Why is it when we talk about adoption ... WE Whisper?
Joi R. Fisher-Griffin is an educator with 25 years experience an author sharing her life's journey as an adoptee in a world where people are afraid, ashamed, and embarrassed to talk or even ask about adoption. Why is it when we talk about adoption... We whisper? Would we have 125,000 young people in foster care if this wasn't a topic that brought such shame? Would we have young adults aging out of a system without family if the world viewed adoption differently? Finding Joi: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Love, centers around one woman’s plight to connect the dots to her identity. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the NJCARE Team, Governor Chris Christie signed the Adoptee Birthright Act (P.L. 2014, C.9), which became the law on January 1, 2017. Joi was present at the New Jersey State House to witness this historic legislation take effect, where she met members of the NJ CARE legislative team who have forever changed her understanding of her life's challenges. Finding Joi embodies all that she's learned on her adoption journey. These new findings gave her hope for a new chapter in her life. Now, adopted New Jerseyans born between 1940 - 2015 can access to their Original Birth Certificates without a court order.
Finding Joi is a candid and transparent journey of Joi's struggles with her identity, low self-esteem, body image, and other aspects of healing that she heard echoed across the table in her first experience in a small group discussion with other adult adoptees. It was then that she learned that these things she felt that she could not explain were "adoption issues". Joi sheds light on the challenges adoptees and their children face due to a lack of health information, she shares the stories of never ending awkward experiences as they engage in everyday undertakings like doctor visits, school projects, and social settings with no family history. We don't talk about adoption openly and we really don't talk about adoption in the black community and it's time to put a stop to that. Joi is committed to helping others understand adoption issues, learn the adoption legislation in their state, sharing resources and research all while educating others along this journey.
