My Adopted Life

By Lauren Lynne

In My Adopted Life, author Lauren Lynne tells her adoption story from her perspective. She shares lessons, questions, and letters written by her and her birth family. Through these letters, Lauren learned answers to the questions that had been with her a long time: how her birth parents met, what her birth mothers pregnancy was like, how she made decisions regarding the adoption, and what she had to sacrifice to ensure that Lauren would be placed with the best family possible. Knowing this information helped Lauren to better understand herself and to know that her adopted family is her true family and that love determines all things.

In this personal narrative, a young woman shares the story of her life, exploring the details of her adoption and getting to know her birth parents.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Sep 15, 2016
• ISBN: 9781480836242

Lauren Lynne

Lauren Lynne is a former elementary, middle, and high school teacher in the US. She now works as an Educational Knowledge and Technical Services Consultant. She earned MS degrees in both Science Education and Curriculum and Instruction. She has published six highly-rated young adult novels and has multiple projects in the works. When Lauren isn’t chasing her goofy golden retriever around, she’s spending time with her family, writing, reading, gardening, or hiking around Mt. Hood, the Columbia River Gorge, or the Oregon Coast with her camera. Yep, she loves to take pictures of scenery. Although not very adventurous in real life, she loves suspense, intrigue, and action when it comes to reading, writing, and film.

Book preview

Copyright © 2016 Lauren Lynne.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Archway Publishing

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.archwaypublishing.com

1 [phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4808-3623-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-3624-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016914009

Archway Publishing rev. date: 09/14/2016

Contents

Chapter 1: Wishes Made, Hope is Curious

Chapter 2: My Childhood

Chapter 3: High School

Chapter 4: The First Few Answers

Chapter 5: Grandma

Chapter 6: My Eighteenth Birthday

Chapter 7: Josephine’s Letter to Me

Chapter 8: Owen’s Letter to Me

Chapter 9: Over the Phone

Chapter 10: Sent and Received

Chapter 11: If I Could Talk to Josephine…

Chapter 12: High School Senior Year Lessons

Chapter 13: How Do You Define Family from Birth Family?

Chapter 14: How Do You Define Birth Mother to an Adopted Mother?

Chapter 15: Who Named Me?

Chapter 16: What My Adoption Led Me To

Chapter 17: Love Is Forever, Decisions Are Everyday

Chapter 18: Letters from Birth Family

Chapter 19: What Is Adoption and Its Terms

Chapter 20: The Adoption Process

Summary

This is a true story about my life as an adopted child. It contains personal thoughts and feelings about my adopted parents and why my birth mother decided to give me up for adoption. I also have personal pictures and multiple letters written to me by my birth parents and their families over eighteen years that I have included throughout the story. I know you’re probably thinking there are a million kids that have stories, but how many have documented their thoughts into a book? How many kids have received over twelve letters and pictures?

My story explains in many occasions how love conquers all things, that being related by blood is less important than being loved by the people, my true family who have been there, supported me and have done everything possible to ensure to provide a life of love, happiness, experiences and support. It continues with the story of how my birth parents met, experiences my birth mother had throughout her pregnancy, the decisions she had to make, things she had to give up and put aside to ensure that I would be placed with the best family possible. I also included questions I still wish to know. Throughout the book there are lessons in every chapter about adoption and how much love went into giving me up. It doesn’t matter if you do or don’t look like your adopted family. Love determines all things, and in that love I was given a better life with a family that could give me more opportunity and love, than my birth mother ever could. I know that I am one lucky girl that is loved very much by both families. I know that this was where I was meant to be in life.

I think it’s important to connect to other adopted children and families to let them know, just how special we are. This book is an opportunity for all adopted children to read and know just how lucky and special they are to be adopted. This is a powerful story to every kid that is adopted. It expresses feelings of love, loss, hope, happiness, anxiety, fear, depression and relief.

Prologue

I have dreamed about meeting my birth mother my whole life. I have been writing down thoughts and experiences for years hoping that one day they would make sense to become a book.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my parents, sister, grandmother and good friend, Emily Jamison for their love and support throughout my life.

I would like to thank Nick Hondrum for helping me realize in order to write a great book, it is imperative to get my thoughts down on paper without the worry of organization. I would also like to thank my editor, Ms. Postlethwaite for taking the time to edit my manuscript.

I would like to thank my mother for letting me tell her story of the adoption process.

Lastly, I would like to thank my birth parents and their families for all of the letters and pictures they sent to me over the years which helped me write the book.

Chapter 1

Wishes Made, Hope is Curious

Every birthday I would wish for the same thing: to meet my birth mother, to be able to find the answers I wanted to know. I’ve come to realize that this is not a wish, it’s a decision, and it’s not just mine. My birth mother and I live completely different lives. A relationship is a two-way street, and I will have to respect her decision, just as she will have to accept mine.

My parents told me that I was adopted at the age of six. I don’t understand how I was able to grasp exactly what the word adoption meant.

My first wish to meet my birth mother was on my eighth birthday. My mother planned a butterfly themed party. It was awesome. She even bought colorful wings for all my friends to wear. My birthday cake was made from scratch and uniquely creative. When it was time for cake, I was so excited to make my wish on my blue and pink butterfly cake that one day, I could meet my birth mother.

I want to know who my birth parents are. Why I was given up for adoption?

My curiosity about being adopted is much more than just the question above, it’s about understanding why I was given up to the family I was adopted into. The questions that I am curious about aren’t difficult, but without communication from my birth parents, getting the answers is difficult.

My birth wasn’t planned or expected, but I am here now and have a lot of questions.

What are the answers behind these questions?

Chapter 2

My Childhood

Growing up in this whole new world with people that I’m not related to by blood, but related to by love is truly extraordinary.

My birthmother, Josephine Marie was able to give me a better life that led me to amazing experience through my personal life and in my education.

From birth to age three, my speech was delayed. I would not respond to people when they would talk to me, even if they said my name. At first, my parents thought I was just being stubborn, but that wasn’t the case.

Not being related to my family biologically