Blog

“It’s as though I were living at last in my eyes, as I have always dreamed of doing, and I think then I know why I’ve come here: to see, and so to go out against new things—oh god how easily—like air in a breeze. It’s true there are moments—foolish moments, ecstasy on a tree stump—when I’m all but gone, scattered I like to think like seed…”

William Gass, In the Heart of the Heart of the Country

(Photo: Brad Ewell)

Anne Heffron Anne Heffron

Velcro

Adopted people can be so confusing! You would think they would all be crazy desperate to attach to everyone and everything, and some are, but watch for the ones who say they are fine. Watch for the ones who push away. We do not do well alone in the world.

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Anne Heffron Anne Heffron

A Soundtrack for Gotcha Day

What if whenever adoption papers were signed in court, the music of separation played in the background? Would the smiles and sense of “gotcha!” remain the same?

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Anne Heffron Anne Heffron

Exhaustion and Adoption

What if the weight of sadness/grief/confusion isn’t something for us to escape or run from? What if it’s not our fault we feel this way? What if we are carrying the weight of society’s agreement that it is okay to separate a mother and her child? What if this is our job?

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Anne Heffron Anne Heffron

I Fixed My Dog and Now He Looks Broken

What I’m trying to tell you is adoption is dirty business, and it’s better to keep it that way. The cleaner we try to make it, the less true it becomes. You took someone as your own, but they aren’t really yours.

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Anne Heffron Anne Heffron

My Writing Groups for Adopted People

One of the worst things about not knowing who you are is how hard it is then to have a clear sense of purpose. It’s like being a jellyfish without an ocean. You just…are. And you’re drying out.

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