“Birthdays: they happen every year. For the adoptee, this could be a celebration or it could be traumatic. I first recognized the parallel between celebration and painful trauma when I was 18 years old, turning 19, and a freshman in college. That was a pivotal year for me in shaping my identity and deciding to become a Christian (yes, God chose me). The celebration is being surrounded by friends and family for the year that I was born. The trauma is thinking about my biological mother, my birth country, and my strained relationship with my brother.”
