“A message lit up on my phone. ‘I know this is weird because you don’t know me, but you are adopted, right?’ I replied yes. My heart ached for this girl. We exchanged numbers, became best friends. Months passed. We still hadn’t met in person. Things weren’t adding up. Details changed, intuition came in. With some probing and a phone call to her supposed high school, we came to an unbelievable realization – Callie was not a real person.”
‘She wasn’t 17. She wasn’t Callie. The pictures she sent weren’t her. The pictures of her baby, weren’t her baby.’: Teenage adoptee catfished by woman claiming she was placing her baby for adoption
‘I was a teen at a nightclub. I lied. I got scouted, but there was a catch. He needed $3,000 for the ‘lessons.’: Daughter reconciles with addict mom after being signed over to the government as a child, living in 11 foster homes
“I saw my mom inject heroin. When the social workers came, I would hide all her needles. I didn’t want to be labeled ‘the foster child’ at school. When I turned 12, only 2 couples came forward wanting to adopt me. I felt like I was betraying my mom. I no longer wanted to be here, and inhaled poisonous fumes. But now I know why I’ve had this life.”
‘You were conceived in rape.’ She was gasping for air. ‘I don’t know who your father is. I’ve never told anyone this before.’: Adopted woman learns truth about her past, feels guilty for her own abortions
“When I was 21, with two babies of my own, I was in my bedroom with this heaviness on my heart. I needed to know who my birth-father was. My birth-mom was only 14 when she had me, 13 when she was pregnant. I could sense such sadness in her voice. My heart sank. ‘It is not your fault. Thank you for your strength to tell me. I love you.’”
‘You got a baby BROTHER!’ He jumped up. ‘YES! I knew it was a brother! Now I get to share a room!’: After 4 sisters, adopted son finally gets a brother ‘handpicked’ for him by his ‘dad in heaven’
“We adopted my brother. My father was dying of cancer and Easton had just lost his mom. All he ever wanted was a brother. We let Easton hold him first. He began to sing, ‘You are my sunshine’ to him. Nobody prompted him to do it. It’s like he knew this whole time, his little brother would light up his life.”
‘Oh honey, you should really wait until you lose the baby weight.’ Other customers heard. It took everything in me not to cry.’: Adoptive mom shamed for ‘baby weight’ by jewelry store employee
“I was taking my son to get my wedding ring cleaned. I was feeling so amazing with my baby boy on my hip. I asked about getting my ring soldered together. The lady looked at me and made a scrunched-up face. I didn’t even want to stand there to tell her he was adopted. This was just my body – I didn’t birth him.”
‘Why do my kids not want to talk to me?’ My mom replied, ‘You have nothing to do with them, why would they?’: 18-year-old adopted by uncle’s best friend, the ‘most selfless’ man she knows
“I met my adoptive dad while my bio dad and mom were still together. He was my uncle’s best friend. At 18, I made a board that asked, ‘Will you adopt me?’ He hugged me and cried. ‘Let’s get the paperwork started,’ he said without hesitation.”
‘I can’t keep her. She’s not mine.’ The nurse replied, ‘Adoption! How wonderful!’: Woman reunites with birthparents after 18 years
“Unsure of how to tell their parents a baby was on the way, they opted to keep it a secret until I was born in the fall. My birth mother graduated five months pregnant, lived at home with her parents and even shared a room with her older sister. But still, no one knew about me besides my birth father.”
‘Hey Dad, I want to raise your son. I want him as my own,’ I insanely told my dying father. ‘I didn’t want to put that burden on you,’ he said. He died just 18 hours later.’
“‘Adopt him. You’re supposed to be his mom. You’re the one. Tell your dad. Tell him now.’ My dad visited me in dream. I was standing in a white room. He walked towards me holding a baby wrapped in a light blue blanket. He handed him over, smiled and kissed the baby’s head. When I woke up, I knew.”
‘I bet you’re glad someone actually wanted you.’ Black? Adopted by a white, Mennonite family?’: Adopted woman finally accepts she’s ‘innately enough’ after years of torment for ‘mixed-race’ family
“I’m 7 when a stranger approaches, points. ‘Who does she belong to?’ ‘Where are your real parents?’ I’m 12 and a group of boys spit on me, call me racist slurs. My crush’s mom tells me he isn’t allowed to be with people ‘like me.’ I can’t sleep. ‘You’re not really black.’ ‘You can’t really be Mennonite.’ I’m just now learning to be gentle with myself, and my past.”
‘We sound like the beginning of a bad joke. A Black, Transracial, Mennonite Adoptee and a White Mennonite Midwesterner walk into a bar…’
“Eight years ago, I got in a car at midnight to eat bad cheese fries at a sketchy truck stop. I took a chance to be vulnerable with someone I didn’t know. And, it changed my life.”
