Adoption Trauma

I was four months old when I was adopted, taken from an orphanage and placed into what was supposed to be a loving family. But love had conditions. Survival had rules. And silence was the price of staying. By sixteen, I had already learned how to disappear—into alcohol, into drugs, into the arms of men who didn’t care if I made it out alive. By eighteen, I was a mother, barely keeping my head above water, raising a child while still a child myself. When I got pregnant again at twenty-one, I knew one thing for sure: I wasn’t going to drag another innocent life into my chaos.

Through Adopted Eyes explores the world of adoption from the viewpoint of adoptees. Russian adoptee Elena S. Hall shares her own story and thoughts on the subject of adoption in addition to interviews from other adoptees of different ages, heritages, and perspectives. Whether you are an adoptive parent, curious about adoption, or an adoptee yourself, this unique collection of memoirs provides real insight into lives directly impacted by adoption.

Becky Watson learned early that trust is a weapon and secrets are survival. From foster homes to abandoned backroads, she and her childhood confidant Orion have buried more than just memories. Now, as a college freshman, Becky’s harboring her most dangerous secret yet: her newborn daughter, Janie.

Have you ever wondered what really goes on in the hearts and minds of foster children? How do they cope with the trauma of separation, the uncertainty of their future, and the struggle to find their place in the world? The Invisible Scars pulls back the curtain on these often-overlooked aspects of the foster care experience, offering listeners a unique understanding of the emotional journey of foster youth.

Finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in Lesbian Memoir/Biography In this searing and uplifting memoir, a young Black queer woman fresh out of college adopts her baby brother after their incarcerated mother dies, determined to create the kind of family she never had. Growing up, Nikkya...

For all women looking to find “hope in a hopeless world and bravery in an age that seems to lack it,” comes a searing memoir by Shannon Dingle, a writer and disability advocate who has navigated loss, trauma, abuse, spiritual reawakening, and deep pain—and come out the other side still...