It’s Christmas Day 2023. While millions of Michiganders are celebrating this joyous occasion, there are still tens of thousands of Michigan-born adoptees on this day who may not be able to enjoy this family-themed holiday because they are denied basic legal rights to know who they are, from where they come, and have access to their vital records by state law. That is why I’m asking you, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, to spread the joy of this festive day to support legal equality for those denied basic rights and support two bills in 2024 (House Bills 5148 and 5149) that would give countless thousands of Michigan adoptees the basic knowledge of themselves, so that they too can feel fellowship that you are enjoying this day with your family and that countless other Michiganders are celebrating as well. Please support House Bills 5148 and 5149 in 2024 and make Christmas Day 2024 a more heartfelt and joyous time for those who still do not know their truth, their family origins and kin, and their identities because of archaic laws. Merry Christmas and happy New Year.
Tag Archives: Adoption Reform
Talking way too much with ‘Adoption: The Making of Me,’ and it was fun!
When I was invited to be guest on the adoptee-centered podcast Adoption: The Making of Me, produced and published by podcasters and producers Louise Browne and Sarah Reinhardt, I expected this to be something new for me.
Outside of what I have published in my adoptee memoir, I refrain publicly from talking about my backstory with my biological mother, my family life before I left home at the age 18, and issues that I don’t share when discussing adoption legislative reform and adoptee rights advocacy.
This time, I knew it would be different, and it seemed OK.
(If you prefer, you can listen to the podcast here, on Apple Podcasts.)
Browne and Reinhardt asked me to talk about topics I mostly keep private. So I did. I highlighted issues such the very bad domestic abuse in my adoptive family, which I have written about before. I also discussed other issues growing up I mostly keep private, as I focus more on legislative and upstream reforms to end the inequities of this system.
Hopefully this conversation may help some others, which is why it seemed right to do this. Within hours of it being published I received a comment from a fellow adoptee using words to describe my experience that I never use to this day describing my life as an adoptee or my life story. That is fine, because each of us can experience a story with our own points of view.
Some of the other issues we covered include the denial of equal legal rights to domestic adoptees in my birth state Michigan and other states. I also talked about the history of my birthplace, the long-closed adoption mill and maternity hospital in Detroit called Crittenton General Hospital. I even was able to discuss my Finnish heritage and provide comparisons of the United States to Finland, homeland to my maternal great grandparents on my mother’s family side. As we closed, I managed to sneak in a few quick facts–because I love facts!–that the Finnish government and its national health service supports mothers and kids, making adoption in Finland rare and almost nonexistent.
As we nearly completed our hour-long conversation, I painfully realized I did too much of the talking without enough time for conversation, and they graciously forgave this sin.
I really appreciated the wonderful talk and these two podcasters, who are doing a brilliant job allowing adopted persons to tell stories to help others understand the adoption experience, from the point of view by those who lived it and who are the experts. You can also catch copies of their podcasts on their YouTube channel. Visit their past interviews to listen and learn from the voices of those who know this issue in the marrow of their bones.
Thanks again, ladies!