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Identity. Who am I, really?
“The Importance of Being Earnest” is, at it’s heart, a play about identity. I saw a production of it Saturday that was a perfect confection. The play is a classic, written by Oscar Wilde and first...
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National Adoption Month Draws to a Close
Today is the last day of November, also known as National Adoption Month, and I feel like pouring myself a glass of champagne and then maybe crying into the bubbles. Originally created to call...
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The Pregnancy Resources List/How to Change the World
I’ve been working on the California Pregnancy Resources List at the behest of Claudia Corrigan D’Arcy who is a major force in the world of birthmothers. Click on that link and scroll down to her map....
View ArticleBurger King Baby Update
Of all the adoption stories out there on Facebook, this one has certainly captured my heart. I blogged about it a while ago, and here I am again with the update. I like the candidness of the...
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Edith and Me
I binge-watched the first season of Downton Abbey after coming down with a horrible cold/flu. I’d heard about it ad nauseum, and finally succumbed while feeling a bit nauseated myself. I got hooked,...
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“Fable”–a poem by Louise Glück
Though the poem, “Fable” by Louise Glück is not meant to be about adoption, it resonated with me nonetheless. But not in the way you might think. Not pitting adoptive mother against birth mother. For...
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Connecting the Dots: Birthmother Shame and Postpartum Depression
I recently received the good news that an essay of mine will be included in an anthology called Mothering Through the Darkness. My essay, “My Face in the Darkness,” explores the link between the...
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Me and Bobby McGee…well, no…Me and Kate Mulgrew
Me, just a few months after giving up my son. The actress Kate Mulgrew and I were born in Dubuque, Iowa. She went to New York to become a successful actress. I went to L.A. to act with less success....
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“Birth Mother” is now available on audible.com
My memoir, “Birth Mother,” published last summer by Shebooks is now available on audible.com. I’ve listened to the sample, and while it’s kind of strange for me to hear another voice reading my...
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What to Say to a Birthmother on Mother’s Day and a Thought or Two on...
There are millions of us. For every adoptee, there is a birthmother. We’re your sisters, your friends, your aunts, your cousins, your teammates, your co-workers, your wives and girlfriends, that...
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Mothering Through the Darkness
I have an essay in this anthology about postpartum depression just out from She Writes Press. Postpartum depression was my personal sequel to adoption loss. If you know someone who has recently had a...
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Horace and Pete and Downton Abbey
I’m not much of a TV watcher or a movie goer these days. I missed the boat that left for Game of Thrones and it seems like I’d just be late to the party–or regatta–if I want to avoid mixing metaphors....
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10 Things to Say to a Birth Mother on Mother’s Day
The comfort of shared experience is a good gift for a birthmother on Mother’s Day—Available on Amazon . 1. I know you’re a mother, so I’m thinking of you. 2. Is there a way I can bring some comfort to...
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Breaking the Silence
The painting, Silence, by Odillon Redon This story highlights the aspect of secrecy in adoption. A secret weighs heavy on the heart. A secret can be found out. You mind your tongue, look over your...
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News from the Homeland
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2016/03/11/iowa-supreme-court-denies-alcoholic-woman-seeking-open-adoption-record/81664750/ Here’s a news story that will break your heart....
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The Meanness Olympics/Comments on an article about Simone Biles’ biological...
Here’s the link to a newspaper article about Simone Biles’ birthmother. I read it twice. And I also read another interview with her in the Huffington Post and in the New York Daily News–all based on...
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The Adoption Museum Project
In my morning scroll though Facebook, I stumbled across a post that had to do with The Adoption Museum. The what? I said. The what? The initial exhibit back in May of 2013 had to do with birthmothers...
View ArticleIt’s National Adoption Month (again)
I have an essay here. While there’s only one National Adoption Month each year, the topic never goes away and I always have something more to say. As a birthmother (and a grandmother,) I often feel...
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My Great-Granddaughter is a Robot
“Meet your great-granddaughter,” my daughter-in-law said, gesturing lackadaisically toward the plastic doll in the infant seat on the coffee table. My 15-year–old granddaughter stood nearby grinning...
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The Crux of the Matter
This news story brought my own choices in the relinquishment of my son to mind. It was 1970. I’d recently graduated from a Catholic high school in my home town–a town so Catholic there was no public...
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