Claiming What Is Rightfully Mine

Although adopted persons did not choose to be adopted, their life-long task is to come to terms with its meaning, which includes absence of important information about their family health history. Problematic encounters with health care professionals inspired contributors’ narratives recognizing compelling need for accurate information about themselves as well as access to empathic and resourceful medical professionals. A key issue pervading the narratives was loss: loss of birth name and identity, loss of birth relatives and history, and often loss of birth culture. In response to this deeply felt sense of loss, many authors expressed the need to claim what they believe to be rightfully theirs, namely, information about their own history. Policy and practice recommendations regarding training of health care professionals as well as access to original birth records and ongoing family health information are discussed.