Whatever Next?
Whatever Next? is a passion project that opens up adoptive dialogues. It involves interviews, podcasts, visual art and collaborations.
Our names are Adaline, Jo, and Hannah, and we are three Chinese adoptee women who grew up in the US & UK. We are part of an ever-evolving group, now young adults who are tackling adulthood and all the trials that come with it. We want to share insights into our daily lives as Chinese adoptees to create a better understanding of adoption, bridge gaps in narratives, and connect those involved or interested in the adoptee experience.
We bring conversations surrounding adoption with us as we grow up to reflect our entry into adulthood, touching on topics of birth searching, mental health, and racism, and challenge the adoption narrative that has traditionally focused on the adoptive parents’ perspectives. We believe that adoptees should have access to narratives and stories similar to their own in hope of inspiring and giving solace to those a little lost. We also believe that these conversations should not be restricted to adoptees and want to make a place where questions about adoption theory, history and culture can be accessible to anyone who is the least bit curious about it.
Our website includes basic adoption terminology, coffee chats with close ones, food recipes, culture & history, and much much more. Our Whatever Next? podcast produced by Solus Productions covers topics such as dating as Asian adoptees in the UK & US, the motives behind this project, and commentary on our interviews. - You can now listen to the first episode on Spotify. Instagram is our main social media with 1.6 followers, and a space to translate our aims through appealing visual art.
Our project acts as a rough guide to fellow adoptees in dissecting and exploring their adoptive identity and offers answers to those who are interested. We want to myth bust, we want to inspire, but most of all we want to fill in some gaps and start a few conversations.