Letters to the Editor

Nov. 17, 1998

I am having a hard time with the attitude about international adoptions in the Spring/Summer
Bastard Quarterly. I have firsthand experience, as four of my ten grandchildren are international
adoptees. Just now, while writing this, I had to stop to figure out which ones they were. Our
family ranges in color from a very dark girl from India to a very white albino. When our
neighbors' children join us, we have children of five different races playing in a harmony that I
never saw in my youth.

In 1930, I was born in a home for unwed mothers, then later adopted through a well known
organization. All information about my birth family was kept from me, even the fact that my
mother had returned to nurse me, as I was unable to digest formula. The couple that adopted me
were not suited to have children and never considered me as their child, or my children as their
grandchildren. They both even spoke of their siblings' children being their only relatives when
we visited them before they passed away. I remember as a child hiding in bed and saying to myself,
"Somewhere, somebody loves me." When I was in my fifties, I found that somebody did love
and care about me. Things were a lot different in the thirties for an unwed mother.

Two of our grandchildren have siblings that were adopted, and maintain contact with them and
their families in India. They all live on a dairy farm with two sets of grandparents nearby,
and go to school in a small town that could care less that they have a German-sounding last
name. The community is a small country town, but it sure has a great big heart to welcome and
love these children as they would their own.

Donald C. Brown, Washington

Dear Mr. Brown,

The intention of the international section was not to malign international adoption, but rather to
present valid perspectives which are not generally covered in the mainstream media.
In the call for materials, I solicited articles on any aspect of international adoption, provided that it was
from an adoptee's perspective. The selection published represented the most well-written and compellingly researched of the submissions. We still welcome perspectives on this issue, and would gladly publish an upbeat portrayal of the cross-cultural adoptee experience. I'm still hoping to hear from some of the adoptees in BN whom I know are also parents of internationally adopted children. It is wonderful to hear that your grandchildren are so well-
adjusted and accepted in their community. Enjoy them!

All the best to you,

Damsel Plum

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