Amplifying Adoptee Voices
Honor Your Truth, Reclaim Your Story
This is a collection of the co-created pieces between those who submitted via the adoptee form on the Engage page and myself. Each entry includes a slide deck gallery, which can be enlarged and scrolled through, a bio written by that individual, an audio voiceover, and links to pages they're interested in sharing.
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***Please respect that while our identities are shared, our experiences are individual and that adoptees may use different words and prefixes to label their identity. Each adoptee either listed their preference or was asked***
Call out quote which reads "i don't like the phrase "gotcha day."" Page design by ROS, artwork is by Zee. Artwork is in three vertical sections: first on the left is a baby carrier with the Korean flag draped over it, the middle is a child sitting with knees to chest with hands in hair in front of a crumbling brick, and the third is a young individual with a yellow masked standing straight with their body pressed into the wall behind them.
Slide 1 of 5 of Zee's poem. An audio recording by Zee is on the right side of the screen with all five slides.
Slide 5 of 5 of Zee's poem. An audio recording by Zee is on the right side of the screen with all five slides.
Call out quote which reads "i don't like the phrase "gotcha day."" Page design by ROS, artwork is by Zee. Artwork is in three vertical sections: first on the left is a baby carrier with the Korean flag draped over it, the middle is a child sitting with knees to chest with hands in hair in front of a crumbling brick, and the third is a young individual with a yellow masked standing straight with their body pressed into the wall behind them.
Zee (they/them) is a disabled, queer, neurodivergent, Korean adoptee and multi-disciplinary artist residing in Washington State. As a writer and digital artist, Zee's creative work explores the complex interplay between identity and the human experience, with an emphasis on intersectionality. Zee's unique perspective and lived experiences shape their art, making it a powerful voice for diversity and inclusivity.
Call out quote which reads "I came out of the fog or rather, was shaken awake in 2020." Background is three shaky horizontal layers, grey on top, blue in middle, navy blue bottom.
Slide 1 of 3 of Hanna's adoptee experience.
Slide 4 with a short excerpt of Hanna's first book. An audio recording by Hanna is included.
Call out quote which reads "I came out of the fog or rather, was shaken awake in 2020." Background is three shaky horizontal layers, grey on top, blue in middle, navy blue bottom.
Hanna Lee (she/her) is a Transracial Korean adoptee and author. She strives to write stories centering characters like her who were rarely represented in American film and literature for her growing up. Hanna wants to transform the way marginalized groups are depicted in stories by creating informative narratives surrounding social issues. She continues to speak about adoption trauma and works to build a world where understanding and change are possible.
Call out quote which reads "I always wanted to be able to tell my story as a former foster child & then adoptee." Background is cream color with a pink head looking left with a pink heart in the center of the brain. In the top right is a hand holding yellow flowers with water drops falling onto the head.
Slide 1 of 2 of Abby's adoptee journey.
Slide 2 of 2 with Abby's pamphlet and contact information about her services as an adoptee counselor.
Call out quote which reads "I always wanted to be able to tell my story as a former foster child & then adoptee." Background is cream color with a pink head looking left with a pink heart in the center of the brain. In the top right is a hand holding yellow flowers with water drops falling onto the head.
Abby Jacobson (she/her) is a former foster child and adoptee. She created her own Adoptee Counseling business, which is focused on supporting other adoptees as they learn to tell their stories and begin the process of reclaiming their self identity.
Photo background of sun rays shining through evergreen trees. An ombre of cream to green under the call out quote.
Slide 1 of 2 of Bernadette's adoptee journey.
Slide 2 of 2 of Bernadette's adoptee journey.
Photo background of sun rays shining through evergreen trees. An ombre of cream to green under the call out quote.
Bernadette (she/her) was given away after birth by her biological mother (this says the official report, there are several cases that this information wasn´t true at all). After 10 months of foster care or orphanage she was adopted to West Germany. She grew up as the first of 4 adopted children. *To remain anonymous, Felicia recorded her audio.
Background is grey color with fortunate cookie art by Bonnie about adoption.
Slide 1 of 4 of Bonnie's adoptee journey.
Slide 4 of 4 of Bonnie's adoptee journey, including her senior BFA thesis titled "so you believe."
Background is grey color with fortunate cookie art by Bonnie about adoption.
Bonnie Deyang (she/her) is a Chinese American woman and photographer. Slowly, she is honoring her identity and learning more about her ethnic culture and integrating it into her own life as well as art practice. Bonnie’s work centers around her international identity as a Chinese American woman and her past and present relationship to religion and spirituality. Through pain and growth her practice is a constant investigation of herself to lead to her reclamation of her identity.
Left half of the screen is yellow with Mei's callout quote, and the right half is one of her prints she sells at her shop @postnostalgia.prints
Slide 1 of 3 of Mei's adoptee journey.
Slide 3 of 3 of Mei's adoptee journey, including a photo of her from her trip in SE Asia!
Left half of the screen is yellow with Mei's callout quote, and the right half is one of her prints she sells at her shop @postnostalgia.prints
Mei Tomko (she/her) is a transracial Chinese adoptee who grew up in Pennsylvania and currently resides in the Washington, D.C. area. Her loved experiences as a transracial Asian adoptee have greatly impacted her personal perspectives and professional work in human rights and community building. Mei strives to address human rights abuses through community-centered advocacy, restorative justice, and DEI-based research.
Includes call out quote from Rebecca's adoptee experience and an unofficial book design crafted by Felicia
Photo, bio, and ROS Submission answers from Rebecca
Includes contact info for Rebecca from her Press Release kit.
Includes call out quote from Rebecca's adoptee experience and an unofficial book design crafted by Felicia
Rebecca Wellington (she/her) is an unrelenting champion of brave women and fearless educators. *She holds a bachelor’s degree, two Masters, and a doctorate. She currently teaches in higher education. In her twenties Wellington sailed around the world, earning a US Coast Guard Captain’s license. She wrote this story to honor the memory of her older sister and truth of brave women and mothers everywhere.
Includes call out quote from Ami's adoptee experience
Ami's ROS Submission answers
Ami's ROS Submission answers
Includes call out quote from Ami's adoptee experience
Ami Hanson (she/her) was born in Seoul Korea. Her adoptive papers state that her mother abandoned her at birth. Ami was adopted when she was about 6 months old to the United States, in Torrance California. She was raised in Southern California. Ami loves playing sports, music, art, and being with her family and friends.
Includes call out quote from Erik's adoptee experience
Erik's ROS Submission answers
Erik's ROS Submission answers
Includes call out quote from Erik's adoptee experience
Erik Mason (he/him) is a Mexican American US domestic adoptee who was raised by a loving white family. He has a YT channel (@AdopteeOutOftheFog) where he shares his experience and research to help other people involved in adoption.