What does an adoptee really hope to accomplish by searching?
For adoptees searching may be fixed in “only” wanting medical and genetic background information, but soon most of them inevitably want to fill the “Black Hole” of not knowing their how they came to be and what their heritage is. They want to know who they look like, to hear mother’s voice again, to learn who in the family has similar personality traits, what the truth about relinquishment really was and whether they were ever forgotten. Adoptees may not have considered they have siblings. They often want information about their birth fathers too, even if not in the beginning. In short, adoptees that search have a mission: a quest for learning more about themselves. Like the majority of birthmothers, fathers and siblings, most adoptees would like to reunite, if only once. If, after phone calls, letters and/or a physical reunion, a healthy relationship evolves, that’s a bonus.
