Adoption Across a Lifetime: Why Reform Must Move Beyond the Child-Centric Lens

On April 23, 2026April 23, 2026 By lynellelongIn 1993 Hague Convention, Adjustment and Transition, Adoptee Activism, Adoptee vulnerability, Adoptees Educate, Adoption Agencies, Adoption Education for Professionals, Adoption policy, Adoption questions, adoption reform, Advocacy, Alternatives to Adoption, Complexities in Adoption, Critical Thinking in Adoption, Difficult discussions in adoption, DNA Searching, Family Preservation, Forced separation, Generational trauma, human rights abuses in adoption, identity restoration, Importance of Connections to Origins, intercountry adoption investigation, Intercultural struggles, Is adoption the best option, Justice Routes, legal identity erasure, Lifelong Impacts of Adoption, Not Knowing in Adoption, Origins Search, Politics of Adoption, Post Adoption Support, Racial Mirrors, Racism in Adoption, Reparation in Adoption, reparative justice in adoption, Return to Birth Country, Return to Birth Country, right to identity, Rights in Adoption, Search and Reunion in Adoption, Sense of Belonging, State responsibilities in adoption, Transracial Adoption, Trauma in Adoption, Truth and Reconciliation Commission TRCLeave a comment

Lynelle's opening keynote on intercountry adoption, exploring identity, lifelong impacts, and the urgent need to reform systems beyond a child-centric lens.

Understanding the Grief Adoptees Carry

On April 9, 2026March 12, 2026 By lynellelongIn Adoptee vulnerability, Australia, Complexities in Adoption, Critical Thinking in Adoption, Difficult discussions in adoption, Forced separation, Generational trauma, Gratitude in Adoption, Grief and Loss, Importance of Connections to Origins, Intercultural struggles, Lifelong Impacts of Adoption, Multiple Identities, Not Knowing in Adoption, Origins Search, Racial Mirrors, Racism in Adoption, Search and Reunion in Adoption, Sense of Belonging, Survival mechanisms, Transracial Adoption, Trauma in Adoption, VietnamLeave a comment

Intercountry adoptees often carry deep grief from separation, identity loss, and culture. Understanding begins with witnessing.

When Adoption Erases Sisters

On March 25, 2026March 11, 2026 By Guest BloggerIn Adoptee Activism, Adoptee vulnerability, Adoption Attachment, adoption reform, Advocacy, Compensation to Victims in Adoption, Complexities in Adoption, Critical Thinking in Adoption, Family Preservation, Forced separation, Grief and Loss, human rights abuses in adoption, identity restoration, Illicit Adoption, Impacts to Biological Families, Importance of Connections to Origins, intercountry adoption investigation, Is adoption the best option, Legal Action taken by Adoptees, legal identity erasure, Lifelong Impacts of Adoption, Not Knowing in Adoption, Origins Search, Politics of Adoption, Reparation in Adoption, reparative justice in adoption, Rights in Adoption, Search and Reunion in Adoption, Sri Lanka, State responsibilities in adoption, Suicide, The Netherlands, Transracial Adoption, Trauma in AdoptionLeave a comment

A Sri Lankan adoptee, Sita, in the Netherlands shares why restoring identity and family ties must follow the ending of international adoption.

Love, Relationships, and the Impact of Adoption

On March 11, 2026March 11, 2026 By Guest BloggerIn Abandonment and Rejection, Adoptee Intimate Relationships, Adoptee Support, Adoptee vulnerability, Adoptees Educate, Adoption Attachment, Adoption questions, Australia, Complexities in Adoption, Difficult discussions in adoption, Forced separation, Generational trauma, Gratitude in Adoption, incarcerated adoptee, Lifelong Impacts of Adoption, Not Knowing in Adoption, Origins Search, Post Adoption Support, Racial Mirrors, Racism in Adoption, Sense of Belonging, Sri Lanka, Survival mechanisms, Therapy, Transracial Adoption, Trauma in AdoptionLeave a comment

Jonti reflects on how adoption trauma shaped his relationships, emotional reactions, and journey toward growth.

Agent Orange, Adoption, and the Long Reach of War

On February 21, 2026February 5, 2026 By Guest BloggerIn Adoptee vulnerability, Adoptees Educate, Adoption Attachment, Adoption questions, Advocacy, Birth family trauma, Birth mother choices, Birth Parents Searching, Complexities in Adoption, Critical Thinking in Adoption, Finding biological mother, Forced separation, Generational trauma, Grief and Loss, Impacts to Biological Families, Importance of Connections to Origins, Is adoption the best option, Lifelong Impacts of Adoption, Motherloss, Not Knowing in Adoption, Origins Search, Politics of Adoption, Return to Birth Country, Sense of Belonging, Survival mechanisms, Sweden, Transracial Adoption, Trauma in Adoption, VietnamLeave a comment

Vietnam adoptee Vinh shares his search for family, the impact of Agent Orange, reunion with his mother, and a call to heal trauma and end violence.

Crying out your name

On January 3, 2026January 2, 2026 By Guest BloggerIn Adoptee Artists, Adoptee vulnerability, Birth Parents Searching, Canada, Complexities in Adoption, Critical Thinking in Adoption, Grief and Loss, Haiti, Impacts to Biological Families, Importance of Connections to Origins, Lifelong Impacts of Adoption, Origins Search, Search and Reunion in Adoption, Sense of Belonging, Transracial Adoption, Trauma in Adoption, UncategorizedLeave a comment

A poignant song by Haitian adoptee, Sabine, in Quebec exploring separation, identity, two families, and enduring love between mother and child across distance.

From Silence to Self: An Adoptee’s Song

On December 22, 2025December 22, 2025 By Guest BloggerIn Adoptee Anger, Adoptee Artwork, Adoptee vulnerability, Adoption questions, Adoptive parents, Belgium, Complexities in Adoption, Grief and Loss, Grief and Loss for adoptive parents, Importance of Connections to Origins, Lifelong Impacts of Adoption, Motherloss, Multiple Identities, Not Knowing in Adoption, Origins Search, Search and Reunion in Adoption, Survival mechanisms, Transracial Adoption, Trauma in Adoption, VietnamLeave a comment

Cao shares a song written across decades, exploring search, grief, identity, and healing after loss, silence, and self-acceptance.

Embracing self love in recovery

On December 11, 2025December 11, 2025 By Guest BloggerIn Adoptee Artists, Adoptee Artwork, Adoptee vulnerability, Alcohol and drug addiction, Art therapy, Complexities in Adoption, Difficult discussions in adoption, Germany, Korea, Lifelong Impacts of Adoption, Sense of Belonging, Survival mechanisms, Therapy, Trauma in AdoptionLeave a comment

Jonas Haid, adopted from Sth Korea to Germany, shares his latest artwork and thoughts.

Intercountry adoptees taking legal action and reclaiming our rights

On October 17, 2025April 14, 2026 By lynellelongIn 1993 Hague Convention, Abuse in Adoption, Adoptee Anger, Adoptee vulnerability, Adoption Agencies, Adoption Discharge Annulment, Adoption policy, Adoption questions, adoption reform, Adoptive parents, Advocacy, Australia, Belgium, Birth Parents Searching, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Citizenship in Adoption, Compensation to Victims in Adoption, Complexities in Adoption, Critical Thinking in Adoption, Denmark, Deportation of Adoptees, Difficult discussions in adoption, Ethiopia, Forced separation, France, Generational trauma, Germany, Gratitude in Adoption, Guatemala, Illegal Adoption, Illicit Adoption, Impacts to Biological Families, Importance of Connections to Origins, India, intercountry adoption investigation, Is adoption the best option, Italy, Justice Routes, Korea, Legal Action taken by Adoptees, Lifelong Impacts of Adoption, Multiple Identities, New Zealand, Norway, Origins Search, Politics of Adoption, Post Adoption Support, Reparation in Adoption, Rights in Adoption, Search and Reunion in Adoption, Sense of Belonging, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Transracial Adoption, Trauma in Adoption, Truth and Reconciliation Commission TRC, UK, UN Joint Statement Illegal Adoption, USA, Vietnam, What is an Illegal and Illicit Adoption?Leave a comment

Intercountry adoptees worldwide are taking legal action to expose illegal adoptions, demand truth, and push for justice, accountability, and human rights reform.

Adoptee Advocacy

On September 26, 2025October 2, 2025 By lynellelongIn Adoptee Activism, Adoptee vulnerability, Adoptees Educate, adoption reform, Advocacy, Australia, Complexities in Adoption, Critical Thinking in Adoption, Difficult discussions in adoption, Lifelong Impacts of Adoption, Lived experience leadership, Peer Support, Politics of Adoption, Transracial AdoptionLeave a comment

Lynelle's reflection on turning pain into purpose through adoptee advocacy—healing, empowerment, and transforming systems with collective lived experience.

Abandoned: its meaning and context

On September 4, 2025September 3, 2025 By Guest BloggerIn Abandonment and Rejection, Adoptee Anger, Adoptee Names, Adoptee Search Service Orgs, Adoptee Support, Adoptee vulnerability, Adoption Agencies, Adoption Education for Adoptive Parents, Adoption questions, Birth family trauma, Birth mother choices, Birth Parents Searching, Complexities in Adoption, Critical Thinking in Adoption, Difficult discussions in adoption, DNA Searching, Ethiopia, Exploring adoptive parent journey, Forced separation, Generational trauma, Grief and Loss, Impacts to Biological Families, Importance of Connections to Origins, Is adoption the best option, Lifelong Impacts of Adoption, Multiple Identities, Not Knowing in Adoption, Origins Search, Politics of Adoption, Post Adoption Support, Return to Birth Country, Search and Reunion in Adoption, Sense of Belonging, Survival mechanisms, Transracial Adoption, USALeave a comment

Andrea Kay helps us uncover the truth beyond the label 'abandoned' with DNA searching—bringing hope and rediscovery to Ethiopian adoptees and their families.

Grief, Loss and Finding My Way Back

On August 28, 2025August 27, 2025 By Guest BloggerIn Adjustment and Transition, Adoptee Support, Adoptee vulnerability, Australia, Birth family trauma, Complexities in Adoption, Difficult discussions in adoption, Ethiopia, Grief and Loss, Importance of Connections to Origins, Lifelong Impacts of Adoption, Older Age Adoptions, Origins Search, Peer support, Return to Birth Country, Transracial Adoption, Trauma in AdoptionLeave a comment

Meseret shares about the lifelong grief and loss associated with losing her Ethiopian family and being sent to Australia to start a new life.

Book Review: Somewhere Sisters & Daughters of the Bamboo Grove

On August 3, 2025July 27, 2025 By lynellelongIn Adoptee vulnerability, Adoption Agencies, Adoption Book, Adoption Education for Adoptive Parents, Adoption Education for Professionals, adoption reform, Adoptive parents silence on illegal adoptions, Alternatives to Adoption, Birth family trauma, Birth mother choices, Birth Parents Searching, Birth parents speak out, China, China, Compensation to Victims in Adoption, Complexities in Adoption, Critical Thinking in Adoption, Difficult discussions in adoption, Family Preservation, Forced separation, Generational trauma, Gratitude in Adoption, Grief and Loss, Illegal Adoption, Illicit Adoption, Impacts to Biological Families, Importance of Connections to Origins, Is adoption the best option, Lifelong Impacts of Adoption, Multiple Identities, Not Knowing in Adoption, Origins Search, Politics of Adoption, Religion and Adoption, Rights in Adoption, Search and Reunion in Adoption, Sense of Belonging, Trauma in Adoption, Twins in adoption, USA, VietnamLeave a comment

Lynelle reviews Somewhere Sisters and Daughters of the Bamboo Grove, exploring identity, nature vs. nurture, and the truths of twins separated by intercountry adoption.

Self Reflections

On July 26, 2025August 4, 2025 By Guest BloggerIn Abandonment and Rejection, Adoptee Anger, Adoptee Artists, Adoptee vulnerability, Art therapy, colourblindness in adoption, Complexities in Adoption, Critical Thinking in Adoption, denial gaslighting minimisation by others, Difficult discussions in adoption, Forced separation, Generational trauma, Gratitude in Adoption, Grief and Loss, Importance of Connections to Origins, Lifelong Impacts of Adoption, Multiple Identities, Not Knowing in Adoption, Poetry by Adoptees, Racial Mirrors, Russia, Search and Reunion in Adoption, Sense of Belonging, Transracial Adoption, Trauma in Adoption, USALeave a comment

Hannah reflects as a Russian Asian intercountry adoptee on identity, belonging, loss, and the emotional complexities of adoption.

Intercountry adoptees as transracial immigrants in the USA

On July 16, 2025July 14, 2025 By Guest BloggerIn Adjustment and Transition, Adoptee vulnerability, Citizenship in Adoption, colourblindness in adoption, Complexities in Adoption, Critical Thinking in Adoption, denial gaslighting minimisation by others, Deportation of Adoptees, Difficult discussions in adoption, Generational trauma, Importance of Connections to Origins, India, Is adoption the best option, Late Discovery Adoptee, Lifelong Impacts of Adoption, Not Knowing in Adoption, Older Age Adoptions, Politics of Adoption, Racism in Adoption, Sense of Belonging, Survival mechanisms, Transracial Adoption, Trauma in Adoption, USALeave a comment

Kris shares the realities faced as a transracial intercountry adoptee in the USA, alert for racial profiling and fearing harmful interactions.

Finding Myself and a Purpose

On July 9, 2025July 1, 2025 By Guest BloggerIn Abandonment and Rejection, Abuse in Adoption, Adjustment and Transition, Adoptee Anger, adoptee in prison, Adoptee vulnerability, Adoptees Educate, Alcohol and drug addiction, Complexities in Adoption, Critical Thinking in Adoption, Difficult discussions in adoption, Generational trauma, Grief and Loss, Hong Kong, Importance of Connections to Origins, incarcerated adoptee, Is adoption the best option, Lifelong Impacts of Adoption, New Zealand, Not Knowing in Adoption, Older Age Adoptions, Post Adoption Support, Racial Mirrors, Religion and Adoption, Sense of Belonging, Suicide, Survival mechanisms, Transracial Adoption, Trauma in AdoptionLeave a comment

Mike grew up in New Zealand, adopted from Hong Kong. He struggled as a young child, found his place in the world, and now gives back, to others like him.

What happens after an adoption investigation?

On July 2, 2025July 1, 2025 By Guest BloggerIn Abandonment and Rejection, Adoptee Anger, Adoptee Artists, Adoptee Artwork, Adoptee vulnerability, Adoption Book, adoption reform, Complexities in Adoption, Critical Thinking in Adoption, denial gaslighting minimisation by others, Difficult discussions in adoption, Grief and Loss, Illegal Adoption, Illicit Adoption, Impacts to Biological Families, intercountry adoption investigation, Korea, Lifelong Impacts of Adoption, Origins Search, Politics of Adoption, Reparation in Adoption, South Korea, Suicide, Survival mechanisms, Sweden, Therapy, Transracial Adoption, Trauma in Adoption, Truth and Reconciliation Commission TRC, What is an Illegal and Illicit Adoption?Leave a comment

Lisa shares about the challenges and realities adoptees face after national adoption inquiries and public debates becoming toxic.

Inner tension for adoptees

On June 16, 2025June 17, 2025 By Guest BloggerIn Adoptee vulnerability, Adoptees Educate, Complexities in Adoption, Difficult discussions in adoption, Importance of Connections to Origins, Indonesia, Lifelong Impacts of Adoption, Multiple Identities, Not Knowing in Adoption, Origins Search, Post Adoption Support, Sense of Belonging, Survival mechanisms, The Netherlands, Transracial Adoption, Trauma in AdoptionLeave a comment

Hartini discusses the growth in awareness adoptees navigate as they understand their lost origins and the adaptations learned for survival in adopted world.

What rights should intercountry adoptees have?

On May 30, 2025June 17, 2025 By lynellelongIn 1993 Hague Convention, Adjustment and Transition, Adoptee vulnerability, Adoptees Educate, Adoption Discharge Annulment, Adoption Education for Adoptive Parents, Adoption Education for Professionals, adoption reform, Complexities in Adoption, Critical Thinking in Adoption, Deportation of Adoptees, Difficult discussions in adoption, Forced separation, Generational trauma, Gratitude in Adoption, Hague Special Commission, Illegal Adoption, Illicit Adoption, Impacts to Biological Families, Importance of Connections to Origins, Is adoption the best option, Lifelong Impacts of Adoption, Lived experience leadership, Multiple Identities, Not Knowing in Adoption, Origins Search, Politics of Adoption, Post Adoption Support, Racial Mirrors, Racism in Adoption, Return to Birth Country, Rights in Adoption, Search and Reunion in Adoption, Sense of Belonging, Sexual Abuse in Adoption, Transracial Adoption, Trauma in Adoption, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Lynelle writes about the rights that are to be enshrined in law and practice to create a system that upholds justice, transparency and dignity for every adoptee