Gathering the Missing Pieces in an Adopted LifeThe author's successful search for her birthfamily brought answers to questions she had asked since childhood. Gathering the Missing Pieces in an Adopted Life guides anyone who might have some connection to the adoption process: adopted individuals who wonder whether finding missing relatives is right for them, adoptive parents who struggle with how to share information with their children, and birthfamily members who wonder whether they have the right to know children from whom they were once parted. Although the book is partially autobiographical, it includes stories of at least sixty other individuals who have some adoption connection. While highlighting the positive outcomes of adoptive searches, Moore also references the various challenges and pitfalls that can occur during this emotionally charged process. For adoptive parents, the book helps explain why some adoptees must search: they have an insatiable need that evades most persons who have grown up knowing their biological families. For birthparents, the book features the stories of several who have been found and how the process filled in important gaps for them as well. It shows how the sometimes lonely, staggering decisions that they made earlier impact their lives for years to come. Each chapter concludes with a handy reference on how the various members of the adoption "triad" -- birthfamily, adoptees, and adopted persons -- can relate to and use the information. Moore also gives attention to the rapidly changing laws, regulations, and expectations surrounding adoptions, and she includes a thorough listing of references, agencies, and other adoption resources. |
From inside the book
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Today much more is known about the role that genetics play in these matters . ... —even medical information came by that prevailing viewpoint honestly , based on everything that was known about heredity and environment in those days .
Her husband , who had known about my existence all along , was willing . So was her grown daughter ( what a thrill to know I had a half - sister !! ) who had not known about these past incidents but who had accepted the news with aplomb ...
When Katie came along , we approached my adoption story with her in the same way , except that by the time she was born we had known my birth family for several years . From the start Katie knew she had three much - loved families of ...