Weve Been There

Candid, unfiltered stories about how it feels to be a teen adoptee

The teen years are full of uncomfortable self-discovery for everyone. But adopted teens grapple with issues that make the coming of age journey immensely more difficult. Many don’t have words for what they’re feeling, sensing, or believing about themselves. They often don’t have anyone like them to help them work through their struggles. Forced to cope on their own, they end up feeling isolated.

Adoption advocate and adoptive mom Susan TeBos has watched her own children go through these struggles. Often she wished for a voice that would resonate with adopted teens–her own and others–and authentically meet them where they are.

She found not one voice, but many: over thirty adopted teens and young adults. We’ve Been There gathers their stories, giving readers a front row seat to people with similar stories and feelings.

This book is an unprecedented glimpse into the unfiltered feelings, thoughts, experiences, and unanswered questions that well up in the heart of every person with adoption in their story. From people who have been there as adopted kids, this book not only invites adopted teens to bring their concerns into the open, but also helps them process how they feel and offers them hope on the other side. In these pages, teen adoptees will understand themselves in a whole new way and find reassurance and a sense of belonging as part of a global adopted community.