Kirjahaku

The last jog I took marked me for life. The home invasion was real. I really did have my hands tied and my eyes covered. My adoptive father really was naked, laying there wondering when the beatings from the men in black masks would end. His back bloodied, his face paler than I'd ever seen before. That one window of escape was too risky. My disabled brother was left behind while my adoptive mother mysteriously escaped the horror of it all. The gun went off and hearing in my ears ceased.

Life, love, community and history all answer the one question all of God's creation is asking and have been asking for years. Those who do not wonder are like objects that have no life or breath. Everyone asks it in a different way but essentially it is asked. Is it ever answered? What Part of me is Saved is a book about my thoughts and feelings. It is a book that includes short stories and scenarios and very blunt observations of who I am and my part of the question. You can laugh, cry, feel angry or hurt but mostly I want you to just sing, and make your song be the answer to the question. My song is!

Two best friends play an exciting game of tennis only to discover truths that are both conscious and unconscious.

Can one person really change the world? Can a child be the source of change in an individual's life? As the book begins with a description of a single prize, Mae chooses to disclose what life was like as a Haitian child and teen living in a country that despises her because of her color and history her culture possesses. All throughout her life she encountered challenges that made her feel small, and insignificant but it was one thread that kept her going. The thread was a baby that came into her life at the age of 13 and changed it forever

Adoption is complicated because it begins with loss. Like an onion, there are so many layers to peel back to get to the heart of each individual story. Children don't ask to be adopted, nor do they ask to have their entire world turned upside-down. Children don't look through a catalog to choose their "perfect" family. Adoptive Parents do. Has your adoption journey been tough? Will there be a light at the end of it? A rainbow? A Unicorn? Did you drink the adoption Kool-Aid?

This workbook, created to be used with the book Rainbows But Not Unicorns: My Adoption Truth, is filled with questions that are meant to help you reflect on your life and the life of your adopted children. Read the questions carefully and do your best to use your answers to bring your family closer together.