By Dr. Adam Anthony
Author’s Note: I wrote this piece from a place of healing and purpose — to honor the complexity of adoption, faith, and storytelling. Every adoptee’s story is sacred. Every family’s story is layered. And between them lies the work of truth-telling, grace, and growth.
May we keep creating spaces where both truth and love can coexist.

***

I asked my adoptive mom if I was mentioned in her book.
Her reply was short: “No names.”

Seeing how vague and unclear that was, I politely asked if I could read her book before it launched. In one of the chapters from her advanced copy, she’d written, “I would adopt before marriage.” Naturally, that led me to believe I might be featured in some way.

It didn’t sound harmless to me—it raised a small red flag.
Instead of being anxious or defensive, I did what felt most respectful: I asked for clarity.

Her response was “no.”

Then she went on to explain that this was her personal story—her journey of faith and purpose—and that what God placed in her to do would be told in her testimony. The simple question somehow became an accusation. She flipped it back on me, as though I was wrong for even asking.

What started as a sincere show of support for her as a new author quickly became a moment that revealed deeper cracks in our relationship. As an adoptive son, I’ve learned that our stories are deeply intertwined—but also, they are not the same.

My identity, my story, my truth still belong to me.

By Taya Reed
When Cher sings, “If I Could Turn Back Time,” the lyrics stir something deep in me. As an adoptee, those words often carry layers of longing, grief, and regret. I’ve felt this in conversations with my birth parents—moments where we circled around what could have been and entered what I call the “what-iffing” phase of reunion.
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Adoption is not only about the life we live; it’s also about the life we imagine we might have lived. Betty Jean Lifton describes this as the Ghost Kingdom—a psychological space where adoptees grapple with missing pieces of their history, lost relationships, and the haunting question of what if.