An Amazing True Story

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One of Joel’s clients recommended the movie Lion to us (now playing in theatres).  It’s based on the incredible true story of a young Indian boy who accidentally gets separated from his family and eventually ends up in an orphanage hundreds of miles away.  He is internationally adopted and grows up in Australia, supported and cared for by his adoptive parents.  When he was adopted, he was old enough to recall several memories from the years he lived with his birth family in India.  So as an adult, he embarks on a quest to find his birth family by piecing together scraps of his early childhood memories.

We are obviously biased :), but we found it to be a wonderful story, spectacularly told.  By the end, we’d used up all the tissues in Amy’s purse wiping our tears and blowing our noses.  Seeing this little boy get separated from his family was gut-wrenching, but the story of his passion and journey as an adult was inspiring and deeply moving.

We’re not sharing this simply because it was a good movie.  Rather, we’re sharing it because it helped portray a surprisingly accurate picture of what adoptees and their families go through as they seek an understanding of their identity.  Just one minor disclaimer – 30+ years ago, when this boy was adopted, there were far fewer research-based resources available to guide adoption agencies and adoptive parents in the best-practices of caring for adoptive children.  Adoption research and resources have increased significantly in the last 30 years, and today’s orphanages and adoption agencies are much more effective in considering the best interests of adopted children and supporting their adoptive families.

If you go to see this movie, let us know what you think!  You may also want to read the autobiography that it is based on, titled A Long Way Home.  And don’t forget to bring your Kleenex.

3 thoughts on “An Amazing True Story

  1. I went to the movie Sunday night. Then came home to find that day’s email update from you. It seemed like divine timing to me, almost like some assurance. Good, good movie.

  2. We watched the first 75% (haven’t finished it yet!) at Joel’s recommendation as we’re thinking about heading down the adoption road soon as well, I thought it was very good!

    I like how you could see both the joy and the struggle the family has through the adoption process.

  3. I watched this on the airplane on my way to the Marshall Islands to adopt Maia (3/9/17). It hit close to home on so many levels. I, too, searched for my birth mother and was reunited with her when I was 28. The movie is definitely intense and provides some insight as to what it’s like (or in my case, comfort in seeing how others ached and searched also). I worked hard to document as much of Maia’s history as I could and immersed myself in her culture as much as possible. So many layers…so much complexity. But adoptees today, as you said, have more resources available and open adoptions are the norm now when possible.

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