Hi! My name is Heather Nguyen and I was born sometime in the summer of 1974 at the tail end of the Viet Nam war. I don’t know where I was born or how I came to be found, but I was. I spent the first 9 months of my life in Vietnamese orhpanages before being evacuated with hundreds of other children out of the country during Operation Babylift. I was adopted into a Caucasian family in rural Canada where I was one of only a few non-whites in a 60+ mile radius. Actually, to be truthful – it was more like a few hundred miles.
I’m now living in the large multicultural city of Montreal, Quebec and working as an ESL teacher and editor. I’m a big reader and am a passionate advocate of an ethical diet and proper nutrition as a means of healing indivduals, communities and the planet.
Over the last number of years I have spent a lot of time talking with parents about my experiences growing up transracially adopted and how that has affected me as a child and now as an adult. I am excited to do the same here with Juli and JoLynn and you because it is truly one of the most satisfying things I have ever done.
2 Comments
May 26, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Hi Heather:
I was fortunate enough to attend a talk you gave a few years ago. Having grown up in the same rural area that you are from, I can testify that there was (and still is) virtually no diversity. I can only imagine the difficulty you faced.
As an adoptive parent to two girls from China, I am grateful to adoptees like you, who share personal thoughts and feelings on transracial adoption. Hearing stories like yours, has made me more aware of the struggles my children may face. This insight has shaped many of the decisions my husband and I have made over the last four years, including where our girls go to daycare and where they will go to school, what books and toys we purchase, what community we choose to live in. I am also becoming more aware of the range of feelings that my girls may have over the course of their lives regarding their adoption and their identity, and I am preparing myself to support them in any way I can.
Please continue to talk, and I, for one, will continue to listen.
Sarah
May 27, 2008 at 3:05 am
Hi Sarah,
Nice to hear from you and for your early support of the parents’ corner!
I’m so pleased that the our voices – that is those of adult adoptees – have given you food for thought and have helped shaped some of your decisions. It truly is a lifelong challenge for all of us.
Keep up the good work on your end and we will try on ours!
Heather