Hi Also-Known-As family,
As I look back on November and International Adoptee Awareness Month, I continue to be amazed at the strength that lies within this community. Listening and learning from adoptees across the diaspora this month and all year round, has been a gift. Also-Known-As put together some NAAM content on our Instagram, and we welcome you to check it out here.
Last month I also had the privilege to attend the inaugural Adoptee Healing Arts Retreat co-hosted by 3 Also-Known-As community members, Anna Grunström, Lynne Connor and Heather Gittens (who also serves on our Advisory Committee). During this retreat 13 international and domestic transracial adoptees with roots across 8+ countries came together from across the U.S. for 2 full days. As I reflect on my intentions and overall experience, I feel so much gratitude that in this shared sacred space with fellow adoptees, I was able to equally give and receive powerful energy towards more healing and openness. Through different healing modalities such as, body-mind-movement, Reiki, creative writing, drumming and singing there was a lot of reflection on our unique journeys and connection to ancestors. It reminded me of ways that our ancestral spirits may show up within and around each of us; and how those who have come before us many generations prior may continue to help guide us and support us as we navigate the world.
As we kick off December, ‘tis also the season for a vast array of emotions. I hope that this holiday season you’re able to find moments of reprieve, restoration and comfort amongst loved ones whether near or far as we transition to a new calendar year soon. If you haven’t been to an event yet in 2023, it’s not too late! We hope to rejoice with you at the annual holiday party. Alternatively, we look forward to being in collective community in 2024!
Warmest,
Lindsay Geier AKA 涂婷
Also-Known-As November 2023 Family Portrait event captured by Gia Han
Annual Holiday Party: Friday, December 8th
Join us for a night of gathering, delicious food, raffles and karaoke as we raise a glass to 2023. Come one, come all! Everyone is welcome. Whether it's your first holiday party or your 28th, we're excited to get in the festive spirit with you.
Where: Karaoke City (22 W 32nd Street. 7th Floor. New York, NY 10001)
Time: 6:00pm-9:00pm
Food Catered by Bulbap Grill.
Two private karaoke rooms.
RSVP: Required to help us plan effectively! Click here to register!Cost: Free for members | $45 for non-members Payment options include: Paypal or Venmo (@also-known-as) Not a member yet? Join us.
Let’s ring (and sing) in the new year. You’re not going to want to miss this one!Mental Health Check-In & Therapy 101: Wednesday, January 24th
It’s okay to not be okay. Let’s start the year off by making mental health a priority. In this educational forum event, several adoptee mental health professionals will share their advice for checking in with yourself, seeking out support through therapy and community, and overcoming some of the most common obstacles to finding an adoptee-sensitive therapist—then getting the most out of the counseling experience. Together, we’ll create a safe space to recognize and validate challenging emotions specific to adoptees and discuss healthy ways to move forward. Save the date: Wednesday, January 24, 2023Details: In-person & virtual attendees welcome, more info to come!Community NewsTake Me Home
Liz Sargent (@lizziesarge / @take_me_home_film) is a Korean-American adoptee whose award-winning work explores themes of adoption, disability, and family. As a writer-director, she incorporates her background as a choreographer into visual storytelling that channels complex human emotions that are an extension of her experience as the middle child of eleven and recognize her intersectional identity.
Her film TAKE ME HOME won the Julia S. Gouw Fellowship with CAPE and Janet Yang Productions, a Reel Sisters Fellowship, Asian Women Giving Circle grant and raised 30K on Kickstarter. Festivals: Sundance Santa Barbara IFF, SXSW, with Academy Qualifying wins at LAAPFF Golden Reel Best Short & deadCenter Film Festival Special Grand Jury Best Film. TAKE ME HOME has been reviewed by both Awards Daily and Forbes.
TAKE ME HOME will be screened on Tuesday, December 5th at 7:00pm with a Q+A to follow. For more information and to reserve tickets, please click here.
Case 84: Adopted in the USA
Edward Pokropski (@epopski), a Korean American adoptee, will perform his show Case 84: Adopted in the USA on both Thursday, December 14th and Wednesday, January 17th at 9:30pm.
Case 84: Adopted in the USA is a storytelling show that uses comedy to expose how the media shapes our misconceptions about adoption.
For tickets and more information and to reserve tickets, click here.
Many Oceans
Nick Capezzera, a Korean adoptee, is presenting a work-in-progress screening of select scenes from his film, Many Oceans, at the Voelker Orth Museum on December 3rd.
Many Oceans follows a Korean adoptee as he embarks on a decade-long search for his birth family. As details emerge from his case file, he grows increasingly suspicious about the birth story he was told. The search soon creates a rift in his American family. What begins as a search for answers becomes the ultimate test of family bonds.
For more information and to reserve tickets, click here.
When We Become Ours: A YA Adoptee Anthology When We Become Ours: A YA Adoptee Anthology, edited by Nicole Chung and Shannon Gibney is on sale now! Purchase from adoptee-owned Loyalty Bookstores.
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