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Adoption: The Facts, Feelings, and Issues of a Double Heritage
Discusses the legal and emotional aspects of the adoption process and examines the current movement for giving the adoptee free access to the records concerning his or her origin
129 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1981
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
August 9, 2017
As an adoptee who has recently made contact with both sides of my birth family as a result of DNA testing, it was good to revisit this book I read in the '90s and make note of a quote that impacted my life. This book was aimed at YAs when originally published in 1981. It's woefully out of date but still has some good discussion of emotions involved in being adopted, searching and finding.
My favorite quotes are:
"They sent her a file of 'non-identifying' information, all that they could legally give out. It contained no names, no addresses, just general descriptions of her father and mother by birth. But those descriptions suddenly added a fascinating new dimension to her life. She was her parents' child, yes - but she was someone else's, too." (p 9)
"I did not wish, under any circumstances, to intrude upon the life of anyone, yet I could no longer quell my need for a bit of family history... And, not incidentally, I wanted (rather, hoped) to discover that I had not ruined my birth parents' lives by my inconvenient appearance into this world." (p 88)
These few sentences has such an impact on me the first time I read this book. It was such a relief to know that there were others who felt as I did. I didn't have any say, of course, in my birth, but it made me feel ashamed and sorrowful that by springing into being I brought unhappiness to my first parents.
"But the particular person they find doesn't seem to be the most important thing. What counts is laying the questions to rest and knowing the truth." (p 97)
My favorite quotes are:
"They sent her a file of 'non-identifying' information, all that they could legally give out. It contained no names, no addresses, just general descriptions of her father and mother by birth. But those descriptions suddenly added a fascinating new dimension to her life. She was her parents' child, yes - but she was someone else's, too." (p 9)
"I did not wish, under any circumstances, to intrude upon the life of anyone, yet I could no longer quell my need for a bit of family history... And, not incidentally, I wanted (rather, hoped) to discover that I had not ruined my birth parents' lives by my inconvenient appearance into this world." (p 88)
These few sentences has such an impact on me the first time I read this book. It was such a relief to know that there were others who felt as I did. I didn't have any say, of course, in my birth, but it made me feel ashamed and sorrowful that by springing into being I brought unhappiness to my first parents.
"But the particular person they find doesn't seem to be the most important thing. What counts is laying the questions to rest and knowing the truth." (p 97)
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review