Exploration 3 | Journey in Place | Bonding

The ways we bond. Or not.

Tiny Essay

Twelve years ago when I adopted my daughter, I got a crash course in how humans bond. My girl was eight years old at the time. Although she was my half-niece by marriage, I had spent little time with her and had no idea of the circumstances of her life.

• If small children are overloaded with trauma,

• if their caregiving is pathologic,

• if they sp…