"Therapy is a real tool and resource." - J'ai Brown, Black Same Race Adoptee
J'ai Brown's parents struggled to conceive. Then, SURPRISE! Two years after adopting J'ai, they went on to conceive FIVE children (including a set of twins). A self-described "daddy's girl," J'ai has close relationships with her father and all of her siblings. The relationship with her mother, however, has been much more complicated, with childhood memories of her mother threatening to send her back or saying their family had five children instead of six.
Being intentional and deliberate about working through the impact of the exclusion she felt as a child has been life changing. With the support of Black, adoption trauma informed therapists, J'ai has stepped into owning her voice and her story. "I want to use my experience, my voice to be a blessing to other adoptees.... I want to use my experience to be that person that I did not have growing up."
This healing journey is not only for the little girl that she was, but also for the little girl that she and her husband are raising. "I got a little queen, a young queen that I'm raising and I don't want her to have the experience of not feeling like she's enough, not feeling valued, not feeling seen and heard."
In the midst of her hopeful search to one day connect with biological family, J'ai is leaning on her faith as she continues to define and embrace all the beautiful pieces of herself.
SHOW NOTES
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- Black to the Beginning on Instagram
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- J'ai Brown on Instagram @jlb_piecesofme
RECOMMENDED ADOPTION RESOURCES
- Therapy for Black Girls
- LISTEN: Voices of African American adoptees on The Black Adoption Podcast
- Black Adoptee Support Group on Instagram @blackadopteesupportgroup
- REQUIRED READING: Black to the Beginning Reads Bookshop - A carefully curated list of #BTTBreads...for the culture!
SUPPORT THE BLACK ADOPTION PODCAST
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