The stories we tell, and the stories we don't tell, shape our pasts and define our lives. They build memories and meaning. Through stories we create truth.

But we so rarely consider the significance of our stories. We tell the same ones, comfortable and familiar. We follow tradition and reinforce it.

Here, at a gathering, we invite you to join us in challenging tradition and questioning the comfortable. Together, we're retelling our stories. We're creating our own truth.

It's time to further the conversation, and we'd like to hear your story. As shame and pride often play such central roles in any adoption, we ask you to share with us what makes you proud. Dispel the shame by bringing it to the light. Help us understand our stories by sharing yours.

The volumes listed below contain stories and poetry written by birthparents, adoptees, and adoptive parents. The stories and poems reflect themes, such as hope and fear, that are central to our shared adoption experiences. They are also personal reflections of the writer's life. We weave these individual, intimate stories together to build our community.

We live with adoption, and we hope. One adoptive family holds on to hope after a birthmother changes her mind. A birthmother hopes for her daughter's future. An adoptee hopes for a reunion. Hope is active, a driving force. It pushes you. Sometimes too far. Sometimes to what you've been hoping for all along.

Fear separates. It distances us from the truth. It comes between the questions and the answers. It thrives on the unknown. But we can turn it around. We can come together around our fears, draw strength from what scares us.