Hello everyone,

I am so excited to share that my first peer-reviewed journal article is published in a special issue of Child Abuse and Neglect on the topic of adoption and trauma. I was initially made aware of the call for papers in the spring of 2020 and have been working with a special professor at the Brown School at Washington University in Saint Louis for over a year on the writing and revision process. This article is free to read and download until April 15! Please read and share: here!

This autoethnography recounts experiences from my emerging adoptee identity situated in academic institutions. I use my story to connect with larger themes in adoption and propose a framework that expands upon existing theories of trauma. My hope in recognizing trauma, that is not necessarily historical, collective, or intergenerational by definition but is still present, is to better understand the adoptee experience, validate the existence of trauma, and to promote opportunities for lifelong healing.

Some of the stories I wrote about in the article might not be new to readers of this blog, because I used blog posts, instagram posts, and tweets I shared during my time in undergrad and grad school as data sources. However, I hope you will find the ways in which I connect these events to the adoption literature and trauma literature different and engaging. Autoethnography was initially a new genre to me, but it made a lot of sense when I began reflecting on the type of writing I already typically do on this blog.

I’m thrilled to share this work with you! As always, I hope my words resonate. Thank you for being a part of my community.

Grace

Free to read and download until April 15, 2022: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1eeTFX18YRrgv