April showers brought the May flowers and a month full of impactful experiences; both exciting and challenging. First was our We the Experts adoptee panel, Adoption Dissolution + Disruption. I believe this panel is one of the first of its kind, as we spoke to three wonderful adoptees who have lived through disruption and or dissolution of adoption. It’s a common belief that adoption is forever and Adoption Mosaic recognizes the truth that there are adoptees who do not experience “forever” via adoption. A sincere thank you to each of you who participated in this conversation, especially our panelists who were vulnerable enough to open up and allow us to have a look inside of a topic that is not spoken about often, and about which our community is still learning how to speak. 

This month, I also traveled to North Carolina to participate as the keynote speaker for the Birth Mom Collective retreat. While I initially was only asked to attend during my portion of the retreat, the leader of the retreat extended an invitation for me to join the group for dinner. Wow, what a powerful and one-of-a-kind opportunity. I’d never had the pleasure of sitting with so many birth/first moms in one space before. It was such an honor to be welcome into their space. I listened and learned so much! That same day, I jumped on Zoom from my hotel to host our quarterly We the Experts adoptee ally panel, Birth/First Parents. Thank you to each of our panelists for sharing your stories and allowing our community to hear from your powerful voices. The healing energy was strong in that Zoom room! 

A reminder that We the Experts is on break until September 9, 2023. You can see the list of all our past panels and purchase panel recordings here >> PAST PANELS + RECORDINGS 

I ended the month at Adoption Mosaic's first ever book event. An "in conversation" between late-discovery adoptee and We the Experts panelist, Carlyn Montes De Oca and adoptee author Sara Easterly about Carlyn's book, Junkyard Girl. Thanks to everyone who made this inaugural event special and fun.

I look forward to spending some of my break time in community with many of you over the next few months. Tomorrow, I will be hosting one of my favorite events, our Portland, OR based Adoptee Only Pizza Party. In June, you’ll find me at the KAAN 2023 conference in Chicago, IL and preparing for the COFFEE Ethiopian Heritage Camp where Adoption Mosaic will be the featured adoption education resource. Thank you to the leadership of COFFEE for this opportunity. Finally, I will be working with Adoption Mosaic’s first ever summer intern. I hope to see as many of you as I can this summer and, as always, you can catch me on Zoom for a FREE 15 minute consultation >> ASTRID’S CALENDAR 

Thank you for your support of and participation in our Adoption Mosaic community!