive home, it is clear that adoption is a huge part of Wisconsin’s family dynamics, affecting the lives of many of our fellow residents.
Inspired by that fact and “Adoption Stories: Inside Wisconsin Families” seeks to tell the stories of those affected by adoption within our home state of Wisconsin. As the EngageWisconsin team produces this project, you can join us Behind-The-Scene through dispatches posted by our journalists. Click here to see an archive of ADOPTION STORIES dispatches.
