The Bastard's Dirty Laundry: An adoptee's story of abandonment, loss, reunion, and acceptance. - Tapa blanda

Imagine feeling like you never fit in. Never really knowing your background, where you came from, or what circumstances came together that resulted in your birth. Not even knowing the hospital you were born in. Always being the outsider looking in, and keeping it to yourself, because everyone you knew couldn't relate. That's how I felt my entire life. I was incomplete. Although I was adopted, I felt like a big part of me was missing and I wanted a sense of family. I believed that if I found my birth families, things would be better. My questions would be answered and I would be able to put the pieces of my life together. When I became a legal adult, I started looking for my birth family. It took me 18 years to find them and it was a roller coaster ride of emotions the entire way. Unfortunately, at the end of the day, it was not the result that I hoped for. This is my story of reunion. It isn't sweet, and it may sound different than the reunions that they show on TV. This is the down and dirty. The other side of adoption that most people don't hear about.

Rebekah Villega was born and raised on the west coast. She lived in various small towns in Oregon and Seattle and dealt with racial adversity from both sides of her heritage. She searched for her birth families for 18 years and had an unexpected outcome to her venture. She currently resides in Chicago with her husband, two children, and her dog Kasey.