I hadn’t done a podcast in a few years and I happened to notice in the Fireside Adoptees Facebook group that Melissa Brunetti was looking for fellow adoptees to share their stories for her awesome Mind Your Own Karma Podcast. I knew it was time and this time I did talk about how I was a wrist cutter in my teenage years because it’s a part of who I am.
I share my story, happy childhood, teenage wrist cutting, bullying, never wrecking first contact letters/phone calls, happy reunions, because I know I can help someone else by doing so. Somewhere out there, there may be a teenage girl struggling with bullying and considering picking up a razor. Somewhere out there, there may be an adoptee who wants to find their biological family but is too scared or nervous to do so. Fear of rejection is a theme that rings true with many adoptees. Somewhere there may be person who has given up even checking their Ancestry or My 23&Me accounts because they don’t think they’ll ever get a parent child match. I share my story to help people like that. I advocate for original birth certificates because that document led me to my half sister and my biological mother’s family. I share my story not to boost my own ego, but so that other adoptees will know they are not alone.