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| Image credit: sunsetmoment.wordpress.com |
First, please tell us a bit more about yourself (name, age, where you live, what led you to making an adoption plan, and anything else you feel comfortable sharing).
My blog handle is Susie Book; I’m twenty-nine, and I live in California. I’m a married Catholic lady. I placed my firstborn son for adoption, am raising my second, and am now expecting my third—all are full biological siblings, and I suspect that all will be boys.
When and why did you begin blogging?
I started blogging in September 2009, when my placed son Cricket was nine months old—I was incredibly angry about the adoption, and needed a place to talk about what I was going through. I didn’t know anyone connected to adoption in real life except my husband, my son, and his mothers; I was talking my husband’s ear off, but it wasn’t enough, and Cricket’s moms and I don’t have that kind of relationship.
Tell us more about the title of your blog, Endure for a Night." Why did you choose it?
It’s biblical: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5) I knew that things had to get better, that I couldn’t be in deep grief forever—and I chose the blog title to reflect that. When my second son, Joey, was born, I was able to blog that Joey came in the morning early afternoon. I’m no longer in crisis mode, which is good, but I am also coming to accept that the “night” may continue for many years to come.
Has the response to your posts been mostly positive, mostly negative, or a mix of both?
The responses have mostly been positive. I’m in an odd sort of middle-ish position; I absolutely do not advocate for adoption, and think that in my case it was a terrible mistake. I’m in favor of family preservation generally, but at the same time, I think that women have the right to choose adoption, and that it can be the right choice for some people. At any rate, I am entirely in favor of adoption reform.
Most of the people who read my blog are adoptive parents, and I think they appreciate the fact that while I don’t have a good relationship with Cricket’s moms, I respect them and their parenthood.
What post on your blog do you consider a “must read” for people visiting your blog for the first time? Or what post(s) from your blog is (or are) your favorite(s) and why?
One of my favorites is a pretty angry post, "Smash the Machine, Win a Prize." I got both negative and positive reactions to this post, but I’m glad that I put it up: I meant what I said and I said what I meant, and it’s important to me that I’m able to claim my blog as my own space. On EfaN, I don’t want to worry about what people will think.
Do you have any advice for someone thinking of starting their own blog?
Think about what will happen when your parents, or your boyfriend, or your kid’s adoptive parents find it—really, the same advice I’d give to someone considering making pornography. If you’re going to reveal yourself publicly, think about what it will be like to have your father/your son’s father/your son’s adoptive father see the you on your blog. You may want to decide against; you may want to wear a mask (as I do); or you may be perfectly comfortable baring all. But figure out which camp you’re in before you post!
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