Adopted - Me?: So Who Do I Think I Am?

by John Thompson

At the age of 43, during my divorce and a child custody battle, I found out I had been adopted. Shock and disbelief changed to a gradual urge to seek out my natural parents. Years later, I eventually found my mother "hidden in a fairy-tale castle in the forest". That's what it seemed at the time. This then led to a sister, three brothers, a father, and an even larger family of cousins and their offspring. The next thirty years were a mixture of joy, relief, happiness, and fun whilst forging a new life for myself. Later, I experienced sadness, despair, and tragedy whilst helping to alleviate my birth mother's mental illness and caring for and losing four parents. I uncovered a dramatic 1930's love affair and 700 years of family genealogy with high-ranking seventeenth-century offi cials from the Church of England. I also discovered more about my birth father, a World War II RAF fighter pilot who nearly ended up being shot, escaping from Stalag Luft III, who owned a leading sock manufacturing company in the United Kingdom, run by the family since 1882. On the family tree, I found Victor Borge, the famous concert pianist and stand-up comedian. Finding my new family has been a very happy, rewarding, and interesting part of my life.

196 pages, Hardcover

First published May 21, 2013

Reviews

[R J Mckay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book from Goodreads in exchange for a review.

“Adopted-Me?” is the heart felt memoir of John Thompson, who finds out at the age of 43 that he was adopted. While battling with his ex-wife for custody of their two children, Thompson’s wife slips the information about his adoption into the legal paperwork, forcing his parents to address the issue of his adoption. It isn’t until a few years after the dust has settled that John begins the long and drawn out ordeal of searching for his birth parents. His first stumbling block is finding out if any records have survived the bombing of London during World War II. While many of the records have been destroyed, he is fortunate to discover his birth mother’s name and the location of his birth. With that information, John begins a search that will change his life. Once he learns the identity of his Mother, he has to decide how to approach her. Through an intermediary, he is able to exchange a letter with his Mother, Marjorie Hall. Marjorie and John meet and slowly build a relationship, but even though Marjorie reveals that her husband Peter is Johns’ his biological Father, Peter does not wish this information released. As time passes, John is introduces to his siblings, one at a time. When his siblings go to their Father, asking him to recognize John as his son, Peter finally relents, and John is embraced into the immediate family. But the time John has with his parents is too short. Marjorie is suffering from a debilitating illness that drastically limits the time she is able to spend with John, and all too soon, Marjorie dies. The reader feels the heartbreak that John feels, as he has to say good-bye to this inspiring woman. The end of the book goes into great detail about Peter Hall’s military career as well as his being held as a POW in Stalag Luft III.
Thompson does a wonderful job of taking the reader along with him as he searches for, and finds his birth parents, and as he forges a relationship with them.