mixed race Archives - Self Discovery Wisdom Podcasts

Their Story Matters with Sara Troy and her guest Catana Tully, aired from July 19th

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Dr. Catana Tully’s incredible story shows how an exotic child adopted into a White family learned to overcome painful racial confusion, misplaced identity, poor self-image, and fear of abandonment to lead a meaningful and significant life.

Through the years I was often encouraged to tell the story of my ‘fairy tale’ life. However, not until reaching my late forties, when I became increasingly at odds with myself, did I discover that what seemed magical to others was not necessarily so. Eventually, I discovered issues more important than details of my life I needed to share with a larger audience.

The central theme of my book addresses ethnic misplacement due to having been raised within a culture and among a people different to my own. I have structured the story chronologically to reveal layers of great privilege and simultaneous disinheritance.

Unlike any adoption memoir, in this story the issues of the adopted child surface much later in life. The first obvious market for this book is older exotic children who were adopted into mainstream White culture in the US and Europe where interracial adoptions have become a popular phenomenon. However, the concerns should be of great interest to all parents, or prospective parents of adoptees, older exotic adoptees, and all people of mixed races.

Today the retired college professor is the bestselling author of Split at the Root: A Memoir of Love and Lost Identity. After retiring from her position of tenured college professor, she has dedicated herself to addressing the pressing issues adult exotic adoptees, and parents who have or are planning to adopt interracially, face on a daily basis. She offers words of wisdom and tools to strengthen their impaired images of themselves, their race, their religion, and their culture.

Author2-225x300 Dr. Catana Tully grew up trilingual (German, Spanish, English) in Guatemala where she attended elementary and middle school. In tenth grade she entered a boarding school in Jamaica, WI and received her Advanced Level Higher Schools Certificate from Cambridge University, England. Expecting to become an international interpreter, she continued her studies at the Sprachen und Dolmetscher Institut in Munich, Germany. However, she was called to work in a play and discovered her affinity for the dramatic arts. She became the actress and fashion model Catana Cayetano and appeared in Film and TV work in Germany, Austria, and Italy. In Munich she met and married the American actor Frederick V. Tully and ultimately moved to the United States. They have a son, split-at-the-root-paperback-cover1 Patrick. In Upstate New York, she completed the BA in Cultural Studies, an MA in Latin American and Caribbean Literature, and a DA (doctor of Arts) in Humanistic Studies. She held the position of tenured Associate Professor at SUNY Empire State College, from which she retired in 2003. She returned in 2005 for part time work in ESC’s Center for International Programs, where she served as Mentor and instructor in the Lebanon program, and as Interim Program Director for the Dominican Republic. In 2011 she retired completely to dedicate herself to publishing Split at the Root. She is currently preparing an academic version discussing the psychological issues embedded in the memoir.

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http://splitattheroot.com

facebook.com/Splitattheroot

twitter.com/ctully26

linkedin.com/in/catana-tully

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Sara’s View of Life with Sara Troy aired April 12th/15

I married a Chinese guy much to my mothers horror, and although we are not together any more we have 3 incredible children to be thankful for. Yes they are mixed, does that mean any thing? Not to me, I see them in all their divine beauty and in unison of races only builds a broader future.

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Today I will share my perspective on mixed race children and the whole race divide. Please read the story my mother wrote when my oldest was born.

My mother who was British and raised in Indian with a father who was a Colonel in the British army, was bought up to believe that no race should have mixed children. This is her letter to my first born child of mixed race, Tabytha.

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My Mother Wrote.

When I was young my father said “In all the books I have read it was considered very best that the East should never mate with the West.” Now I am older and alone the oracle is one of my own, I feared to say the very least taking the hand one from the East.

When my golden girl with East did mate I mourned within for this unknown fate of my father’s words, that he knew best.

As I waited the result of East and West betwixt with pain and joy, I tried to prepare to take into my heart the child that was near.

That day dawned and away went fear, my heart overflowed the child was here.

From my head the old words returned, but I had a lesson learned.

That East and Wests love conquers fear, as in my arms they put you there.

Two pairs of eyes, Blue and Black filled pride they could not hold back. I looked at the link that came from this pair and my heart opened wide with such love for her.

We joined in rejoicing over one so dear, this black haired doe eyes rosy Tabytha.

To Tabytha from Grandmother Joanne North with Love.

If not around when you are grown you will never be alone, for I will watch over you and guide you path of truth.

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Tabytha is now 33 and her Grandmama past, Tabytha is loved deeply as was the 2 more children Tyler and Natasha that came from this marriage.

Tabytha shares her view on growing up of mixed race.

12642612_10156527142695581_5139872355156635349_n Growing up as mixed in the 80’s I was marked as “yellow”. I was too young to understand other cultures, or that I am half Chinese, half British. I did dream of having blue eyes like my Mother though…. As I grew older mixed culture was part of every day life, our friends were Italian, Western, Chinese, Japanese, East Indian, African…..we saw more people in Canada, especially in B.C. be of mixed race, not even just immigrants but black and white couples, Latino and European kids etc. We knew no difference we were all just kids.

I’m very glad I was raised by different multiculturalism. I even joke today that if I ever get married, I hope to have mixed children myself, one day -well, maybe-if I marry, so that they get the best of 2 or 3 worlds: My brother and sister and I were born in BC Canada with ‘North American’ ways, with a Chinese father and British mother. Tea time with Earl grey after school with scones, then Chow mien for supper (different in Europe, actually tea time is supper but anyway), let’s just call it dinner then, followed by oolong Chinese tea.

The world is a vast place, but it can also be a small world. Everyone should be able to live harmoniously and enjoy what each culture can bring. Racism is weak, for people who are afraid. Imagine never having pizza or tacos or sushi or listening to old blues or having different art and music and language influences? Pretty boring huh. Thanks Mom and Dad for making us not a majority of white kids in a Canadian city.

Glad it has changed today and has become more acceptable to be different. SEE ME FOR WHO I AM.

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Tyler says that he never saw the difference, he was Tyler, he has many friends of mixed race to this day and he does not see skin colour but who they are from the inside out.

Natasha says

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“Not being able to identify with one particular culture. Made it difficult to place my self somewhere. And was perhaps the provider for my inability to find attachments to things throughout my life. But I’m not sure that’s a bad thing; I don’t feel apart of any one category. And though that can be confusing, it’s also allowed me freedom to be whatever I feel I need to be in that moment.”