What Happened After I Re-Adopted the Daughter I Gave Up as a Newborn

Falling aspen leaves draped the sidewalks in brilliant yellows, while my daughter and I browsed clothing stores and talked about boys at our favorite mountain town coffee shop. As the two of us sipped across from the one another, I reflected on how far we’ve come.

At one point, we were practically strangers. It was only three years ago that we’d adopted her into our family. I’d been optimistic that a connection between the two of us would be automatic, even natural.

After all, I’m not only he...