When Strangers Are Kin

This E-book is a summarised and revised version of a Masters Thesis in Social Anthropology (2005) which reports original research conducted with twenty adoptees, adopted under closed-stranger protocols, who have maintained regular post-reunion contact with their birth families for more than ten years. It examines the themes of the mothering role, family obligation and family membership to uncover how adoptees navigate their family membership within and between two families (adoptive and birth family). This study presents the thoughts, feelings and observations of the participants in their own words to convey a deeper understanding of their experiences. Drawing upon in-depth interviews, this study has sought to expand on earlier research focusing on the search and reunion and immediate post-reunion stages to examine the long-term experiences of adoptees in post-reunion.