Sign in with Facebook
Janine Myung Ja’s Followers (575)
1,627 books
|
4,987 friends
438 books
|
54 friends
868 books
|
157 friends
1,877 books
|
150 friends
166,220 books
|
4,029 friends
948 books
|
64 friends
354 books
|
495 friends
700 books
|
689 friends
More friends…
Janine Myung Ja
Goodreads Author
Born
in Seoul
Website
Genre
Member Since
January 2017
To ask
Janine Myung Ja
questions,
please sign up.
Janine Myung Ja hasn't written any blog posts yet.
“We don't have adoption issues, we have an issue with adoption.”
― Adoptionland: From Orphans to Activists
― Adoptionland: From Orphans to Activists
“Yes, we've given them the benefit of the doubt. But, isn't it time (for once in our lives) to give ourselves the benefit of the doubt?”
― Adoption Stories
― Adoption Stories
“There comes a point in time when we must acknowledge that we are more than our nationality, and we are bigger than our ethnicity. There comes a time when we have an aha moment. What is that aha moment? It's sort of like a revelation. A revelation is when we put all the pieces together to see the bigger picture. When we see the bigger picture, we can see ourselves through the realm of reality and truth. The truth is we belong to a blood family that is connected to a tribal community, and this community is big and bright and bold with life, and we should be proud of the ties to blood that each of us has. We should not play small and reduce our human nature—for we are all connected. We belong to something bigger and more expansive. We belong to life itself. Always remember that you are more than an American (as wonderfully dramatic as that can be). Together, we make up the collective of great. ...And this is good.”
― Adoption Stories
― Adoption Stories
Goodreads Librarians Group
— 293049 members
— last activity 2 minutes ago
Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra ...more
The essays collected here are fierce, even hard to read as a first mother, for I know some of my own daughter's emotions are buried in them somewhere, though she was not adopted out of country. Adoptionland is a valuable addition to the literature about adoption that portrays it as less than simply a wonderful act that is commemorated with special jewelry. Even the cover art--at first seemingly innocuous--highlights the obvious difference between being raised by your own kind and genetic strangers. The very blonde woman whose image is repeated several times is almost certainly not the original mother of the infant she is holding, an infant with black, spiky hair.
A note in the book states that some of the names have been changed to remain anonymity, and that the book's purpose "is to give validation to, and to voice concern for, families who have been separated by adoption." It succeeds brilliantly. Anyone considering adoption--especially adopting from another country--should read this book. I cannot praise this book enough.