Today we’d like to introduce you to Elena Hall.
Elena, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
After graduating from undergrad, I thought I knew what I wanted to do. I gained some experience and met some wonderful people, but I felt a little lost. In the midst of this, I kept having frequent conversations about adoption with different people. As an international adoptee, I welcome questions and like to share my thoughts on the topic. My sister and I were both adopted when we were very young, so we both have been asked a lot of questions about the topic. More and more, I started to think about how the adoptee experience is a topic that I wanted people to know about.
So, I posted on social media requesting for adoptees to message me. I did not know what I was doing or what the goal was – I just knew I was not the only adoptee in the world and I wanted multiple perspectives. Within a couple of days, I had quite a few people comment on my post. I realized there was interest and I got really excited. I came up with a list of questions that I thought non-adopted people would be interested in hearing the adoptee’s perspective. After answering all the questions for myself, I started reaching out to the adoptees who were interested! Fifty adoptees and 297 book pages later, Through Adopted Eyes was ready for readers. Okay, it wasn’t exactly a fast process, and I got help from an amazing editor Jonathan and cover art by my talented friend Liz, but that is how it all came together. Since then, I started and finished grad school with my MSW to be a professional in the adoption community.
I just released my second book – Through Adopted Hearts. It is similar to the first book, except this time birth and adoptive parents answer questions for readers. It has been such a blessing to hear from people who have been encouraged by both books. One mom told me she read it with her adopted daughter, who is in her 30s and they both really bonded and the book opened up room for great conversation. Other adoptees messaged me that they really related to the book and found joy amongst the sadness of their adoption stories. Another reader told me that they had no idea how complex adoption is. It’s been a really fun time since Through Adopted Eyes launched in November of 2018!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Have you ever tried to be in a group project with 49 other people? Did you start to sweat just reading that last sentence? Gosh! As a new author and someone who had never written a book before, it was all a challenge. But, the challenges were worth it. Finding adoptees to be involved, interviewing them, hearing back from them, writing my own story, and then trying to get it published was a big learning curve. Thankfully, I had a lot of support and my editor Jonathan was a huge help.
It is intimidating to write deep thoughts about your life as an adoptee. How will people perceive this? I can’t speak for all adoptees – and I don’t claim to either. It was a challenge to read from adoptees who were not as pleased with their experience. Reading these stories shows that everyone has a different adoption experience because adoption is so complex. It was so encouraging to hear book participants thank me for the opportunity and express how cathartic and important sharing stories can be. Then, I essentially did the whole process over again with the second book. I have learned a lot about the writing process, but I still have a lot to learn. And praise God for friends and family who encourage you along the way.
Through Adopted Eyes – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Through Adopted Eyes: A Collection of Memoirs from Adoptees – Books are a hard thing to promote from a brand standpoint because they are usually a one time purchase. If I had to summarize what Through Adopted Eyes is about, then it would be: aiding those in the adoption triad to promote healing and growth within the adoption community and empower readers to share their own stories.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I guess having a finished product would be something I am proudest of. I never wanted to give up or anything during the process, but when I told my family and friends I think I am going to write a book – it is hard to imagine that book as a finished product that people can enjoy! I am thankful that I have made great connections with so many wonderful people in the adoption community, been to wonderful conferences, and really gotten to hear stories from people about how adoption has impacted their own lives (good and bad) and how this new generation of adoptees are coming and speaking and sharing.
Pricing:
- Through Adopted Eyes – $20
- Through Adopted Hearts – $20
Contact Info:
- Website: https://throughadoptedeyes.wixsite.com/book
- Email: ThroughAdoptedEyesBook@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/throughadoptedeyes/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/throughadoptedeyes
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/adoptedeyes
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