Resilient: An Adult Adoptee's Journey Finding Family

By Dollie Maria Ross

This book aims to give insight into my time as an adoptee and later in foster care. While I shared a home with another adopted sibling, this book is from my perspective of adoption and foster care as I grew up during the late 1950s through the early 1970s. Adopted at birth, later entering the foster care system, sets the stage for the decades that followed. I have fragmented memories in my account, some containing too little or too much information. What I heard, saw, and felt has been recorded by my writing in numerous notebooks, journals, and legal pads to highlight the decades that were to become the experiences here in this book. Practice Memory appears throughout the book as the title of memories I often tell and retold to others before writing the book. I don't believe anything I write violates anyone's privacy. However, I have kept a few names, except the name of my adopted mother, Dollie, as the same, but resorted to just renaming first names in many cases. I changed a few to initials that seem wise or kind. My upbringing is hardly a secret; therefore, I write with the conviction that the story is my truth. Enclosed are some pictures of my younger self during college and my current self. I have included pictures of my adopted parents, adoption documents where content is blurred or crossed out, and at the back of the book is a glossary of terms that I used throughout the book because of their medical and psychological content. I hope my story resonates with you, evoking a range of emotions from humor to wisdom and, ultimately, a shared experience. By sharing my journey, I aim to underline the profound connection between the human experience and the American experience. Most importantly, I want to remind you that adoptees and foster children are not just statistics but valuable individuals who contribute to our society uniquely. The choice to recognize their worth is in your hands.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0DDXXN4Q3
• ISBN13: 9798336568585
• Release Date: August 2024
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 204 Pages
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.5" x 6.0"