“Why is every conversation full of holes?” I asked.
“Life is full of holes”, my father replied, his eyes red with salt.
Somewhere between The Giving Tree and my worn Shel Silverstein books, I had a book called, Why Was I Adopted? Written and illustrated in 1978, the book went over some of the reasons why children were given up for adoption and discussed a child’s “forever family”. It spoke frankly and plainly on the matter in a way that was easy for children to understand, but it didn’t have all the answers. Originally my brother’s, I looked at the overlarge and child-friendly paperback often. I had another book from the same publisher called Where Did I Come From? which featured an illustrated overweight middle-aged couple, nude, and locked in embrace. It described reproduction and childbirth through a series of illustrations and easy-to-read text. Just old enough to put these pieces together, I was fascinated, but unsatisfied. I needed more information. Where was my biological mother?