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The Ugly Duckling, Chinese Babies, and Me

Hans Christian Andersen's story, "The Ugly Duckling," had a deep effect on me when I first heard it read. Andersen was a tall, awkward child who refused to learn a trade. He tried acting and eventually wound up writing stories. The "ugly duckling"--the awkward, teenage Andersen, or perhaps Andersen, the artist and outsider--spoke to me, the small child trying to figure out who I was and how I could possibly fit into my adoptive family.

 

Selected for Roll, a Telling Our Stories Press anthology edited by CoCo Harris, this personal essay makes links between identity, writing, and adoption. The anthology has a wealth of wonderful short memoirs and personal essays.

 

The anthology is available on Amazon.