The Pyrenees---Southern France

The Pyrenees---Southern France

Monday, August 18, 2014

Stranger in a Strange Land







       (No, that is not me in the above photo, air-brushed within an inch of my life, resulting in this gorgeousness. It's Paige Adams Strickland...memoir-writer and a sister from another two mothers...)

      If you aren't an adoptee, you don't know what it's like to be a stranger in a strange land. I knew--from toddlerhood on--that I was adopted, and I was loved and doted on. But I also knew I shared nothing genetic with my family, and when I passed by people in the street, I'd wonder...

      
       Is that my birth mother?
       Is that woman a cousin of mine?
       Did that guy know my birth mother? 




  

       Reading Paige Adams Strickland's Akin to the Truth brought back (to me) the black hole full of the unknown.
        Strickland's journey is like a stream of consciousness. One memory bumps into another and into another. She bravely bares the dysfunction of her family, she shares her lovely grandmothers with the world, and admitted--through her actions--that she was always striving to make her parents proud.
        The tiny tidbits tossed to the reader, of life growing up in the 60's and 70's, will bring the reader back in time. The television shows. The songs. The clothes. The sayings. (My father said, "Hell's bells" as well, just like Paige's. And my dad has his "cocktail hour" every evening, too.)
              Like every good writer, Paige Adams Strickland makes us wait until her story is almost finished...before we find out what we are desperate to find out. Does she find her biological parents? Does she discontinue the search, because rooting around in the unknown sometimes gets messy? Does she get rejected by her birth mother or her birth father? 
          You'll have to read the book to find out...
          At the very end, in the last two paragraphs, Strickland gives us something extra-satisfying. In those final lines that flow like poetry, she's found her rhythm as a writer and as a daughter and a woman. 
          And at the very end, it's also apparent: Paige Adams Strickland has another story to tell...a story that picks up where she's left off in Akin to the Truth.

          Via a drawing, an electronic version of Akin to the Truth will be given away on August 28. Leave a comment...and keep your fingers crossed. 






A description of the book:  In 1961, adoption was still one of those private and taboo topics. Not much identifying information was provided for adoptive families or for birth parents by the agencies. In Ohio, records were sealed forever. Adoptees and birth mothers were supposed to be thankful for the adoptive family and never look back. Adoptive parents thought their deal was signed and sealed.

As a child and teenager, growing up adopted was like a Scarlet Letter "A" if anyone ever found out the truth. At least, that's the way author, Paige Strickland felt as she muddled through social situations and other interpersonal relations. She always loved her adoptive family, but realized she wanted not just more, but what other "regular born" people had: real roots, accurate health history and authentic family lore. She wanted freedom from shame, more dignity, authenticity and a full identity.

Then, through random chance, a local TV talk show in 1987 revealed that certain records were open if you were born before 1964 in the state of Ohio, and the author's life would never be the same after that program.

During her quest, (pre computer), for her identity, her adoptive father struggled with his own self image and sense of belonging, so both father and daughter embarked on separate and unique parallel missions to find what was missing in their lives.

This is the story of how being adopted affected Paige growing up in the 1960s, 70s and early 80s. It shows how one adoptee has embraced and learned to view family more globally. She tells the saga of a loving but dysfunctional family of both blood and choice, trying to cope with typical and not so typical life alterations during the decades of social revolution and free love. She learns that the most fascinating family stories are discovered by those passionate enough to question and search.

Paige Adams Strickland is a teacher and writer from Cincinnati, Ohio. She is married with two daughters. 
 




About the Author: Paige Adams Strickland, a teacher and writer from Cincinnati, Ohio, is married with two daughters. Her first book, Akin to the Truth: A Memoir of Adoption and Identity, is about growing up in the 1960s-80s (Baby-Scoop Era) and searching for her first identity. It is also the story of her adoptive family and in particular her father’s struggles to figure out his place in the world while Paige strives to find hers. After hours she enjoys family and friends, pets, reading, Zumba ™ Fitness, gardening and baseball.

22 comments:

  1. Sioux, Thanks so much for hosting me and for that terrific review! P

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is very timely for me. Yes, throw my name in your book hat as I want to read this one way or another. I am also sending to someone who needs to read it now...adoptee on my family tree who is facing hard times.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for introducing Paige to us, Sioux. Her story sounds compelling. Fingers crossed. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sounds like a fascinating book. I'm not very familiar with adoptees' struggles but I love stories about real people and the lives we lead. Thanks for telling us about this book.

    And, Sioux, I hope you know that the Local Author Open House at the M-K Library is taking reservations now for the Nov. event. If you need info, email me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Marcia--I got an email, and have already responded. Perhaps we will be closer together this year? It would be nice to chat...

      And you're welcome. Yeah, we adoptees--the only thing we struggle with is keeping our capes nice and neat, and making sure our tights are not bunching up, 'cause we have super powers. ;)

      Delete
  5. That sounds like something I'd enjoy. It's the same time period I grew up. Don't enter me in the drawing, though, because I don't read electronically. Well, except for blogging, of course.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Val--Yes, reading about another writer's take on the same timeframe I grew up in--it IS fascinating. It also allows me to go down memory lane...

      Delete
  6. I think it's almost primordial, that need to know where you came from...and yet, it's what we make of ourselves, in the end, that seems to make all the difference.

    You've done awfully well, Sioux!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cathy--It IS such a basic need, but nurture comes into play as well and even a third force--which is what you commented about...that inner core.

      Thanks, Cathy. That was a sweet thing to say.

      Delete
    2. It's most definitely a mix things which make us ourselves. Thanks, Cathy. P.

      Delete
  7. Paige's book sounds fascinating, and I would love to read it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Linda--I think it was fascinating, but then I was drawn to it because of the adoption connection...

      Delete
  8. Hi Sioux,
    I can't imagine what it's like to be adopted, but I can say that you are an amazing woman and writer. Paige's book sounds fascinating.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I wanted to comment on this post so that I can be added to the drawing! Ha. But loved all your other posts too - the ones that I haven't been reading (or anyone else's for that matter) as I seemed to have left the 'grid' and now I'm catching up. Love the writing tools and your positive comments about Ferguson. I lived there in my teenage years, near Wabash Park and walked to the "downtown" area nearly every day where I worked. I love how the downtown area has grown and love their Farmer's market too! Yes, I heard someone in the media call it the ghetto. I was like, What? You can't believe everything your hear or read.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your comments. I appreciate you taking the time to stop by...