http://wbs.net
go to Home & Living, then Family & Parenting

Much of the conversation here deals with the search for and discovery of birth families but there's far more to it than that. This chat room is thick with the camaraderie of people who, though they have never met, share certain emotional experiences that most of society has never experienced and can't completely understand. Adult adoptees can relax with others who know what it's like to be uncertain of or ambivalent about one's origins. But this is not to say that Adult Adoptees is a somber group. Conversation is filled with jokes, laughter and warmth. Many participants are there to simply have fun and enjoy the company. But everyone seems more than willing to reach out to newcomers and share insights and information on the search for birth parents. The conversation often turns to tips on doing adoption searches, new resources available on and off the Net, dealing with the emotional responses of adoptive family members, arrangements for first contacts and all the tricky issues faced by adoptees in search of their roots. Participants share both happy and sad experiences along the way, the triumphs of finding a long-lost sibling, the disappointments of an awkward or unhappy meeting, and the joys of new friendships flourishing among adoptees and birth relatives. Participants meet offline and even come together from across the continent for weekend gatherings. - E.L.

subject matter: families, mental health

regional affiliation: global

format: chat

language: English

cost: no cost