When I was four or five, I learned that I was adopted.

A big thing for a parent to tell a child – how will that child react? Will they feel like they belong? Do they know they’re loved and not abandoned?

This is probably the best time to talk about adoption to your to your child. Thankfully my family wasn’t afraid to hide behind this fact.

I was always encouraged to do as I wanted in terms of searching for my birth family. I always wondered, there are people out there who are related to me, what do they look like? What is their history? Where are they now? What were the circumstances?

I am also curious what is the link between genetics and environment? Nature versus nurture?

While I submitted the paperwork in 1992, the search started in 1993 when I turned 19.

This is the story of a 33 year journey. The first stage took 12 years from submitting the application to Adoption Services in Newfoundland, to get me in contact with my maternal-side family. It took a further 21 years to get in contact with my paternal-side family which happened initially in February 2025, but due to circumstances, connecting the dots happened in September 2025.

In this series of pages, I describe the process I went through, and the changes in law that lead me to where I am today.

Prior to April 2002, the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador had a long drawn out process of applying for non-identifying information, applying for identifying information and then eventually a parental search. At that point the process of finding my adoptive family stopped.

In April 2003, the laws changed and were updated such that Vital Statistics were authorized to release original birth certificates and adoption orders – however there was a year waiting period for birth families and adoptees to file vetos. From there, Post Adoption Services were authorized to conduct sibling searches.

I’ve been through the whole process.