Dr. Liz DeBetta believes that stories are powerful change agents and when we write them and share them we connect and heal.
“My first time seeing Dr. Liz DeBetta’s one-woman performance entitled ‘UN-M-OTHERED’ and wow. What a work of both physical and emotional intensity, a depiction of the agony and chaotic inner world of an adoptee. It so clearly and powerfully portrays the journey from the primal wound of maternal separation — the trauma, longing, and dissociation from self — into reunion and healing. Such an honor to share in that vulnerability and see the collective emotions around family separation expressed on stage.”
Un-M-Othered (a Story of Adoption and Patriarchy)
Told through movement, poetry, and personal narrative Un-M-Othered is an exploration of identity, belonging, and the need to know the past in order to live more fully in the present. In Un-M-Othered, Liz explores adoption culture and the intense impact that closed adoption has on adoptees physically, emotionally, and developmentally throughout their lives. Written and performed by Liz DeBetta, Un-M-Othered as been honored as Best Autobiographical Show, United Solo 2022 and most recently was performed in NYC as part of Operation FOG LIFT.
Dr. Liz DeBetta is an adoptee and independent scholar-artist-activist committed to changing systems and helping people navigate trauma through creative processes. She has presented nationally and internationally on topics ranging from adoption and reproductive justice, using writing to heal trauma, gender-based violence, and resisting colonial paradigms in higher-ed. She is a former facilitator of Adoptees Connect in Salt Lake City, a Rudd Adoption Research Institute Scholar, and spent six years teaching writing at Utah Valley University. She has also published multiple articles on adoptee narratives and perspectives. Her book Adult Adoptees and Writing to Heal: Migrating Toward Wholeness is available from Brill Publishers.
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!
The Adoptive and Foster Family Coalition of New York returns with the 35th Annual New York State Foster Care and Adoption Conference!
LIVE and in person! PLUS continued virtual delivery in the AFFCNY.Network!
Thursday, May 9th and Friday, May 10th at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY!
