Award-winning Minnesota author, Shannon Gibney, joins Marti and Erin Erickson of Mom Enough® for a captivating discussion on her latest book — a speculative memoir of transracial adoption. The Girl I am, Was, and Never Will Be masterfully weaves together the story of Gibney's life as a transracial adoptee with an imagined tale of her life had she not been placed for adoption. The resulting braided story brings to light the unique and often painful challenges of being a transracial adoptee, and adds to the public discourse on adoption in a beautiful way.

 

Shannon Gibney gives voice to the complex emotions experienced by adoptees and explores the "cultural losses" associated with being a transracial adoptee. She gives listeners an inside perspective into her writing process and how this book affected her as a mother. Tune in to this moving and fascinating conversation and learn more about Gibney's incredibly creative memoir and personal story.

 

WHAT WAS MOST IMPACTFUL TO YOU IN GIBNEY'S STORY OF TRANSRACIAL ADOPTION? 

How can people make sense of their lives when there are gaps in their knowledge about personal, family, or ancestral history? What might you imagine as an alternate reality to your life now or in the past, or your family history? How might the process of imagining a different story for your life help you better understand your life now?

 

 

WANT TO HEAR MORE ON ADOPTION?

❉ MOTHERHOOD SO WHITE: A DISCUSSION ON RACE, ADOPTION, AND PARENTING IN TODAY’S WORLD. As a single Black woman who chose to become a mother through adoption, author Nefertiti Austin took to writing her own experiences in her critically acclaimed memoir, Motherhood So White: A Memoir of Race, Gender and Parenting in America. Tune in to this Mom Enough episode as Austin shares her moving and empowering journey to and through motherhood.

 

❉ A BIRTH MOTHER’S STORY OF LOVE, HOPE & RESPECT THROUGH OPEN ADOPTION. When Christine Bauer was an 18-year-old college student just beginning pursuit of her educational goals and life dreams, she didn’t expect to confront what she refers to as “those three words” – “You are pregnant!” Now, decades later, Chris has used Those Three Words as the title of an eloquent book that tells the story of her choice to place her baby for open adoption and the remarkable relationships that have developed over the years among everyone involved. You will be touched by this hopeful story of love and choice.