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I just came across Dawn Friedman's incredibly moving story about her experience as an adoptive parent in an open adoption.
As an adoptee from a closed adoption, I am familiar with the issues of yearning to know my background, meet my birth parents, fill in the gaps, and in general, have what every other child has in life. Open adoption seemed to be a far better choice and one I wished was available in my day. My adoptive parents also longed to share my life with my birth parents, but were hampered by the system. When they collected me from the hospital at three weeks of age, they had no-one to "take me from" and I had no-one to be taken from. There was none of the grief and guilt that Dawn went through as she witnessed the grief Jessica felt when parted from her child.
For Dawn to share her experience of grief and loss and guilt with us was so important. Adoption, whether closed or open, has its challenges. There will always be grief and loss; denying it makes it worse. Understanding it and sharing it is the way forward.
I thank Dawn for her honesty and her encompassing love for Madison and Jessica.
