Letters to Our Daughter: A Personal Experience in Cross-Cultural Adoption

Publication Date: January 1991

Publisher: Jewish Communal Service Association of North America

Author(s): Lucy Y. Steinitz

Research Area: Social conditions

Keywords: Adoption; Culture; Family

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

Adoption is a life-long experience. For our family, it began 6 and a half years ago when we began the process of adoption, first for our daughter, Elsita, and then for our son, Sergio, both from Guatemala. Of all aspects in the adoption process, probably the most difficult for us thus far was the waiting period from the "assignment" of our children until we were allowed to fly to Guatemala and hold them in our arms, united as a forever family, at last. (Depending on the country of origin, the amount of bureaucratic paperwork required, and the special circumstances surrounding the child's placement, the waiting period for international adoptions can range from several weeks to over a year.) In anticipation of our daughter, who was first assigned to us erev Rosh Hashana 1986, I took on the only act of parenting I felt was available to me in the situation —I wrote her letters, in diary form, virtually every day. Below are a few excerpts.