"What I appreciate most about this guide is its respect for the adoptee experience. Healing is not framed as fixing something broken, but as tending to what has been carried--sometimes quietly--for years. Reflective journaling becomes a way to work through moments of loss, connection, confusion, and growth with honesty and care." -- Julie Ryan McGue
The Adoptee Guide to Healing, Wholeness & Growth is a thoughtfully crafted and deeply compassionate guided journal by Lynda Monk, an adoptee herself and a seasoned social worker with a background in child welfare.Drawing from her own tender and transformative journey of reunion with her birth family, lovingly supported by her adoptive parents, Monk creates a safe, affirming space for fellow adoptees to reflect, heal, and grow. With wisdom and warmth, she invites readers to explore themes of identity, loss, belonging, and self-discovery through insightful journaling prompts, evocative quotes, and intimate excerpts from her own guide. This beautifully designed resource is more than a guide, it's a companion on the path toward integration, wholeness, and empowerment.
This journal supports adoptees ready to embrace their full story, tend to the wound of abandonment, while honoring the presence of both nature and nurture within.
McGue, Julie Ryan: - Julie Ryan McGue is an American writer, a domestic adoptee, and an identical twin. In her writing, she explores finding out who you are, where you belong, and making sense of it. She is the author of three award-winning books: Twice a Daughter: A Search for Identity, Family, and Belonging (She Writes Press, 2021), Belonging Matters: Conversations on Adoption, Family, and Kinship (Muse Literary, 2023), and Twice the Family: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Sisterhood (She Writes Press, 2025). In September 2025, Julie published Jack and Lullu Go to the Tree Farm (Muse Literary), the first book in the children's book series: Let's Go with Lulu. Her work has appeared in Writers Digest, Story Circle Network Journal, Brevity Nonfiction Blog, Imprint News, Adoption.com, Adopting.com, Lifetime Adoption Adoptive Families Blog, Adoption & Beyond, and Severance Magazine. Her personal essays have appeared in several anthologies, including Real Women Write: Seeing Through Their Eyes (Story Circle Network, 2022), Art in the Time of Unbearable Crisis (She Writes Press, 2022), Real Women Write: The Power of Friendship (Story Circle Network, 2024), and Real Women Write: In the Garden (Story Circle Network, 2025). She splits her time between Michigan City, IN and Sarasota, Florida.
Monk, Lynda: - "Lynda Monk, MSW, RSW, CPCC is a Registered Social Worker, Certified Professional Co-Active Life Coach, and the Director of the International Association for Journal Writing - IAJW.org. Lynda is co-editor, with Dr. Eric Maisel, of two books, including Transformational Journaling for Coaches, Therapists, and Clients: A Complete Guide to the Benefits of Personal Writing and The Great Book of Journaling: How Journal Writing Can Support a Life of Wellness, Creativity, Meaning, and Purpose. She is the co-author of Writing Alone Together: Journaling in a Circle of Women for Creativity, Compassion and Connection. She developed Life Source Writing: A Reflective Journaling Practice for Self-Discovery, Self-Care, Wellness and Creativity. Lynda regularly teaches, writes, and speaks on the healing and transformational power of journaling and expressive writing. She also has expertise in burnout prevention and resilience. Lynda has been supporting and educating helping professionals and caregiving organizations for over 25 years. She lives on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada, where she starts each day with journaling, meditation, and a good cup of coffee before her busy family awakens."
