The theme of adoption has always been of interest to me.  As a child I used to tell people I was adopted.  I always thought if you were adopted it meant you were wanted, therefore special.  It never occurred to me there might be pain involved in being adopted, or giving a child up for adoption.  Over the years I’ve spoken with people on both sides of the adoption picture and now understand it’s not the fairy tale I used to fantasize about.

**Spoiler Alert

The British movie Philomena caught my eye recently because of the adoption theme.  Then it captured my heart because of the healing and forgiveness in her story.

This poignant movie is based on the true story of a woman’s search for her son 50 years after they were separated.  She demonstrates an amazing sense of forgiveness to the cruel nuns who sold her toddler son and lied to her over the years about his whereabouts. 

Throughout her journey, she vacillates from grief to anger and resignation to determination.  The journalist she works with makes a wide turnaround from considering “human interest” stories for weak-minded people to someone with a heart who is definitely invested in Philomena’s story.

My fascination with adoption is partly why I was also attracted to the book “Two Hearts” by Linda Hoye.  She was adopted as an infant and wrote a heart-tugging memoir about her journey to find her parents and siblings.  Once I started Two Hearts, I couldn’t put it down.  Her journey of self-discovery resonated with me despite our different backgrounds. 

**Book Giveaway

Linda blogs at http://lindahoye.com/ about adoption, grandkids, and retiring.  She’s originally from Canada, but currently lives in the Seattle area.  We’ll be meeting for coffee soon and she’s going to sign my copy of her book.  She’s also generously dontated a copy of her book to the winner of this giveaway. She’ll sign and ship to Canada or the U.S.

Linda & Denise

Linda & Denise

 

To enter, just leave a comment about how someone’s story –in person, by book, or movie inspired you.

Linda will mail to the US and Canada; I’ll draw the winning name on Thursday, Feb 6th and email the winner.

Update:  2/6/14

The winner is