Caroline is a 30-year-old woman adopted at birth. She is close to her adoptive parents, but she has had a hard time sorting out her identity and handling the pain, grief and anger she feels about being adopted. She lacks confidence and has not been able to enter whole-heartedly into romantic relationships. She undertook a birth parent search and became close to both, but was concerned about the effect on her adoptive parents.  After working for some time in psychotherapy, she recently married.  All four parents were involved.

Mike is a 35-year-old Korean adoptee. Although he has been in this country since he was nine months old, and identifies himself as 'American,' people he meets relate to him as Asian, and different. He is uncommonly bright, but is under-employed and doesn't know what he wants to do with his life. He struggles with his identity as a transracial adoptee, sometimes wondering who he is.  Psychotherapy has led him to connect with other adoptees and has helped him clarify his place in the world.

Erica is the adoptive mother of a transracial late-teen adoptee who has just started college in another state. She doesn't hear from her daughter except the one night a week when she and her husband have insisted their daughter call home. Even with a weekly call, she fears she is losing her daughter. Her goal is to feel secure in her identity as a mother and in her mother-daughter relationship.  Psychotherapy has helped her reach these goals.