Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preliminary Material / Liz DeBetta -- Copyright page / Liz DeBetta -- Introduction Making Space to Heal / Liz DeBetta -- Chapter 1 Rewriting the Truth / Liz DeBetta -- Chapter 2 Expressing the Primal Wound / Liz DeBetta -- Chapter 3 Becoming the Subject / Liz DeBetta -- Chapter 4 Breaking Silences / Liz DeBetta -- Chapter 5 Migrating toward Wholeness / Liz DeBetta -- References / Liz DeBetta -- Index / Liz DeBetta.

We live in a world where conversations about trauma are becoming commonplace and adopted people are using their voices to educate the general public about the effects of maternal separation and genealogical bewilderment. But for many adult adoptees the act of speaking truth to power is still fraught. Personal writing can unlock long held silences and help adult adoptees feel empowered to rewrite their narratives. The need to deconstruct dominant narratives about adoption and its inherent loss and trauma is necessary if we are to reform an institution that has damaged many generations of mothers and children. Because many adoptees do not have access to adoption and trauma competent therapists, writing is an accessible therapeutic modality that can be used to reframe narratives that position adoptees as the object rather than the subject.  Adult Adoptees and Writing to Heal shares the framework and method of using writing as a practice for adult adoptees, therapists, teachers, and researchers interested in learning how to migrate and heal embodied trauma. It analyzes lived experience and the author’s own writing to develop a methodology for moving toward wholeness by writing and speaking the truth of internal adoptee experiences.

English

Description based on print version record.