Going Home

By Trace Hentz



Maybe it is too much to expect for our adoptive parents to understand that we (adoptees) have our own biology and our own lifepath to follow.  Even if they raise us and give us EVERYTHING, they cannot and will not ever replace our family of origin. They simply can't.



We adoptees should not be "expected" to remain their child our entire life. We simply can't.



"Going home" will not be easy for adoptive parents to hear or accept. That is not what was promised - if they raised us, if loved us, they somehow believe that is the equivalent of property, ownership, meant for a lifetime.



Sad to say, adoption is not that. It's only temporary.

Laura Klunder in Seoul. She had her adoption case number tattooed on her arm.

Credit
Mark Neville for The New York Times

READ:



Why a Generation of Adoptees Is Returning to South Korea

By MAGGIE JONES

A movement raises soul-searching questions about international adoption.