Journey of the Adopted Self: A Quest for Wholeness

Rating:
Summary: A Must Have for Adoptees
Review: This book is a must have for adoptees and can be useful for birth and adoptive parents. It gave me insights into myself as an adoptee. It clarified emotions and frustrations that I had felt all of my life. It brings to the forefront the true emotional drama that exists in adoption. It doesn't sugarcoat the realities, and it bares the raw and powerful emotions that follow the adopted child all of his/her life. If you want validation, this is the book for you.

Rating:
Summary: Context is everything.
Review: Those of us who were adopted in the 60s or before may well never have had our experiences validated. We waste energy we could put into healing wondering, "What's wrong with me?" because we were taught adoption makes no difference, and that asking questions about our origins would be disloyal. Adoptive parents of the same era may well be wondering where they went wrong in raising their adopted children; I know mine have. They didn't do anything wrong, they just weren't given the tools they needed to raise a child they did not give birth to.

For people adopted in the era after books like The Adoption Triangle and The Primal Wound were published, this Journey may seem like wallowing or old hat, but this book was invaluable to me. Reading it and dealing with the feelings it provoked was step one on my journey to healing. This book gave me the courage to find my birth mother. When I was a teenager, the birthmother search was unthinkable, open adoptions didn't exist, and the epithet [...] was anything but a badge of pride.

If you read this and feel it doesn't apply to you because being adopted doesn't matter, please leave a little space in your head and heart to consider that it just might matter a little bit. Try reading it again in a year or two. If it still doesn't apply to you, count yourself lucky, and have compassion for those of us who feel we were traumatized by adoption.

The Quest For Wholeness is one we all must undertake. Best of luck to you on yours.

Rating:
Summary: Making A Big Deal Out Of Nothing
Review: When one reads a book about "A Quest For Wholeness," it's quickly apparent that the author is projecting her lack of "wholeness" on others. There is nothing "unwhole" about adoptees, and that reality renders this book meaningless. Also, you've really got to wonder about an adult woman who--besides Monica Lewinsky, perhaps--that would allow herself to be addressed as "BJ."

Rating:
Summary: A Must for searchers and those who are close to finding !!!
Review: While reading this book, I continually saw myself. It helped me to understand the feelings I was/am feeling and where they came from. It also helps to sort through issues concerning reunion. It is a bit technical at times and uses a lot of metaphorical language, still, most people will be able to understand the analogies. It helps during and after reunion by explaining feelings you may be having. It makes you look at your feelings and go deeper. Sometimes it even brings long buried feelings to the surface.--Overall, a great book.