The Secret of Me

Fourteen-year-old Lizzie and her older brother and sister were adopted as infants, a fact of life in the McLane household. But dry facts rarely encompass feelings, and what it feels like to be adopted is something Lizzie never dares openly discuss with her loving parents or with outsiders, including her boyfriend. In this vivid, heartfelt tale, told entirely through her own poetry, Lizzie finds the courage to speak the secret of her identity.

An Afterword by the author discusses her experience as an adopted child and how writing can help make sense of one’s life. Also included are a Guide to this Book’s Poetics, Some Poems Lizzie Loves (reprints of poems by Lucille Clifton, Hayden Carruth, Anne Sexton, Donald Hall, and others), and Recommended Books and Links about adoption and poetry.