Healing the Child Within, ACE Scores & Please Hear What I Am Not Saying
On page one of Charles L. Whitfield’s “Healing the Child Within,” a book that has sold millions of copies since it was published in 1987, the author writes: “Denial of the Child Within and the subsequent emergence of a false self or negative ego are particularly common among children and adults who grew up in […]
Adoption Reunion: Why I Celebrate My Conception Day
Through my adoption reunion, I learned that my conception took place along the banks of the San Bernard River in Brazoria, Texas.
2025-2026 Must-Reads: Six Adoption Books That Crack Open Family Secrets and Tell Our Truths, Plus a Bonus Book
Every year, I seek out books that speak our truth loud and proud. I am happy to report that 2025-2026 is delivering five remarkable books jammed full of adoption and DNA surprise truth-telling: Connected: Finding My Truth by Diana Kayla Hochberg, Adopting Privilege: A Memoir of Reinventing my Adoptee Narrative by Dr. Abigail K. Hasberry, Sidework by Sasha Hom, The Adoption Paradox by Jean Kelly Widner, and No Finer Place: A Memoir of DNA, Deception, and Duality by L Michelle Tullier. Plus a bonus book at the end.
Celebrating My DNA Hero on National Adoption Day
It was then that the Nobel Prize-winning biochemist, Dr. Kary Mullis, the brains behind the polymerase chain reaction technique (PCR), the man whose discovery The New York Times described as “dividing biology into the two epochs of before P.C.R. and after P.C.R.,” leaned forward with a question.
“So Patricia, tell me about you,” he asked, as if I was the interesting person in the room.
CUB Retreat 2025: Liminal Loss and the Beauty of Our Community
“Adoption trauma is about liminal loss—loss that is vague, ambiguous, ever-present, and not publicly mourned. But it’s also about liminal hope—an unspoken, against-all-odds hope that sits beside the grief, refusing to let go. My experience at the CUB Retreat 2025 in Atlanta gave me words for what I’ve carried my entire life.”
11 Adoptee Tips for a Successful Adoption Reunion
Adoptee reunion guide: searching for birth parents, managing expectations, setting boundaries, and navigating complex birth family relationships.”
“Grief… A Comedy” – AKA an Epic Love Story from Alison Larkin
“I tell them I understand how terrifying it can be, for someone who has been abandoned to trust in love, but after 50 years, I’ve finally taken the leap, and I have never – ever – been so happy.
Finding Your Birth Family: An Adoptee’s Guide to Adoption Reunion
For many adoptees, the idea of pursuing an adoption reunion feels like a daunting dream. As an adoptee, the decision to search for birth parents and meet your birth family is deeply personal, and is often years in the making. I began my own adoption reunion journey at 38, and like many adoptees in reunion, […]
AWP & More Eggcellent Adoption Books for Your Spring Reading
This past March, I attended my first Association of Writing Professionals (AWP) event in Los Angeles, and came away with a bag of new books by adoptees or with adoption themes, each of which I highlight here in this list of Eggcellent Adoption Books for Spring Reading list. My first AWP, I had many reasons […]
TWICE THE ADOPTION MEMOIR: An Adoptee Twin Doubles Down on Her Adoption Story
TWICE THE ADOPTION MEMOIR: An Adoptee Twin Doubles Down on Her Adoption Story ADOPTION MEMOIR REVIEW by Patricia Knight Meyer “Twice the Family: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Sisterhood” Author Julie Ryan McGue | Available Feb. 4, 2025 | She Writes Press | Memoir / Nonfiction As a small child, I often fantasized […]
2024 Gave Us 15 Powerful Adoption Books: The Hits and Hidden Gems”
As we reflect on 2024’s remarkable contributions to adoption literature, I’m struck by the depth, courage, and compassion these authors bring to our community’s ongoing conversation. From in-depth research to intimate memoirs, these works illuminate different facets of the adoption experience. While some titles on this list have already garnered significant attention, I’ve included others may have slid under your radar. I wish I could say I have read them all, but I can’t. Those I have yet to read will be sliding into 2025 with me.
CUB Retreat 2024: A Transformative Experience for This Adoptee
As an adoptee, I recently had the privilege of attending the CUB (Concerned United Birthparents) Retreat 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri. Having attended two Untangling Our Roots conferences, I had met several first mothers who encouraged me to join them at CUB. I knew this event would be wonderful and healing, as it provides an inclusive space for first parents and adoptees to connect, share, and learn from eachother.
