Rudy Owens’ memoir on the American adoption experience
© 2017 Rudy Owens. All rights reserved.
Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.
—Frederick Douglass
To this day, the most rewarding act of my life has been finding out who I am. It was the inherently natural and right thing to do, despite the very real costs to my career, resources, and family relations. It made me a better person. It confirmed who I was in the universe. It gave me the grit I needed in so many other moments in my life. It taught me valuable lessons how systems operate and how prejudice works in overt and subtle ways. It taught me never to accept “no” when you pursue the right and just path. It also felt like a mythical journey, complete with setbacks, strong and defiant adversaries, successes, and meaningful personal change. I ended the trip as a different person. I believe I had become a better human being, as well as someone more whole.
On the darkest days, I turned to inspirational stories that gave me the strength I needed to complete my journey. They were two of humanity’s greatest myths that stayed with me from childhood. To me, they felt like ancient warriors’ tales, told around a campfire to motivate those weary of battle. Those voices from a distant past assured me I had embarked on an epic and mythical adventure, as described by Joseph Campbell’s classic treatise The Hero with a Thousand Faces. I took these words to heart. I recognized from the start I had undertaken a hero’s quest.
Return to Chapter 8: Who Am ?
Read More: Chapter 10: Flying to Detroit