The Adoptee's Guide for Healing, Wholeness & Growth

The Adoptee Guide for 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.

List of contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS 
INTRODUCTION
About Adoption
My Adoptee Story
About this Journal 
How to Use this Journal
About the Journaling Prompts 
Practice Self-Care when Journaling
5 Self-Care StrategiesCreate Your Own Journaling Self-Care Plan
Enter An Oasis in Your Journal
THE ADOPTEE JOURNALING JOURNEY
Introducing the Reflective Journaling Themes 
Your Journaling Journey Begins 
ROOTS coming into awareness of your adoption experience
Adoption Story 
Awareness
Identity
Truth
Rooted
RECOGNITION acknowledging emotional impacts and processing
Core Wounds
Grief & Loss
Silence 
Shame
Self-Worth
RESILIENCE connecting with inner strength
Trauma 
Addictions
Safety & Security
Fear of Abandonment
Choice
RELATIONSHIPS building meaningful connections and understanding attachment 
Family & Attachment
Nature & Nurture
Intimate Relationships
Chosen Kin
Holding On & Letting Go 
RECLAIM belonging, integration, and empowerment
Reunion
Belonging
Self-Compassion
True Gratitude
Empowerment
REMEMBER honoring growth and wholeness 
Birth Day
Worthiness 
Loveable
Self-Care
Wholeness
RADIANCE living with love and finding peace 
Remember Your Radiance
Acceptance
Savouring 
Peace
Love
CONCLUSION
Endings as Beginnings

About the author

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.

Product details

• Authors: Lynda Monk
• Publisher: Jim Dandy Publishing
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Release: 01.12.2025
• EAN: 9781963667325
• ISBN: 978-1-963667-32-5
• No. of pages: 120
• Subject: Guides > Law, job, finance > Family law