At the age of 54, an adult adoptee decides to search for his birth family. With only very limited information, the author begins using a combination of DNA testing, countless hours of online historical research, and court litigation to uncover the identities of his birth parents as well as other relatives. The search takes him into a cultural study of the post World War II south, and how its puritanical views on sex and marriage forced unwed mothers into making decisions to give their infants away. The author then provides a detailed guide into the available research methods for a searcher to conduct their own search, as well as a survey in the manner in which the different states treat access to adoption records and original birth certificates. This guide includes insight into how to use census reports, grave records, military records and family trees to build your own history. Also included is an introduction into the world of direct to consumer DNA testing and how to decide the type of testing database to access.
