Adoption is Many Things
Adoption is many things. While it is often times portrayed as rainbows and unicorns, those that have lived through the experience of placing, being adopted, or even adopting, know otherwise. Adoption is often beautiful, yes. It is also messy, challenging, complicated, and full of all kinds of emotions. And when an unethical agency or lawyer […]
8 Essentials for Ethical Adoptions
Shared Beginnings started in early 2019 out of a desire to see expectant/birth moms treated with dignity and respect and given a voice throughout the adoption process. It is no surprise that our system is broken in many ways and that more needs to be done to protect the vulnerable and the oppressed. One of […]
The Happiest Sad: Part 2
— Excerpt from October 2016 article
“I was induced in January 2006 to ensure their presence at the hospital. That day held the most deep-rooted sadness I have ever felt. She was a beautiful baby. I wasn’t allowed to hold her, but I was able to meet her finally that night. There were many fears from the adoptive family of me bonding with her and changing my mind, but they had no idea that my mind wasn’t allowed to be changed. Upon leaving the hospital a few days later, we all cried and prayed. I was able to kiss her on the head before they drove away with my baby and my heart. The weeks and months that followed are really all a blur. I was adjusting back at home, being home-schooled, and struggling with who I was now. I couldn’t see any of my old friends or have a social life, and that was really hard on me as a person, as well as a teenager. I was suffering, and another decision was made by them to send me away to a Christian boarding school for a year. I think they thought this would help me refocus.”
The Happiest Sad: Part 1
by Brittany Whatley I was 15 when I found out I was pregnant, sometime in July 2005. My parents found out soon after when I accidentally slipped a note into their hands intended for the birth father. In this note, I explained my fears, concerns, and how abortion wasn’t an option for me. When I […]