In this practical book, Michelle McColm takes the adoptee and birth parent carefully through the process of adoption reunion; drawing on extensive interviews and the experience of her own reunion.

The book describes the experiences that people have had when tracing their birth parents, as well as offering practical advice on how to go about searching and what to expect emotionally. Each section has an advice box which summarizes key points, notes issues to pay particular attention to, or offers draft letters that readers can adapt for their own needs. The appendix contains useful addresses and weblinks, and includes checklists for searching and for the reunion. Chapters include reunion with birth fathers and birth siblings, as well as with birth mothers, the relationship with the adoptive family and dealing with reunions that break down.

What happens when an adoptee decides to locate a birthparent or a birthparent wants to find a child given up long ago? How does one search for people whose names one does not know? And what happens during a reunion? In 1983, Jean A. S. Strauss was faced with these questions when she began her search for her birthmother, and in this inspiring new handbook, she shares her experience. Strauss will help you throughout this significant time. Brimming with important reference sources and dozens of true-life stories, this valuable resource will guide you in: · Making the difficult decision to search · Navigating through the emotional turbulence of a reunion · Dealing with the impact of the search on the adoptive parents Compassionate and insightful, Birthright is for anyone seeking to connect with someone long lost.

By comparing a group of adopted people who searched for birth relatives, with a group who did not, this is the first study to provide real answers to the fascinating subject of why adopted adults decide to search or not. Based on the experiences of 500 adopted people, the research exhaustively looked at all the possible influences on search decisions.

Based on a research study involving 500 adopted people, this book focuses on the long-term experiences of adults who were placed for adoption as children and presents new information about the process and needs of adopted people.

Like Passages, this groundbreaking book uses the poignant, powerful voices of adoptees and adoptive parents to explore the experience of adoption and its lifelong effects. A major work, filled with astute analysis and moving truths.

Julie is adopted. She is also a twin. Because their adoption was closed, she and her sister lack both a health history and their adoption papers—which becomes an issue for Julie when, at forty-eight years old, she finds herself facing several serious health issues. To launch the probe into her closed adoption, Julie first needs the support of her sister. The twins talk things over, and make a pact: Julie will approach their adoptive parents for the adoption paperwork and investigate search options, and the sisters will split the costs involved in locating their birth relatives. But their adoptive parents aren’t happy that their daughters want to locate their birth parents—and that is only the first of many obstacles Julie will come up against as she digs into her background. Julie’s search for her birth relatives spans eight years and involves a search agency, a PI, a confidential intermediary, a judge, an adoption agency, a social worker, and a genealogist. By journey’s end, what began as a simple desire for a family medical history has evolved into a complicated quest—one that unearths secrets, lies, and family members that are literally right next door.