There are many reasons why some adoption searches seem to drag on with no success. Some searches are more difficult than others for a variety of reasons. However, your approach to a search can affect how well a search progresses as well. Effective searching begins with being organized.

Here are a few ways to begin an organized search, keep on track and stay focused and organized:

1. Determine what is available in your state to help you search. Check out your state website for information about access to adoption records.... more

In this article entitled Days before her death, mother gets wish of complete family a story unfolds about a family with ten siblings long separated. The two youngest children were taken from the mother and placed by adoption. In 1988, both of those children were found.

This month after 40 years of waiting, searching, hoping and praying, Gunnerson's prayers were answered at 7 a.m. April 14 by a handsome cowboy who came and stood by... more

Search and reunion can be exciting and confusing times. Having some idea of what to expect, and how to handle various situations can be extremely helpful.

1) If you choose to make your first contact by mail, be certain that your letter is vague and non-revealing. You do not know who knows about the adoption, and it is best to let the found party control who they tell and when. 2) When the initial contact is by telephone, inquire as to whether the person is free to talk at the moment.... more

Adoption is not the only way that families are separated. In this story a young woman is separated from her family by war.

I wonder how much different her reunion with her family would be from an adoption reunion? No matter why families are separated, the loss can feel just as real. Do you think that the reunion of the young woman separated from her family by a war differs greatly from this story, ... more

This article by Marlou Russell addresses some typical search and reunion issues.

Marlou Russell, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and MFCC in private practice in Santa Monica, California where she specializes in adoption issues, and is the author of Adoption Wisdom.

If you are not familiar with Marlou Russell, I recommend her highly. Although she is helpful to all triad members, she particularly has a great deal of... more

Just as adoption laws differ in the U.S. from state to state, in Canada laws are different from province to province. There have been some changes and/or proposed changes in Canada the past few years in some provinces which allow more access to records. This link lists the provinces and resources specific to each province.

The link above came from the website of Links Post-Legal Adoption Support Group which offers a wealth... more

Korean Focus is a new site that I just discovered that looks promising. An interesting note is that the group includes not solely triad members, but also others interested in all things Korean.

Korean Focus of Metro DC offers information and support to families interested in Korean culture and the Korean American community.....Our members and friends include adoptive families, adopted Korean Americans, and Korean American families.

On this site, I noticed a ... more

My Two Mothers is the title of a post written by a new blogger that I just discovered. Like Mo, Korean blogger at adoptionblogs.com, she is an adoptee and an adoptive parent as well. Her post "My Two Mothers" is chock full of her insights and observations. The most profound part of this post is this statement:

"If you cannot see my mother in me, then you are not truly seeing me."

... more

Bear with me for the next few days (or more) as I reorganize the categories in the search and rerunion blog. I am streamlining it in order to make it easier to find what you want. However, It will be a mammoth housekeeping project!

In the meantime, if you are desperately searching for a topic and can't find it, let me know and I will try to locate it for you!

Email me at: adoptionsearchblog2@adoptionmail.com

In this post, I introduced you to a new blogging birth dad. I mentioned that in his second post that he asked some questions that I decided to answer via a post. As he is in a new reunion, like most of us who have traveled his path, he probably has many questions.

"Since the reunion started the thoughts of it can be very obsessive – does the obsession every slow down?"

For most of us, the obsessive part of reunion does eventually calm... more