The Declassified Adoptee

Mia Severson "Photography is my main artistic love but I also enjoy many other forms of artistic expression including painting, sculpting and writing. I blogged for many years (Mia's Saving Grace) about my adoption experience and that was instrumental in my ability to maneuver through the rough waters of searching for my roots. Had it not been for that blog and all of the wonderful friends I met along the way I don't think I would have survived that period of search, failed reunion and self exploration regarding what it truly means to be adopted. I was born and raised in the closed record state of Colorado and currently live in the mountains of Central Pennsylvania. Also a closed record state. I am blessed to share life with my amazing son Joshuah and my three beautiful daughters; Sophia, Hannah and Isabella. All of my children have followed in my footsteps and have a deep appreciation for art which makes me very happy!" Mia's Links: h

By Guest Blogger: Julie, iAdoptee Julie is an adult adoptee who was born, adopted and raised in a closed-record state in the northeast United States. She was placed with her adoptive family as an infant through a domestic, agency-facilitated adoption in the early 1970s and has been in reunion with her paternal and maternal natural families since 1998. In addition to blogging about the issues facing adult adoptees, Julie works as a marketing copywriter and enjoys reading, practicing yoga and spending time with her husband and children. You can learn more about Julie's adoption experience and the importance of the bagel & coffee image by visiting her personal blog, iAdoptee .  I asked Julie to share something with us about her natural father, in honor of Father's Day. My natural dad would be the first to tell you that he suffered a primal wound from losing his only child to the adoption system. He did not consent to my adoption. He wanted to marry my mother.

  My youngest met his grammy (my first mother) for the first time today!

  This article has been read as testimony in Adoptee Rights hearings and has been widely republished, including appearing in a recent adoption policy anthology alongside essays from the National Council for Adoption and the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute. "Why would they lie?"  I thought to myself when I first saw my amended birth certificate.  I was 11 or 12 and it was out on the kitchen counter for some reason I don't recall.  I was alone in the room at the time, wondering if I was allowed to look at the document.  I didn't know my first mother's name, no one had ever told me before.  So I wondered, am I allowed to know?  Feeling very brave and rebellious, I took a peek only to be taken aback that it did not contain my first mother's name at all.  There it was, "certificate of live birth" from the state of Tennessee with my birth date, my name, my place of birth....yet my adoptive parents were listed in place of my first mother's na