The one thing I wanted to hear as an adopted child in an all white family during a troubled time of defining who I was and where I belonged was:
"You are different. You come from a different country, rich with heritage and the spirits of your ancestors. You carry that within your soul, and in your appearance. You were an orphan. It is tragic to lose your mother, father and the brothers, sisters you may have. You carry a sorrow of war and separation like those in your country of birth. You need time to grieve.
You were adopted by us. The world is a wide and varied place. You now live with us and we love each other, love having no boundaries. Others may never learn this, or understand it. It is a gift to treasure if one is lucky enough to know this. A gift to all of us.
Because we love, the hardest road is over. You have our support to explore your heritage and share in ours. It is also yours. You have our support to one day search for your biological family. We are also your family. We don't expect you to be like us. We want you to be yourself, but you are never by yourself. There are many people adopted just like you and we will help you meet them."
By Indigo Williams (excerpt from book: Adoption Parenting)
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