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adoptee rejected by birth mother

Her Letter Hurts! When a Birth Mom Rejects Her Daughter

Question: I was adopted back in the day and I finally tracked down my birth mother, now 85. My worst fears were realized when she rejected me a second time. I was so hopeful to finally hear from her, but her letter has put me in such pain.

Do you mind reading this and giving me your perspective? Everyone I have shared it with, my family and close friends, have their opinions but none of them have any experience with adoption. I would love to read comments from your readers as I am sure it would be therapeutic.

One more thing. I requested a picture of my mother when she was young and one now, plus medical and ancestry information. She sent me one recent picture with my half brother. I certainly would have appreciated answers to my specific health questions.

— Jill

adoptee rejected by birth mother

Dear Jill,

I am feeling somewhat violated by your two letters. I thought no one would be able to dig up that chapter of my life, but I guess I was wrong.

I was happy to hear that you had a good family and a happy life. I must say that even though I gave birth to you, I was never your mother. I put all that behind me years ago. I don’t mean to sound cold-hearted. I just needed to get on with my life. That’s just the way things were back then.

I don’t wish to get into personal details about me or my family. Please understand that I want them left out of this completely. I am asking you not to do anything rash. I am old and do not need any complications.

I do wish you and your family all the best. I don’t mean to sound unkind, but please respect my wishes as there are others to consider.

Sincerely,
Dolores

The Baby Scoop Era Really Did a Number on Unwed Mothers

I certainly understand that you feel so hurt from this letter, Jill. And how disappointed you must be that Dolores didn’t answer your health-related questions.

I’ve known and interviewed other women who were in the same situation as your mother in the same time period. During the Baby Scoop Era (BSE), the utter shame and choicelessness of an unintended pregnancy were enormous. Purely as a self-preserving mechanism, some women did what the social workers or nuns or whomever brokered the adoption said to do: forget and move on. Walling off the entire experience was how they would move on, maybe even move forward.

For some, it worked. They did move on, they did put the birth and placement out of their minds, they did as instructed and told no one. Decades later, then, is it any wonder that such a woman would not be able to lift the lid on such a tightly-sealed memory? It would shake everything she’s staked her forward-moving life on.

Walled Off

The letter also reveals the separation of Dolores’ two lives: before your birth and placement, and after. Not until you contacted her has she had to consider reconciling the long-fractured whole. The wall she placed around The Event has served her over the decades; she DID move on, she DID build a life, and she never had to grieve her loss because she’d contained it. How could she now face the prospect of removing the wall that has kept that horrid experience from seeping into her life?

The protective mechanism your mother is using matches what I’ve seen from others who moved on in the BSE. So I wonder if this helps you, in a small way, to depersonalize her words. Of course, though it feels like it’s all about you — it was about your conception and existence and birth and relinquishment, for crying out loud — perhaps for her it’s not about you as much as it was about the times, the practices, the promises (of moving on).

Medical Info

If you were to respond (I acknowledge that Dolores sounds unreceptive to further contact) you might inquire about your health background one more time. I will abide by your wish to not to disturb you or your family, but I do want to know the answers to the health-related questions I asked. That’s a fair trade, don’t you think?

[Edited: Based on a comment below, I have modified that statement. As Renee and others point out, Dolores has no right to expect that Jill stay away from any other adult other than Dolores, and Jill has the right to initiate contact with any other adult she wishes to. Instead: I will abide by your wish to not to disturb you, but I do want to know the answers to the health-related questions I asked. That’s a fair trade, don’t you think?]

Beyond that, focus your efforts on healing your own hurts without Dolores. Can it be done? Yes, it can. Consider the work of renowned author Sherrie Eldridge, who explores how to do rejection well. And Anne Heffron, who is teaching us all as she seeks ways to heal herself without any help from her birth mother. You can find her on Facebook, on her blog (I never miss a post) and you could read her book, You Don’t Look Adopted.

You Deserve

Even though we are mostly strangers, if I could give you a hug, Jill, I would. I’m sorry that your mother isn’t able to validate you in the ways you deserve. You deserve to be acknowledged, known, and loved.

Readers, do you have anything to offer Jill in her healing journey?

Resources About Birth Mother Rejection

About this Open Adoption Advice Column

open adoption advice

  • I am not trained as a therapist. Please do not rely on words in this space to make your own major or minor decisions.
  • Readers, please weigh in thoughtfully and respectfully. Remember that this is a teaching endeavor rather than a shaming endeavor. We we aim to bring light rather than heat. It’s my belief that people do the best they can with what they have to work with, and our goal is to give folks more to work with.
  • Send in your own open adoption question for consideration.

~~~~~

Lori Holden's book coverLori Holden, mom of a teen son and a teen daughter, blogs from Denver. Her book, The Open-Hearted Way to Open Adoption: Helping Your Child Grow Up Whole, is available through your favorite online bookseller and makes a thoughtful anytime gift for the adoptive families in your life.

69 Responses

  1. Oh my, I’m so sorry, I also experienced that to a lesser degree when I contacted my father and asked for FHH. That angst took a while to dissipate, even though I knew he was the reason why I needed adoption. Time will reduce the level of angst you’re feeling, but it will always sting.

    Based on my mothers story, if she had lived, I probably would have been welcomed by her, but it is likely any deep level relationship would have been hard for her based on what happened when she found out she was pregnant. I’ll never know, but I do understand how trauma so big, combined by actions of the father can create a wall so high in your heart and that survival requires rigid maintenance of that wall.

    I’d urge you to get the book “The Girls Who Went Away” by Ann Fessler and to delve into what they went through back then. There’s a new book on the BSE researched and written by moms of era that should give you an in-depth look at the treatment – you can find it on Amazon. “The Baby Scoop Era: Unwed Mothers, Infant Adoption and Forced Surrender” by Karen Wilson-Buterbaugh. Understanding the then, helps understand the different reactions we get today.

    You could consider sending her a response saying you won’t contact her again (if that is true) and include a FHH form asking her to please fill it out to benefit not only yourself, but your children (if you have any) and include a self-addressed stamped envelope. It’s a final step though, so think about it, mull for a bit first. Whatever you do, if you agree to not contacting her, don’t include other family members, be specific in your wording. You may one day do dna testing, and find relatives – so don’t make promises you can’t keep.

    I have found it immensely helpful to create both my maternal and paternal family trees. It has filled some of the holes and answered questions I needed answering.

    I wish you peace.

  2. Jill,
    I am so sorry you received this reply from your birth mother. I can’t even begin to imagine the hurt & rejection of receiving a response like this. I myself am a birth mother of a 26 year old son who reached out to me in January 2017.

    Even though I am a birth mother, I feel strongly that adoptees have the right to search out their medical history & family. You deserve answers and to have relationships with other family members.

    I couldn’t imagine responding to my son in this manner. It would be so heartbreaking.

    1. Rejected a 2nd time – those words are firstly very sad – if one has not heard their truth from their mother – who is the only first hand witness to what occurred – so then to feel rejected a 2nd time – is also very sad – very sad – mothers pain can be too deep for some to go back and experience the pain again – the words rejected twice concern me – it is sad – very sad – but does the mother not have rights too – I do not know the answer – there are many other family members involved as well – and there are many mothers who would love to hear from their sons/daughters who will not have anything to do with their natural mothers – the destruction of human lives – through the brutal era – continues even today – one can only pray for forgiveness and take care of one self – hugs

  3. First and most importantly, Jill’s mother is not entitled to prohibit Jill from contacting other family members. She can demand that Jill not contact her, but that’s where her rights end. We don’t get to tell other adult people which of their own family members they may know and which they may not. And that IS the reality of the situation: Jill’s mother’s family is also Jill’s family (something far too many people seem to forget). Jill’s siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc., may very much wish to know Jill, and Jill’s mother has zero say in that.

    Secondly, how to handle the pain caused by a letter like this? Time and tears and therapy. Lots and lots of hard, expensive therapy.

    My heart breaks for you, Jill, but please know this rejection is no reflection on you. You are the only innocent in this–you’ve done nothing wrong. It’s totally normal and right that you should want to know your family. BIG HUGS, MUCH LOVE.

    1. That’s a really good point, Renee, that I completely missed. Dolores has no right to demand/expect that Jill stay away from any other adult other than Dolores.

      And Jill does have the right to initiate contact with any other adult she wishes to.

    2. Excellent point about Jill having the right to contact everyone in her family but Dolores. I would think her siblings and extended family would welcome her!

      1. I have three half-siblings, two paternal and one maternal. Both my brothers welcomed me, and we have good relationships. My sister, while polite and kind, isn’t open to knowing me at this time.

        I have close relationships with some of my aunts and some of my cousins. Some have not been at all welcoming.

        I think that’s how it works for most of us. Some welcome, some reject. And frankly, I’ve done a little rejecting myself. Some of the bio relatives I’ve found are not people I want in my life. So it works both ways.

        For me, the days of putting everyone else’s feelings and “needs” ahead of my own are over. I’m not obligated to keep anyone else’s secrets, and I believe I have a right to know who I am and where I came from.

        We just have to be as understanding as we can be–as kind as we can be–accept what comes and do our best to carry on.

        Adoption does so much damage–and not just to adoptees.

  4. I searched and found my daughter I lost to adoption in 1968. I wanted to find her so much. When I did find her I went through a very emotional time. I had to relive my feeling from when I was pregnant and forced to place my daughter. I was basically shut down for a couple of weeks. I could barely function during that period of time. I think that for some mothers who placed their child just don’t feel that they can go through that kind of emotional time. The shame was so very great back then that people really worry what their family would think of them.

    1. So true for many mothers the pain is too deep and too scary to address and mothers wishes should be respected and understood and no adoptee has the right to destroy a family after a natural mother makes a request – she and her other family members do have human rights

  5. As an adoptee, I completely agree that this adoptee should absolutely reach out to siblings and other family members. She should not internalize her birthmother’s shame.

  6. Just know that the birth mother’s family members likely don’t know about you, and contacting them may result in similar rejection. I’m the 42-year old daughter of a birth mother (that makes me a birth sister?) who didn’t know I had a half-brother until I was 25. My mom is not able to have a relationship with the son she gave up for adoption; she was one of those women who was “sent away” to have her baby in the 60s. She shuts down when she talks about it (fear, shame, denial), though she did provide medical information and family history to him. I’ve spoken to him directly (she doesn’t know this) and tried to offer him peace and closure. He was persistent about wanting to meet me (I live in another state), however he has severe emotional/anger issues and has been very destructive in his personal relationships with his adoptive siblings, wife and daughter. He is not a person I would feel safe bringing into my family’s life. He does not know who his father is, and my mother insists she told him the identity (though a DNA test proved otherwise). I am at a loss. I feel for this man and I know that her behavior has contributed to his troubles, but I don’t think I am the answer to his troubles.

  7. I would write again. I would be very compassionate and assure her that I understand. But I would let her know that while I will respect her wishes not to contact her again, however:

    “I cannot be asked to make the same promise for any other of MY family members.

    “You may have wiped nine months of your life out as if they do not exist, but I exist. I was not aborted. I am a human being. I exist and I have the same rights as any other human being to contact and speak with whomever I want.

    “I thus would encourage you to gather your courage and tell your family and trust that they will not judge you poorly.

    “You see, Doris, it is true that ‘that’s just the way things were back then’ but times have changed and people are far more accepting today. “

  8. I am realizing more and more that people truly believe a baby that is adopted into a “good family” has absolutely no idea of the pain that little baby is experiencing. The brainwashing that was done to get those babies. No mother can have and rehome their child and truly believe documents won’t be dug up. We adoptees are pretty stubborn once we’ve got our minds made up. Ive

  9. For me personally I do not understand how a birth mother could reject her child a first time much less a second time.

    It speaks to a narcissistic quality to not be able to answer questions openly for a child that went through hell to find you.

    Irregardless of how this mother feels she should answer the specific questions her birth child has without trying to make the daughter feel guilty for contacting her!

    Allow this child to process and heal for Christ’s sake! So she can go on with her life!

    Why should your daughter make special regard for YOUR feelings when you just got done smashing her feelings into the dirt.

    #NeverStopLooking

    1. Yes, Dolores should do all sorts of things, but she isn’t doing them (can’t? won’t?). The question Jill poses here is: what is within her power to do about the situation, given Dolores’ stance?

      Jill can’t change Dolores. She can only manage Jill.

  10. I would also tell Doris is a compassionate follow-up letter that you have read books like Fessler’s “The Girls Who Went Away” and you understand the shame back in the day but….

    1. Because you understand what it was like for mothers back then, you know they were told that it was “for the best” and the loving thing to do. You know she made a huge sacrifice to do what was best for you, so why turn your back on me now? People today not only understand that sacrifice but applaud you for doing so!

    2. Tell her that there are support groups to help to help her deal with having been found. Assure her she is far from the only one who put it all behind her and then was found. With DNA testing more and more adoption-separated kin are finding one another. CUB, Concerned United Birthparents is the oldest and largest support group for mothers who lost children to adoption. Facebook has many more.

    Let her know that you understand this is difficult and scary and something she was unprepared for. But so was being pregnant with you and she got through that! Dealing with this instead of trying to go back into hiding, in the end, will be a good thing for her. It can be a relief to end decades of secret keeping and living in fear of being found out once she embraces it.

  11. My mother denies I am hers. It is OK, she has been damaged by adoption and life.

    I have five older full siblings. I am in reunion with one. I don’t really care if that bothers my mother. She is making her choice and I am making mine. My other siblings know where I am and aren’t interested in a relationship either. Also OK. Their loss.

    I’m glad you amended your post. I think mothers and fathers of adoption loss want to control reunion because in the BSE they had so little control, which really isn’t that different from today honestly. It is just painted differently, but I digress. However, that lack of control then, doesn’t give them carte blanche over control now. We had traumatic decisions made for us and now making ourselves whole as adopted adults should be allowed to come first.

  12. I received almost exactly the same letter from my first mom. I decided to write short little cards and sent them registered mail so that she had to sign ( and choose) each time. She accepted them… but hasnt written again. I guess its the best she could do. The trauma is so complete and its complicated. Nobody deserves this. I guess in a way that mom that would have been and that child essentially psychologicically died. Grieve it all… its complicated grief and my heart extends to anyone that experiences this. It is NOT a rejection of YOU. You are loveable and priceless. Self care… expressing the grief is helpful.

  13. As a mother who lost her daughter to adoption in 1972, I was the one who decided to search and find my daughter in 1998. But having immersed myself in the adoption change movement, I have now met many adoptees who have had mothers who have chosen not to reunite. I do not like the word “reject” because I do not believe these mothers are rejecting their lost children as much as they are “protecting” themselves. Reuniting with your child after 25, 30, 40 years is extremely difficult. Not only must the mother relive the pain of the loss and the shame of the event, but there is very real fear that the family you now have will reject you! No parent wants their children to judge their actions from things in their past. Please keep in mind the extraordinary shame we endured and know that some women just cannot let their friends or co-workers know. In their minds, it could ruin a career. It could ruin a husband’s career. Now I know that society is not that judgmental anymore, but for Dolores’ era, her friends just might still be that judgmental.

    I would respond to Dolores as some have suggested, with kindness and love, requesting the medical information. Sending her a medical history form may be easier for her to fill out and return. At 85, writing is becoming difficult. I would also reassure her that you understand her position and your relationship with her need not be public knowledge. It can only be between the two of you for now. I would not threaten to contact your siblings or other relatives. I would not even mention it. At 85, it is critical that you focus on only her before she is gone forever. Siblings can wait awhile.

    Finally, please know she is writing from fear. It is not about you. She is deathly afraid that the thing she did, which was the absolute WORST thing a daughter could do, short of murder, will be revealed. We were all good girls that got caught. We were naive and yes, stupid. I’m sure your mother is a good woman. We believed the lies that we could go on and no one would ever know. It didn’t happen that way. How could it? You are our children.

  14. Jill, hugs! Relinquishing a child is such an unnatural experience, as is the advice we were given: Move on, you’ll forget. Long ago one woman (I wish I could remember her name) described relinquishing and “moving on” as burying herself in ice so thick that it would take a major event to begin to even chip away at it. Dolores sounds iced-over; she cannot feel what she is missing—you! When my daughter found me, even though I wanted to know her, I was not prepared for the emotional chaos or for answering for the lies I had told. It is world-smashing to go from: your child will be hidden from you forever so cope with it, to: here she is, now what? At 85, she probably figured she’d never have to switch her thinking.

    Even if she never agrees to contact, it is your right to know the rest of your relatives and develop the relationships you wish. That is not Dolores’s call. She may not realize it, but she cannot stop this from coming out anyway, whether she’s around to see it or not. I am so sorry she cannot open up. And I don’t want to hold out false hope that she will in the future. We can’t know that. But do know it is not about you; it’s about the cultural brainwashing we fell under the spell of.

    Feel free to find me on Facebook if you want to talk (or Lori can put us in touch).

  15. Everyone else has the good advice covered, but I wanted to let Jill know that my heart goes out to her and I hope she gets the answers she’s seeking.

  16. Dear Gill
    As a birth mother myself I would say find the answers you
    need. There is no perfect in this world of adoption and I believe either way there will be some joy and sadness.

    Wishing you well
    Louise

  17. Dear Jill- I am so sorry that you are going through a difficult and painful time.

    I am a birthmom in an open adoption. My child is a teenager. Even though I am able to tell my child that I love them, and even though I am able to hear them tell me that they love me, and even though we are able to spend precious time with each other, my heart still hurts every single day. Every single day I think about my child, and every single day I miss them.

    When I hear adoptees talking about feeling the emotion of rejection, it makes me feel sad and frustrated. Sometimes I wish that an adoptee could get a tiny glimpse into a birthmother’s heart, and they would see the deep love that we have for our child. They would also see the anguish and pain that we carry over relinquishing our sweet child.

    Making the decision to place my child wasn’t a rejection, it was a decision that was made with the most tender of care. It was a very, very difficult decision.

    “I can only imagine how your birthmother must have felt back then because adoption was so different. I had so much support from friends, family, and a counselor.

    You don’t know why your birthmother placed you. Perhaps she was forced to, that was not uncommon during that time. Perhaps your birthfather was not a kind man, and she wanted to protect you.
    It must have been so hard for her. I totally agree with what Lori wrote about walling off her pain. I was so supported through my decision and placement, but some days it felt like my heart was going to break into little, tiny pieces. Some days, I too, had to wall off my pain.

    When your birthmother wrote “I was happy to hear that you had a good family and a happy life”. . . as a birthmom. . I read love in that sentence. From my perspective, I would say, please don’t take your birthmother’s letter as a rejection. She took time to write to you, even though it may have been really hard for her.

    I absolutely understand that you would like to have a medical history. That is a very valid request. It would be so helpful for you. Writing and saying “that is a fair trade, don’t you think?”, sounds a little unkind to me. Maybe you could write one more time and tell her why the medical history is important to you, and that she wouldn’t have to give you any names, but just the family member’s position and any medical conditions, and how they passed away, like “great grandfather-died of cancer”, etc.

    If she decides not to, unlike others who have written, I do think you should respect her wishes. This is only my opinion. You don’t know the “why” behind her decisions. There may be a very valid reason why she is reluctant to share other family member’s identities with you. Maybe it would tear her family apart. It could be a delicate situation.

    There are different screening tests that are available now for different diseases, like screening for the gene that increases the risk for breast cancer. You could take advantage of that.

    Again, this is only how I feel, just a perspective from one person. I hope you will take away from it what is helpful to you, and leave the rest. 🙂 I wish you healing as you continue on your journey.

    1. I wish that others could come to fully understand just exactly how horrible and destructive forced adoption was for mothers. I wish others could come to see and feel fully, exactly what that was like and how it felt and continues to feel in the decades after. I would that others knew of the gargantuan strength it takes, often daily, to get up and put that one foot in front of the other. Some days I could say it feels like trying to lift a dead body up and animate it! Then maybe there could be a little more understanding in that direction.

      I think many just don’t understand the depth of the damage done. It seems like many don’t want to understand either.

      It’s the grief that’s the killer. It’s the trying to walk through an impossible loss with no acknowledgement or support. Add to it, condemnation and (seems like) worse than murder (murderer’s are allowed to know their children!) damnation of who and what we were and are, mothers. Only we are not because everyone says so –until– our sons and daughters come searching. Try that on for size.

      Reunion /contact is hard, with society, and by association our children being told and believing things like, “we made a plan”, “we had a choice”. It’s being called and told we are only “birth” mothers. That word for some (many?) of us is like certain other words that are used to belittle and denigrate other human beings. It’s hearing things like, “I want to thank my bm for giving me life, as if we even thought about an abortion!

      We are supposed to give up our children, to accept that it’s “god’s will”, told that we have made a “noble” sacrifice….. ____! It’s being told that it’s all our fault/we are the reason that OBC access is denied when in fact we are the only ones who are FORBIDDEN any access in many states, to any information. I could not even learn the color of my son’s eyes or hair or even something as benign/non-identifying as his adoptive parent’s hobbies. Do not tell me that it’s to protect our “privacy”. We get stomped at every turn, by every side, except for those few, and comparatively it IS very few, who “get it” such as Lori. Is it any wonder why more and more mothers seem to be saying NO?

      If the lies were stopped. If there was widespread acknowledgement of forced adoptions and even the severe coercion that often takes place in this age, if there was an apology and a changing of adoption practices to a more ethical form, such as many other nations have done, then maybe, just maybe, there could be some incredible healing for these mothers *and* their children.

      I do believe that adoptees should be given the answers to their questions. I understand the desperation, the longing for a knowing and for a connection, for truth.

      Jill, I truly hope you can tenderly approach your mother. She is a very strong lady to have made it this far but I would say very fragile in spirit. I can just imagine the thoughts to your saying, “that is a fair trade, don’t you think?” What fair “trade”, you mean like me losing you so I could be “forgiven” but not really? Like having to lose you so I could be considered “respectable or worthy”? There is no such thing as a “fair trade” when it comes to the losses in adoption. She lost the most precious one a mother could lose to “gain” her life now. To have that most precious one come back when we were told we would never ever be able to know you again and we were not your mother and then to go on and try to build a new if not a false life (i.e. one that is forced by law and society to deny your existence as our child)…. I can’t even call it cognitive dissonance. It’s worse.

      I hope your mother can somehow bring herself to open her heart to fully embrace you and answer all your questions because a mother’s love does those things no matter how much it hurts.

      Even three years into reunion and it still hurts. I don’t know how some can say 2 weeks of non-functioning and all is well now. I think that’s great ..but I just don’t see how.

  18. I was rejected last year, the day before my 57th birthday. The intermediary –a govt bureaucrat assigned to locate my birth mother –was unceremoniously told off, before Bio-Mom hung up on her.

    I don’t think anyone understands the psychological impact of being an adoptee. We all want to know what everyone else takes for granted, good or bad. Evidently, this person, not a teenager, was able to maintain her reputation, move on and presumably hide the event. I get it in the context of the 1960s but now in her 80s, seems to me it’s MY turn. I was not given the chance to communicate with her myself. Instead, as a closed adoption, a govt bureaucrat called her, at 84 years of age, and frightened her.

    Frankly, I’m fairly sick of the logical explanations or platitudes about how “hard” is was for these women. If anyone assumes we adoptees take the other side of the story lightly, they are wrong. I even assumed she would be deceased by the time I initiated my search. Yet, surely, I deserve the right to obtain family information, health information and anything else I need to know all these years later, while respecting her privacy…..It is quite archaic.

    1. Your “rights” do not supersede the mother’s rights. Not here you’re. Sometimes mothers quite frankly never wanted these children at all, and probably would have had an abortion if given a chance. trying to force contact or a relationship makes the the pursuer selfish. If a man pressured and pursued a woman relentlessly, he’d be arrested. She doesn’t owe the child anything.

      1. Ooof. So harsh. May I assume you are one of those mothers?

        I’m not hearing Jen talk about relentless contact. More like acknowledgment.

        Again, genealogy is the #2 hobby in the country. It’s celebrated when most people find their roots. But not for some adoptees, who are blocked by sentiments like yours. And regarding lack of health history, which Jen is also seeking: it affects generations beyond just the adopted person — sometimes in a life and death way.

  19. I hear your exasperation & frustration with the way we’ve done adoption, Jen. I appreciate you sharing your viewpoint so that I can better understand the psychological impact of being an adoptee, of having to go through government officials to get your own information, and of being met with rejection by your birth mom.

    I wonder if you saw this NYT Ethicist article yesterday. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/24/magazine/what-if-i-dont-want-to-see-the-child-i-gave-up-for-adoption.html

  20. Hi Jill, I too have been through the same experience of being rejected twice by my birth mother.
    I started searching in 2007, bio mother was located in 2010 through an intermediatory service, bio mother was very angry and clearly stated that she wanted Nothing to do with me and no communication in any shape or form. Itermediatory asked if she would answer some questions about my ethnic origins, family health history and whereabouts & circumstances of my father. I was told he had died and she knew nothing of the circumstances also I was given very basic info regarding medical histories etc. She sent some recent photos of herself but had none of me when I was born in 1964. I sent her a photo of myself and info about my upbringing. She did not want to persue contact after answering my questions and I had to accept that and said I would not contact her again.
    However, reluctant to accept this, I have sent her about 4 letters in the last 8 years appealing for her to change her mind regarding contact. I had no replies.
    Recently I found her partner on Facebook & asked her to help me understand why my bio mother does not want contact, explaining that attitudes have changed since 1960’s, it is no longer shameful etc & society Do understand why the situation for birth mothers was so difficult & traumatic in those days, and I was extremely empathetic and sensitive to her situation.
    I was told to leave her alone, she had answered my questions, that I keep ‘pestering her’ (4 letters in 8 years does not add up to pestering in my book) & that she did not want contact, I was then told to ‘go and live my life’. I could not even reply as I was then blocked on Facebook. To have ‘the door slammed’ in my face for a second time was extremely painful, I wished I had not put myself through it, and now I have to deal with the impact of rejection. I guess that ‘ where there is life , there is hope’ and I was hoping that she would change her mind, but it wasn’t to be, so now I have to try and deal with my emotions and move on.
    It is So very hard, and I can totally empathise with you Jill .
    Big hugs to you too xx
    I would be interested to know how other adoptees have dealt with rejection? it feels very much like a bereavement to me, and hurts so much, I only hope that time will heal.

    1. I am an adult adoptee (49 yrs old) that is rejected by her birth mother as well. She was thrilled when I contacted her a year ago and then within 4 days completely had a turn around and she said I was not her family and her emotions were too overwhelming. It happened again the next month and we spoke for 4 days and then she shut it down. She then wrote me an email 3 months later saying she did not want to know anymore about me. I did connect with my birth sister and brother. My birth sister and I met last month and still talk. The birth brother wrote for a while and then stopped. My birth mother is now having issue with the daughter speaking to me. It is like torture. I do not think the impact of reliquishment on an adoptee is understood at all, and two, I have learned the huge impact of an unknown reliquished sibling on a family. It is like a ghost in the room no one knows about. I am happy to connect about adoption. The rejection factor is almost debilitating.

  21. Jill,
    My heart breaks for you. As a birth mom I cannot imagine reacting in this way. I was thrilled when my son reached out & found me.
    I hope you can come to a place of peace with the situation & know you are a blessing whether your birth mom acknowledges this or not.

  22. Jill, i sympathize with you. I am going through this right now…and it hurts. After 48 years as an adoptee and years of search i located family members through the adoption agency and through a little inspector gadgetry of my own found my birth mother on social media. Ive sent her pictures, inbox messages and comments on her page, left my number, sent my birth certificate, my email address etc. She will only like few comments but ive gotten no response to the messages ive left her. It hurts and yes it feels like being rejected twice. Ive even reached out to siblings who wont respond. The biggest part of it is thar my family are celebrities….and if i wanted to be an ass about it i could put them all on blast for rejecting my attempt to have a conversation with someone. But i wont do that. All i want is some communication and closure. I am sad as i write this but i am so glad i found your blog….i am not alone in this empty feeling…i will pray that you and i both find peace

  23. I am a birth mother who gave a child up when I was 18. The child’s birth father was very cruel and unkind to me and because of his rejection when I became pregnant I felt I had no choice but to place my child for adoption. My adoption was an open adoption, but I didn’t push contact, because quite frankly, I wanted her family to feel secure that I wasn’t going to be in their business, and also because it was quite painful for me to always be thinking about what I lost.

    I contacted my biological daughter through social media when she was 18. She was excited and so was I. She told me to call her parents that they would be so excited to hear from me, so I did, and they were not excited. They were very upset because they did not want her contacted until 21. I did not know this and I felt really bad and rejected by her parents. I pulled back so as not to be intrusive. She came to visit me once and it was fun to be able to meet her but awkward because we were essentially strangers. We didn’t talk often but when she turned 21 she wanted her birth fathers information and I gave it to her. She immediately made contact with him and I literally lost my mind. I told her to never contact me again.

    I had made contact with her biological father several years prior via social media and I reopened old wounds and created new wounds that were extremely painful for me. I realize now that I expected her to hate him for what he had done to me, and so when she made contact with him I felt rejected and I kicked her out of my life. Not the brightest thing I’ve ever done. I regret doing that, but the damage was done. I sent a message to apologize to her, but its been 10 years with no word. I don’t think I will ever know the pain I inflicted on the child I gave up for adoption by rejecting her. I know her extended family and they tell me that her, her parents, and her biological father get along quite well. It kills me that the man who wanted nothing to do with her or me when I was pregnant with her, now has a great relationship with her. It is disappointing to me that I carried her, gave birth to her, and gave her to her family and now have no relationship with her. I recognize that I am 100% at fault for rejecting her and I got what I asked for. I regret my actions and I feel like the pain I have gone through is a small glimpse of what I did to my birth daughter and what she and her family have had to go through because of my impulsive rejection. Maybe one day she will be able to forgive me.

    People have so many varied emotions and situations, its just so difficult to understand why people do the things they do. I hope when people are rejected that they don’t internalize it as they did something wrong. I know it doesn’t make the pain any easier though.

    I hope those who are suffering with being rejected might at some point be able to forgive, and find peace and joy. I am so grateful to have found this board as it has given me great insight.

    As a birth mother who has at one time rejected a birth child, it was done because I was hurting not because I didn’t love her. My birth child was not responsible in any way for my rejection.

    My prayers are with all those who are suffering.

  24. Jill, this is not for the faint-hearted:

    Dear Jill,

    I am feeling somewhat violated VIOLATED? YOUR MOTHER’S USE OF SUCH A HIGHLY EMOTIVE NEGATIVE WORD HERE IS VERY SIGNIFICANT TO HER ENTIRE ATTITUDE TOWARD YOU. AN IMPLICATION WOULD BE THAT YOUR VERY EXISTENCE HAS TERMINALLY INTERFERED WITH HERS IN A MANNER UNANTICIPATED AND UNWANTED BY HER; HERE SHE IS NOT TALKING ABOUT YOUR TWO LETTERS BUT RATHER YOU YOURSELF, OR RATHER IF THE TWO LETTERS THEN ANY COMMUNICATION FROM YOU SHE REGARDS AS AN INTRUSION. ONLY COMPLETE SELF-NEGATION BY SILENCE FROM YOU WILL SATISFY HER; YOU HAVE BEEN THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM OF HER LIFE SINCE YOU WERE CONCEIVED, AND SHE WANTS THIS MAJOR DISTRACTION GONE. TOUGH YOU WILL NEVER GO AWAY! by your two letters NOT, “I AM SO UNSPEAKABLY THANKFUL FOR YOUR TWO LETTERS”. I thought no one would be able to dig up that chapter of my life, but I guess I was wrong YOU ARE NOT “A CHAPTER OF HER LIFE” YOU ARE A HUMAN BEING POSSESSED OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND SHE HAS SPENT HER ENTIRE LIFE SINCE YOUR CONCEPTION TRYING TO BURY YOU AS DEEP AS POSSIBLE, PERMANENTLY OUT OF HER WAY. SURPRISE! “HERE’S JILLY!”

    I was happy to hear that you had a good family and a happy life OH WHOOPY-DOO! NO! SHE, YOUR MOTHER, IS YOUR FAMILY, THEY ARE MERELY ADOPTERS, STRANGERS; A HAPPY EXISTENCE DESPITE BEING ABANDONED BY HER AND ERASED BY THEM? WELL WHY NOT? EXISTENCE IS WONDERFUL, BUT THE TRUTH MUST AND WILL OUT WHICH WILL RESULT IN LEGITIMATE HAPPINESS FOR THE INNOCENT AND DESERVED ABJECT MISERY FOR THE GUILTY (IN THIS CASE ALL THE ADULTS PERMITTING THIS ADOPTION BEING FINALISED INCLUDING YOUR MOTHER). I must say that even though I gave birth to you YES YOU DID GIVE BIRTH HAVING CONCEIVED AND CARRIED YOUR DAUGHTER FOR 9 MONTHS, YOU ALONE ARE HER MOTHER, NO ONE ELSE EVER CAN BE AND YOU ALONE ARE ULTIMATELY DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE NURTURE AND SAFEKEEPING OF YOUR CHILD AS IS HER FATHER AND AS ARE THE GRANDPARENTS UNCLES AND AUNTIES OF YOUR DAUGHTER BUT ULTIMATELY YOU AND HER FATHER, I was never your mother YOU ALONE CAN BE AND ARE HER MOTHER FOR EVER FROM THE MOMENT YOU CONCEIVED HER IN YOUR WOMB PERPETUALLY THEREAFTER. I put all that behind me years ago YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN ABSOLUTELY INCAPABLE OF PUTTING YOUR CHILD BEHIND YOU SUCH IS AN IMPOSSIBLE TASK, PROBABLY THE MOST IMPOSSIBLE TASK, DESPITE WHATEVER VAIN ATTEMPTS YOU HAVE MADE, VAIN IS WHAT THEY ARE; YOUR ELEPHANT IS STILL IN YOUR ROOM EVEN AFTER ALL THESE YEARS. I don’t mean to sound cold-hearted YOU HAVE ATTEMPTED TO RIP OUT YOUR OWN HEART BUT NO ONE CAN SUCCEED IN SO DOING. YOU ACTUALLY SOUND ABSOLUTELY DESPERATE AND UTTERLY DUMBFOUNDED THAT YOUR DEFINING TRUTH HAS PRESENTED HERSELF TO THE LIGHT OF YOUR DAY! WHEN YOU HAVE DONE YOUR ABSOLUTE LEVEL-BEST TO CONCEAL HER FROM YOURSELF. I just needed to get on with my life AND YOU NEVER MANAGED TO FULFIL THAT ‘NEED’, NAMELY BECAUSE THERE IS NO SUCH NEED FOR A MOTHER. ALL A MOTHER NEEDS IS HER BABY AND TO NURTURE HER TO THE BEST OF HER ABILITY (WHATEVER SACRIFICES BEING WITH HER AND ACHIEVING THAT TAKES), THAT IS A MOTHER’S ONLY NEED, YOUR ONLY NEED TO THIS VERY DAY BUT YOU YOURSELF HAVE FRUSTRATED IT AND BY THIS CURT VIOLATING LETTER ARE YET ATTEMPTING TO FRUSTRATE YOUR VERY OWN CHIEFEST DESIRE. TALK ABOUT ONE’S OWN WORST ENEMY? DO YOURSELF A FAVOUR: ADMIT IT TO YOURSELF! That’s just the way things were back then DON’T PLEAD ANTIQUITY! EVERYONE, INCLUDING YOU, ESPECIALLY YOU, KNEW IT WAS ABSOLUTELY WRONG AT THE TIME.

    I don’t wish to get into personal details about me or my family YOUR DAUGHTER IS YOUR VERY FIRST-BORN FAMILY AND AS SUCH YOUR FIRST RESPONSIBILITY, WHOEVER MAY HAVE COME ALONG AFTERWARD. Please understand that I want them left out of this completely THIS IS NOT ABOUT THEM. THIS IS ABOUT YOUR VERY OWN FIRST-BORN DAUGHTER AND YOUR SUITABLE RESPONSE TO, AS OPPOSED TO COMPLETELY INDEFENSIBLE “VIOLATION” OF (WHICH IS WHAT THIS VILE LETTER IS), HER. I am asking you not to do anything rash WHATEVER YOU MAY ASK, IN LOVE TO YOU HER MOTHER YOUR DAUGHTER IS AT ABSOLUTE LIBERTY TO CONFRONT YOU HEAD-ON FOR YOUR INEXCUSABLE ABANDONMENT OF HER AND OFFERING OF HER IN HER INNOCENCE UP TO COMPLETE STRANGERS MERELY TO BE ERASED. I am old YOU ARE OLD? YES BUT WHAT YOU DID MIGHT AS WELL BE TWO MINUTES AGO TO YOU! ARE YOU GOING TO JUST GIVE UP AND SO DISGUSTINGLY INDULGE YOURSELF AS TO GO DOWN TO YOUR GRAVE HAVING COMPLETELY LET DOWN YOUR BELOVED DAUGHTER A SECOND AND FINAL TIME? AND ALL THIS WHEN YOUR DAUGHTER IS GIVING YOU THE UNDESERVED OPPORTUNITY TO PUT THINGS RIGHT BETWEEN HER AND YOURSELF? and do not need any complications YOUR DAUGHTER IS NOT A COMPLICATION TO YOU, HAVING ALL BUT DESTROYED HER VERY LIFE YOU ARE ALTOGETHER OBLIGED TO FULLY COMPENSATE HER FOR YOUR UNFORGIVABLE REPREHENSIBLE DISOWNING OF HER: DO ALL THAT YOU CAN BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE! FAILING THAT ANSWER TO YOUR OWN CONSCIENCE.

    I do wish you and your family all the best YOU AND HER FATHER ARE YOUR DAUGHTER’S FAMILY. I don’t mean to sound unkind YOU ARE NOT “UNKIND” YOU ARE AN ABSOLUTE DISGRACE TO HUMANITY, but please respect my wishes as there are others to consider YOU ARE ENTITLED TO ZERO RESPECT GIVEN THAT YOU HAVE SHOWN UTTER CONTEMPT FOR YOUR VERY OWN DAUGHTER. THE ONLY INDIVIDUAL DEMANDING YOUR ABSOLUTE CONSIDERATION IN THIS MOMENT AND UNTIL YOU RECTIFY YOUR MISDEMANOUR IS YOUR DAUGHTER WHOM YOU ARE IN THE PROCESS OF ABANDONING YET AGAIN. AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME ALL OTHERS ARE ABSOLUTELY IRRELEVANT. I DON’T CARE IF YOU ARE 185! YOUR SOLE AND IMMEDIATE CONSIDERATION IS THIS YOUR VERY OWN DAUGHTER!

    Sincerely YOU HAVE NOT A GRAIN OF SINCERITY IN YOUR BEING UNLESS YOU GET UP OUT OF YOUR ARMCHAIR AND ON YOUR KNEES BEG YOUR DAUGHTER’S FORGIVENESS,
    Dolores

    1. Thank you from all of us that felt different, the elephant in the room and like someone tried to bury us as deep as possible so that they could cope with life after giving birth. They had a choice as painful as it was for them, it was and is painful for their child who did not have a choice. I was adopted and I am so sorry Jill for the way you are being treated. Thank you to Austin and David for understanding the pain and standing up for Jill who does not deserve this inappropriate behavior from the one who gave birth to her! I believe Delores needs counseling and she has definitely caused her daughter to need counseling. I always thought of adoption as a very selfless loving act but this is beyond hurtful. One should be able to love at any age. So very sad!

    2. This. Is. THE. BEST piece of writing I have read to date. Thanks for the laugh, the truth and the slap the mother round the face in capital letters. I needed to read this tonight. Thankyou from an adopted person. And Jill, this might be a late reply but I hope you do a family tree. Ancestry.com throws up a lot more useful information than what mother may ever know. You’ll see you are not just a product of mother but a tonne of other ancestors. I found that helped a lot, now I see my ancestors all the time in my reflection at various times. Feels like im being haunted actually. Good luck.

  25. I would just to give a virtual standing ovation for the prior post by Austin and David!! Thank you two for your bold and necessary response to Jill.

    Jill – In my view, this is a very narcissistic response from your natural mother. You don’t have to stay away from her or not contact her, even if she is 85. She IS your mother.

  26. Your birth mother has the right to turn you away, and you need to be the bigger person in this relationship. She doesn’t want contact or her life to be uprooted by the past, doing so would just make you an insufferable c^#t. I know this first hand because my aunt was almost 70, she was brutally raped when she was young. Couldn’t get an abortion, she gave it up for a CLOSED (i.e. no contact) adoption. Several years ago this c^#t decides she has to meet her birth mother and e-mailed her. My aunt told her no, and she doesn’t want her contacting family because she doesn’t need everyone else knowing that something this personal happened to her. The c^#t does it anyway and throws a wrench in my aunts life. Needless to say, she killed herself. Fortunately, everyone turned on this c^#t and told her to never contact us again. It wasn’t that she was given up for adoption or that she was a rape baby, it was because she totally disregarded my aunt who EVERYONE loved, who acted like a mom to the entire family, for her own whims and made her kill herself. It’s about time people stop telling adoptees that it’s okay to ruin a life because they want to feel something that’s never going to happen. Incredibly selfish, and they have every right to get what’s coming to them.

    1. Dear commenter,

      I can understand how your experience hurt you and made you very angry about the loss of your aunt. I think your point of view is not unique and could be part of this bigger discussion about competing rights when the stakes are so high. For this reason I approved your comment.

      However I did clean it up a bit. The schoolyard-bully words you chose say something about you, but I do not choose to let them live in my space here.

    2. I am so sorry your aunt made the choice to end her life. I can’t begin to imagine the inner pain she may have been in.

      Fwiw, I am in the position your aunt’s child was in. The difference is that my biological father is also either my grandfather or uncle.

      I would implore you to try and see past your anger to understand what this person may have gone through. Human beings place great value on their family ties/heritage, and as an adoptee, I can tell you we feel that even more strongly. Along with this, I wanted to find my biological family because I am sick with a disease that may well kill me. Knowing the familial history of the disease could well save my life.

      Just as your aunt was wounded, so was her child. Quite frankly, it’s incredibly painful to know that you are part of an act that was so horrific. You can’t just pretend it never happened.

      I understand you are hurt and angry, and your feelings are valid. I’m just asking you to consider the other side as well.

  27. I get how a person who was raped could want nothing to do with her birth daughter. But it’s never selfish to want to know your origins. Though I can’t imagine insisting.

    My birth mother chose not to have a relationship with me. Fine. Her loss. I can’t help it that she was crying for me when she was dying–my birth cousins said she died of “bitterness and loneliness” and they loved her very much.

    She only told me that my birth father offered to marry her when she told him. She said no because of religious differences and he was 5 years younger than her.

    So she tells everyone, after meeting me, that she was pregnant by one man. he turned out to be an abusive drunk who died at 33. I spoke to his oldest son who was loutish and wanted nothing to do with me as I’m younger than he is and we all know what that is.

    I knew she lied at will so I chalked the marriage proposal up to fantasy.

    I put off my DNA test for years. Finally did it. Last week I got the results. See a 100% parent/child match for a man I never heard of. Googled. He was from her hometown. Contacted my birth cousins who not only heard about him but said he was their father’s buddy and they thought in business with him.

    My world spun out of control. I kept telling myself not to be excited but I can’t help it. Yesterday I got a message from one of his daughters saying that ours is a very large family; let’s see how we’re related.

    I answered with “I hope that you’re sitting down as I have a story to tell you….” and proceeded to tell her.

    Today I feel like a fool. They probably want nothing to do with me. Oh my birth father died in March!

    I know they have a right not to have a relationship with me but I’m not sure I can take a third rejection though the first “father” turned out not to be.

    Oh my social worker when I was searching was the original social worker in the twins scandal. I liked her a lot. But I never told her I knew my birth mother’s name. Something, some distrust of systems and/or her stopped me.
    She had the gall to tell me that it wasn’t moral of me to contact my birth mother on my own.

    Sorry to go so far off topic. It’s a mind-boggling week for me!

  28. I wonder whether the birth mother understands why you might want the medical records? In the letter it sounds like she’s fearful of you reaching out to current people in ‘her family’ and the question around ancestry seems connected in her mind, from her response. Perhaps purely asking for medical information to best equip yourself and your own family to ensure doctors are aware of any genetic risk factors might be the way to go.
    My heart hurts for you both.

  29. “Birth family doesn’t owe you s^#t” – It doesn’t seem as though you were an “adoptee” so you don’t so you are commenting on something you know nothing about…which says something about your intelligence. I don’t like the words you used, but if I did use them, I would use them as your first name.

    Jill,

    All the above information helps, but its not like you were asking for the Moon. I too found my birth mother. She popped upon Ancestry.com. She blocked me on Ancestry and on Facebook. I completely understand the social pressures in that era, early 1960’s. I completely understand her decision to give me up. It was a good decision, but still she gave me up. My Mother loved my enough to give me what she couldn’t, OR was it that my Mother chose to give me up so I wouldn’t be a complication in her life – just because she made a mistake. Either way, I understand her decision, I really do, but it left a hole in my heart – created by her. Even if you were in a loving household, which I was, you were always the one that was adopted, known by the rest of the family, in school, and in church. Thru time that hole in my heart got smaller and smaller. Then I accidentally found her when I went to my Ancestry.com page. I wasn’t even looking, and she rejected me. That hole blew wide open. After that, all I wanted to do was to tell her she made the right decision, I loved her because she was still my Mother to me, to get my medical history,and to find out who my biological father was and to protect her I tried to do it in private, ie Facebook and Ancestry. It makes me angry that your Mother said she felt violated her privacy and not to contact family members. I think you are ENTITLED to contact HER AND your biological relatives. I contacted some of my biological relatives and found the most loving people, people who I think like, who I feel a connection with. I love them to death. Don’t get me wrong my adopted family was and is AWESOME! They gave me my family medical history. We are not telling my biological Mother of our connection, or we haven’t yet, as there may be people that may be hurt for no reason of their own. This connection with biological relatives who care about me, and who think like me is very important to me. As for my Mother, as time goes by that hole in my heart gets smaller, again, and my urge to tell my biological mother “hi, I love you” gets smaller. That’s all I wanted to do and it could have been done in private. Really I would have just accepted a hug, and I think I would have been made emotionally/mentally whole. I think we are entitled to just a little, however brief, or our biological Mother’s love. I did not and do want to interfere with her life. Anyway, I feel for you. I think we may have realize that life is not fair, everyone has their problems and its how you deal with the problems that is important. Do the problems rule you and do you rule your problems in terms of happiness. I am trying to choose the latter. Ricky

  30. I found and contacted my birth mother when I was 26 years old. She was very rude and angry and told me she could’ve had an abortion so be grateful for my life. I also got a response from her brother rebuking me for contacting her which also hurt. I had adopted parents that did not show love or adoration towards me but did provide financially. But that does not provide love or acceptance or self-confidence. My biological mother’s rejection of me hurt deeply as I had always imagined maybe she had to give me up because her parents insisted. I hoped for regret Of her decision to put me up for adoption and hoped for love and acceptance and reconciliation. I did also want a record of health problems that could be genetic for every time I went to the he if your decision to put me up for adoption and hoped for love and acceptance and reconciliation. I did also want a record of health problems that could be genetic for every time I went to the doctors office or in for surgery they asked for any medical problems in my family. It hurt me every time to mark down adopted I don’t know. Unfortunately this pain continued in my life and I continued to feel rejection and hatred by the person who gave birth to me.

    Fortunately she finally after 30 years decided to allow me to know my biological father‘s name. Beautifully I found him and he excepted me with open arms and I’ve been Able to share a beautiful relationship with him and two of my daughters. It did provide some healing but still deep pain from my mothers incredibly determined rejection of me and rejection of ever wanting to meet me.

    I also was able to find my biological sister yet she also rejected when I met her and was cold because I think I reminded her mother whom she was very angry with and I think I also looked a lot like her. I hoped for a sister and other family members that I was biologically related to ensure their genetics. I am still heartbroken but working on living my life and for giving such cruelty.

    I hope this helps other victims of such cruelty with comfort and familiarity.

    Respectfully Susan G

    Also amazing Lori Lavender Luz, who adopted her children and wrote her book, reached out to me with love and acceptance and we even got to meet and examine pictures together. I even attended one of her workshops which educated other adoptive parents learning about open adoption!?

    Please no negative comments for I have suffered enough rebukes. Thank you

  31. Thank you for publishing this piece, It offers a perspective we don’t tend to hear as much as the positive reunion stories.

    I am an adoptee, and was adopted back in the early 70’s. A few months ago, I decided to try and find my biological family because I was ill and also out of curiosity.

    It hasn’t gone the way I had hoped. To make a long story short, after a lot of looking, it turns out my biological parents are either a father and daughter or full siblings ( I have long runs of homozygosity in my genes, which indicates my parents are closely related, and a geneticist was able to confirm this as well as give an approximation of their relationship).

    Thanks to the assistance of the geneticist, through public records, I was able to create a family tree, and I know my biological mother’s name, where she lives, her sibling’s names, children’s names, etc. . I was able to find her online, and it appears she had become quite pubic that she had been sexually abused.

    I’m not really sure what to do. I did send registered letters to the two possible women who could be my biological mother. I explained I was doing some genealogical research, looking for my biological mother, but I didn’t give many details.

    I haven’t heard back, but it wasn’t that long ago. I do know she has two adult children ( my half siblings /niece/nephew ) and I’d like to reach out to them, but I don’t know if it’s a good idea. There is no way I am going to even try and figure out which person is my biological father.

    I am feeling stuck right now. I’m not sure what to do next. Could a mother in her situation even want to hear form her child?

  32. I hope you didn’t contact other family members. Someone mentioned that it is your right, but it isn’t . I am adopted too. Blessed to meet my birth mom, but she reached out to me.
    That being said, she gave birth to you and gave you up under the condition that it was private and wouldn’t come back to her. You can not violate that. Maybe after she passes away, but really even in this case I wouldn’t advise. I am surprised you have her contact information in the first place. Did a liaison facilitate this?
    Maybe you can go to Ancestry and reach out to a cousin, and generically say you are a distant cousin and just want to know about health info. Don’t give any details. Tricky though.
    I do like on other person’s suggestion to just reassure the woman that you will stay out of her life and not contact her family and softly request information in exchange. However, it is not a fair trade, because then that sounds like blackmail. If she offers it , great, if not, then just live a healthy life , always remind your doctor there is no health history and realize that you didn’t lose something that you never had before.

    1. She can’t violate what? Some ridiculous unenforceable bs a social worker may or may not have told her mother?

      My eyes have rolled so far back in my head I can see what might have been.

      Adoptees are no party to any agreement made between adoption “professionals” and our bio mothers. I’m not bound by squat. If my bio family members want relationships with me (and vice-versa), we’ll have them. The woman who gave me away to strangers when I was three days old is NOT the freaking boss of me–or of anyone else in OUR family.

      JFC on a croissant.

    2. PS: My mother was never told I wouldn’t look for her. She was made to promise not to look for ME. Which was quite typical.

      No one on this earth can be guaranteed anonymity. One can demand privacy–as in, “please don’t contact me AGAIN”–but not anonymity. Such a ridiculous concept.

  33. There are many different reasons why people give their children up for adoption and I for one would never judge anyone because of that choice, I was given up for adoption myself.
    I’ve read lots of the comments on here but the one who made me feel the saddest was from “birth family dont owe you s^#t!
    Sad for your aunt because of what she went through but even sadder because how you spoke about the child your aunt gave birth to!
    yes I get how devastated you and your family were but weather you like it or not….she is still your Aunts daughter and blood….she didn’t choose to be the result of a rape, but she has to live with the fact that she was and on top of that she is now being blamed for her birth mum killing herself……when she isn’t to blame for any of it……sad as it is when someone takes their own life it is usually because they feel alone and not able to talk to anyone ….
    Some birth mums actually want to get the chance to be able to see their children again but some may not …just as some adopted children might want to find birth parents but others dont!
    People have a right to choose for themselves….maybe it would be easier if people didn’t judge others

    1. I think you make such a good point, Michele. While some blame a person for another’s depression/suicide (ridiculous, really), you make the connection that perhaps the shame and isolation are at the root of it.

  34. Boundaries. They are a real thing. When someone tells you to leave them alone, any further pressure from you makes you the aggressor. People do not owe you as an adoptee anything. And if the adoptee is being contacted by the mother and the adoptee wants no contact, the same boundaries apply. That void you feel will never be fixed by anyone but you and maybe a qualified therapist. If I told anyone to leave me alone and they wouldn’t go away, I’d have them arrested.

    1. Dear anonymous,
      You sound like an angry and bitter person who has been very hurt in life. If you would choose to have your flesh and blood arrested for getting answers to their healthy and normal questions.
      It sounds like you need a lot of therapy to chip away at all of the ice around your heart. Sorry your are such a miserable person.
      Next time you have the audacity to post such a hateful response why don’t you make it not anonymous, and have the guts to show us who you are.
      You and people like you don’t deserve to have children!

  35. Jill,
    I do understand your pain. I’m there now as well. I think what you have working against you here is your bio mom’s age. 85, so she was born in the 1930’s, and was a teenager in the 40’s.
    As mentioned above, things were very different then. She sounds like this is a shameful experience for her. And there is no way in hell she wants the cat let out of the bag before she goes.
    She is probably wrong in the sense that the people who would judge her the hardest are probably long gone. Her parents, spouse, etc?
    But her spouse may still be living?
    If you can, try and look at it like at least she wrote you back. She could have ignored your letter, essentially ignoring you. Yes it would be nice to have medical information. If she won’t give it to you. You can send in your DNA too 23andme.com
    (I think that’s the name). And they will give you pages of your medical info from your dna. I think she tried to sound nice, but is obviously terrified of being found out . My bio Mom originally agreed to a reunion with me. And we were in relationship for 15 years, and now for the past 5 years she wants nothing from me or my children. Good luck to you. Us adoptees have a hard road to walk that many don’t want to be sensitive too. 💗. I have found that Christ fiils in a lot of the holes for me. And He can for you too.

  36. I too am an adopted person who has reached out to my birth parents. My sons found them through genetic testing that connected my sons to cousins. I have received and sent letters to both parents, however I am not sure if there will be any continuing communication. I was not aware of BSE but knew that the lates fifties when I was born were not kind to single mothers. I have struggled with the ethics of wanting communication and still respecting my mother’s request for privacy – the members of her family who knew about me are no longer living. I take comfort in knowing the names and faces of my parents, and in having exchanged basic information. I don’t like being a secret but am also not willing to hurt my mother. I guess I was hoping for a warm embrace, but am hoping that over time we may have more communication. It’s an emotional roller coaster now, and I deal with it by appreciating all that my parents shared with me, rather than focusing on loss and sadness.

    1. Hi, Tina. Your strategy of focusing on appreciation sounds like an effective one. Thank you for sharing your experience, and I hope for the same (more communication and a warm embrace) for you, as well.

  37. I can relate to this post and feel the pain. Even though I am not adopted, I have never known my biological father. I found a cousin through Ancestry and found out he had several uncles, but they want nothing to do with me and refuse testing. They won’t even give me basic medical information. It is such a cold, hard feeling. Like someone shoved a frozen blade into my heart. I want to just cry, grieve, and move on, but I can’t.

  38. Gosh, this post was written SO long ago, but I received this EXACT same letter after I sent a letter to my bio mom, via her sister (out of respect in order to not expose bio mom) I would love to talk to you.

  39. Dear Jill,

    I experienced a very similar situation with my birth mother. I know first hand how terrible it feels. Just know that is a reflection of her, not you. She has likely lied her entire life and can’t possibly face coming clean now. This is not the kind of woman you want in your life. I found one of my birth mothers neices and oddly enough her mother had known about me. She said her mother was sworn to secrecy, but told her about me once when she was drunk. My birth mother doesn’t know we have become friends and she shares all sorts of information with me. When my birth mother passes we plan on introducing me to my half brothers. If she doesn’t feel like she owes you anything, you certainly don’t owe her anything in return. Do what feels right to you. She may not want to get to know you, but that doesn’t mean other members of her family wouldn’t want to. Follow your heart and make your own choices. She certainly made hers!

    LaDonna

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