I am a half-adoptee. I never got to tell my story about how I loved my biological father, his parents, and brothers before my mother took me away from New York to Oklahoma in kindergarten. In fact I had to hear many times how bad he was when my memories were the opposite. My mom was bad and he was kind. I never got to say goodbye. Year later I heard that right before she left my dad, people were trying to get her to get mental help. (They still are.) But still my loving father gave up his parental rights when she re-married a preacher. He says he did it to give us a better life... (But honestly...I'm not sure about that anymore). We had to hear the same bad stories again leading up until we talked to the judge before being adopted. I did not have a voice. My mentally ill mom began to severely abuse me. She eventually left my 2nd dad and sent me to live with him. I was happy until he started abusing me at 13. My bio dad got re-married and had two daughters. I used to think God felt sorry for him and gave him two girls to replace my sister and I. It certainly felt that way after being somewhat reunited after I was 18. I never had the same closeness to any of my bio family again. I don't have any family of my own. My story was told for me with many lies for many years. Now..I tell my own story.. and that's the truth. I think people should be trained to listen to children and to ask for their stories no matter what the situation. Children are not rocks to be tossed about as if they were objects. Maybe we should listen to adults too. Everyone has a story that is their own.