A STORY FOR ADOPTEES, BY AN ADOPTEE

“I often felt a deep sense of isolation-a feeling that my experience was somehow differest and rarely reflected in the world around me,” Haas described when asked about her experience growing up as an adoptee. It was this feeling that encouraged her to start writing A Heart That Holds It All. She was inspired by the lack of adoptee stories to write one of her own that amplified the journeys of adoptees and navigates the emotions that society doesn’t recognize like grief, sadness, anger, and longing. Her hope in writing this book is that adoptees can see themselves represented to help them feel less alone.

When asked about what writing The Heart Holds It All meant to Haas, she described how it was a transformative experience for her. She used the process to face some of the parts of her experience that she hadn’t before. She mentioned honoring the joy and pain that come with being an adoptee while treating those feelings with compassion.

She continued describing that her greatest hope would be for one young adoptee to feel validated and feel less alone.

“Representation in books is powerful — it can be the difference between feeling invisible and feeling truly seen.”

Haas shared how important it can be to be truly seen as an adoptee in counseling. She described feeling isolated and not fully seen until meeting an adoption competent counselor. She now uses bibliotherapy (a therapy with the use of creative arts like books at the forefront) to help children process emotions and feel less alone.

Writing A Heart That Holds It All and Haas’ own experiences as an adoptee have fueled her passion for advocacy and shaped her counseling approach. She uses diverse and representative literature in her own counseling sessions to help children feel represented.

In relation to her counseling work, she says, “Ultimately, my hope is that by sharing my story and the stories of others, I can help create a world where every kid I work with feels empowered, supported, and seen for all that they are.”

“If I could speak directly to my younger self reading this book, I would remind her that every feeling she has is real and important, even if the people around her don’t always understand or know what to say. You never need to feel guilty for wondering where you come from or for asking questions about your story. Curiosity is a sign of your courage and your desire to understand yourself more fully. You are allowed to seek answers, to feel all the feelings that come with your journey, and to know that you are never alone in those questions.”

As a final note about her story, she added, “More than anything, I want every reader — adoptee or not — to walk away knowing that self-acceptance and emotional support are gifts we can offer ourselves and each other.”