An Adoptee Adopts

From the Huffington Post, an article about Bert Ballard, adopted from Vietnam; author of a book for and by teen adoptees, Pieces of Me, Who Do I Want to Be?; and the writing part of Adopted the Comic:

This spring, Bert and Sarah Ballard hope to fly to Vietnam to pick up the little boy they plan to adopt. In the three years since they began the adoption process, the couple, who already have two biological daughters, have experienced the excitement, emotional upheaval, and bureaucratic setbacks typical for adoptive families. In one significant way, though, the Ballards' experience has been unusual.

Bert Ballard is himself an adoptee.

* * *

As the trans-national adoptees of the '50s, '60s, and '70s mature, they have come to add new, and often heated, voices to the debate over the ethics of adoption. They do not, however, offer a unified perspective on the subject. While many adoptees express satisfaction about their upbringing, others see their adoption as a crime that
tore them from their vulnerable birth families. [actually I'm not so sure those are conflicting perspectives! ms]

Ballard's view on the subject lies somewhere in between, and explains, in some ways, his own reason for adopting now.

Interesting person, interesting story -- go read the whole thing! Just ignore the author's ignorant theme that whether an adoptee is for or against international adoption is about whether they had a happy childhood. . . .