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It seemed like a reasonable idea at the time. Jiannbin (“J”) had just joined the University of Oregon’s Sociology Department, where Mia, an assistant professor , was finishing up her first book on later-generation Asian Americans. J was writing on the role of large philanthropies in establishing diversity goals in post–civil rights America, but had a long-standing interest in the Asian American experience. Why not pull our mutual interests together to do a project about Korean adoptees? As Asian Americans, we were both drawn to this unique population and what they had to teach us about race, inclusion, and identity. Furthermore, Holt International Children’s Services, the agency responsible for pioneering Korean adoption, was located a mere two and a half miles away from campus. The hubris of youth and inexperience had us believing that the entire project would take no more than three years tops, from grant writing and data collection all the way to completing the book. Alas, life kept getting in the way of our grand plans. And so, after ten years that included a courtship and marriage (for J), children (for both), other book projects (for both), tenure and promotion reviews (for both), a one-year move to Dartmouth (for J), and a new career direction (for Mia), we finally completed the book. To quote the Beatles, it’s been a long and winding road. We would like to thank the people who kept us on track and helped make this book a reality. First, our sincere thanks to the adoptees who are the subjects of this book. It took courage to participate in this project, as well as an act of faith to entrust us with their life stories. The same is true for the non-adopted Asian Americans we interviewed—thank you for taking the time to be part of this project. Holt International Children’s Services believed in the project from ACKNOWLEDGMENTS the start, and we wish to thank them for helping us in recruiting adoptee participants . Special thanks to Carole Stiles and Laura Adler for their assistance. Next up are our spouses, Nancy Toth and Michael Welch, and kids, Macy, Cleo, and the newest edition, baby Maia. You have our love and gratitude for tolerating the trips away, the endless meetings, and the accompanying stress of trying to finish an overdue project. We would also like to thank our parents, Wen-Tsai and Fang-Zu Lee Shiao and Winnie and Chang Chih Tuan. The Russell Sage Foundation saw the promise of this project over ten years ago and patiently waited for us to get on with the business of completing it. We owe many thanks to Eric Wanner, Stephanie Platz, and Suzanne Nichols for believing in our vision and potential. Thanks also to the anonymous reviewers who provided critical feedback that helped us distill the original 560-page manuscript into the leaner book before you. Various colleagues provided feedback on numerous draft analyses and chapters as well as invaluable advice during key stages of the project, and we would like to acknowledge them: Kathleen Bergquist, Larry Bobo, Ellen Herman, Ken Hudson, Nadia Kim, John Lie, Linda Liu, Dina Okamoto, Yung-Yi Diana Pan, Liz Rienzi, Ellen Scott, Rick Tessler, and the anonymous reviewers at the American Journal of Sociology, Du Bois Review, and Race and Society. A special thank you to H. David Kirk, who generously sent copies of unpublished manuscripts and other texts that he thought would be useful to our work. Important assistance with research, production, and grant management was provided by Jessica Alvarado, Andrea Coukos, Diane Hayashino, Rachel Kovensky, Barbara Luton, Diane Marcell, Ariel Masters, Liz Rienzi, and Joel Schoening. Thank you for helping with all the behind-the-scenes details! Last but not least, special friends deserve mention: Anne Allanketner, Annie Bentz, Tony Chen, Meleah Drews, Janet Golden, Susie Hanner, Jan Harris, Jocelyn Hollander, Robin Holmes, Steve Hsu, Ken Hudson, Ray Lin, Eve Montanaro, Jennifer Pratt, Kesho Scott, and Erwin Tan. Thank you for your friendship and support, which have kept us afloat over the years. x ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...

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