adoptee remembrance day (2022)
a short note for adoptee remembrance day 2022, with a content note and resources.
content note: suicide; abuse.
october 30 is adoptee remembrance day. it’s for remembering adoptees who died by suicide, and for naming the harms that stay unseen.
we remember
• friends who died by suicide.
• those who suffered abuse at the hands of adoptive parents.
• those who buried pain through addictions or lost time through incarceration.
• those who lived through multiple placements and disruptions.
• those without citizenship in the country they were taken to.
• all who carry the disconnection and loss of being separated from family of origin.
adoption has been romanticized (especially by the church). we need wider awareness that separation from first family is a wound, and that “adoption = trauma” is a reality many of us live with.
resources
• adoptee remembrance day — instagram: @adopteeremembranceday
• religion news service piece i was interviewed for
• if you’re new to this conversation, start by listening to adoptees, then share and support
