Adoptee spotlight: Susannah, 上官月

Jiangxi, China —> Oklahoma, United States

Hello! My name is Susannah, and I currently reside in Central Oklahoma. I was given the Chinese name 上官月 (Shàngguān yuè) when I was adopted from the Shanggao Social Welfare Institute in Jiangxi, China in 2001 which was 13 months after I was born — or so I thought.

Growing up, I was fortunate enough that I never felt like I was anything other than my adoptive mom's daughter. However, I was always teased about looking different and given looks of pity about being adopted. I never understood it. I remember the moment when my mom told me about my adoption. I didn't quite understand but we both cried imagining the loss and grief my birth family must have experienced. Not unlike many other adoptees, I was never in touch with my Asian roots, and I even went as far as to try to suppress them. It wasn't until I got involved in Asian organizations at my university that I had context on the differences between me and my childhood friends. Things as simple as my preferences in food were no longer different but were commonality. 

“It wasn’t until I was gifted a 23andme DNA and health kit that part of my life that I didn’t know was missing would surface.”

It wasn’t until I was gifted a 23andme DNA and health kit that part of my life that I didn’t know was missing would surface. I knew of the complexities of adoption in China during the one-child policy, so I had low expectations of finding any close relatives. After taking the test, the results came back as I expected: 100% Southern Chinese and Taiwanese and no close relatives. My friends were always more interested in the possibility of finding my birth family so they encouraged me to follow support groups and resources like this page. 

As recommended by a couple of adoptee groups, I uploaded my raw DNA file to GEDmatch and to my surprise, I was matched with my birth mom the next day! My mind was racing but the thought that was most present was, “This can’t be real; this must be a dream." But it wasn’t a dream, it was very much real.

Today, I talk with my birth mother at least once a week, and I plan to make a homeland trip in the coming years. I feel so grateful that I was met with so much love and excitement from not only my birth family but my friends and adoptive family here in the US. I hope to continue learning more about my Chinese roots as well as empower and learn from fellow adoptees.