Desiree Maru was born in the Philippines in 1985 and adopted in 1987 in the United States. Her adoptee-centered essays, fiction, and mixed media have been featured in Nzuri Journal, Oyster River Pages, Helen Literary Magazine, AGNI, The Sonder Review, Foliate Oak Literary Magazine, The Healing Muse, and elsewhere. She has blogged for InterCountry Adoptee Voices, and her work has been featured in Third Flatiron anthologies. smflood.weebly.com (added 10/2023)