Lynn Grubb

    “Walking, I am listening to a deeper way.   Suddenly, all my ancestors are behind me. Be still, they say.   Watch and listen.   You are the result of the love of thousands.” Linda Hogan, Native American writer I was listening to this podcast yesterday where Ande of The Adoption Files interviewed adoptee Becky Drinnen.   As Becky shared the long meandering road to understanding her identity, beginning in her early 20’s and culminating in her 50’s, something really struck me that the two were discussing:   every bit of information we receive about our birth family and our history, no matter how seemingly insignificant to somebody else, matters and helps to build a more cohesive narrative.   And even though the search and reunion process may not take so long for some, given the quick nature of consumer DNA testing , the journey of discovery can continue for a lifetime.   It seems there is no end to the discoveries available as more data is loaded into genealogy websites and mor

DNA Game Changer (Part I of II) THOUGHTS ON THE BIRTH PARENT PRIVACY ARGUMENT by Gaye Sh erman Tannenbaum o riginally published at the Adoptee Rights Coalition website. NOTE:  New York State has opened its original birth certificates since the writing of this article. Legislative efforts to restore access to original birth certificates have, unfortunately, focused prim arily on search and reunion. Emotional testimony from adoptees, first parents and "adoption experts" have been countered by equally emotional testimony and speeches by agencies, legislators, and other "adoption experts".  There is talk of "balancing the rights" and "compromise" as if any other individual's rights to his or her OWN record of birth is also subject to permission from the state, a judge, or the parents named thereon.  Advocates focusing on restoring the right to access birth records have tried to keep the two separate, pointing out that, in most states, even reuni

Adoptees Respond to "Stories from the Red Couch,"  an adoption  fundraising documentary.