Found: Journey from Relinquishment to Search and Reunion - One Woman's Story of Loss through Adoption

At age 18, the author found herself pregnant and abandoned by the father of her child. Her parents demanded that she give the baby up for adoption; she didn't think she had the resources to keep a child, and would have been shunned by her family, so she gave him up.She never forgot about her son and wondered what had become of him. Brainwashed by family, church and societal norms, she didn't think she would ever see him again or even have the right to find out what happened to him. Many years later, with the advent of the Internet and changing mores, she discovered that many other birthmothers were in the same situation. She joined various self-help groups that had sprung up on the early Internet, and was encouraged by those that had been successful in their searches. Some of the birthmothers and adoptees had experienced mostly happy reunions, but there were examples of the many pitfalls to consider of a less fortunate outcome. In the end, it took her less than a year to find her son, reunite, and establish a relationship that has endured