Someone Else’s Child: A Performance Autoethnography of Adoption from Three Perspectives

“Autoethnography takes self-narrative from the domains of storytelling and memoir into that of the creation of data and it leads to new knowledge and/or new understanding of areas of old knowledge” (Andrew & Le Rossignol, 2017, p. 226). Through a framework of reconciling the other, this multi-voiced autoethnographic performance co-constructs the adoption experience from three perspectives in three different families: an adult reflecting on her childhood as an adoptee feeling loved, but different; a mother struggling with the ethical and emotional implications of the transnational adoption of her daughter; and a woman united with her previously unknown, biological sister at age 28. In all cases, after spending years negotiating feelings and identities, we formed positive, loving relationships. “Saying you’re adopted demands a conversation” (Ballard, 2013, p. 234). Our project began as a conversation among three colleagues from diverse disciplines with common research interests. After discovering we also shared the adoption experience, we decided that we wanted to engage deeply in this “conversation” together, from our three perspectives, and ultimately, share this profound experience with others. To construct our adoption stories, we used autoethnographic methods of interactive interviewing, co-constructed narrative, reflective writing, and document review (Ellis, 2004) of photos, letters, emails, and calendars. Working individually and collaboratively through biweekly meetings over the course of a semester, we discovered and composed our unique adoption narratives while simultaneously weaving them together. The result is a performance that illustrates the autoethnographic process and our stories