Letters Left Unanswered: When Birth Parents Don’t Respond

adoptive father

Alexander knows what it’s like to write a letter and never hear back.

He wrote his birth mom a letter. Not out of anger. Not to blame her for anything. He just wanted to know. Know about her. Know why. Tell her he was fine. 

“I was hoping she might want to know me, too.” alexander said. “I sent it through the agency. But I never got anything back.”

Waiting By the Mailbox and What Silence Feels Like

Silence can sound loud. Especially when waiting for a name, a face, or a simple word. 

The Fantasy of Reunion vs. Reality

“I used to think we’d meet someday,” Alexander said. “That maybe I’d knock on a door, and she’d cry and hug me.”

The image was comforting. But life didn’t unfold that way. And with each year, the fantasy lost its color.

Still, Alexander doesn’t hold resentment.

He wonders.

He makes space for unknown reasons.  

Grieving the Relationship That Never Was

There’s a grief that doesn’t come with a funeral—a grief for something that never really began.

“I know she had her reasons,” he said. “But sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if she had responded.”

It’s the not knowing that lingers. The space in the story that refuses to fill itself in.

Grieving the Relationship That Never Was

There’s a grief that doesn’t come with a funeral—a grief for something that never really began.

“I know she had her reasons,” he said. “But sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if she had responded.”

It’s the not knowing that lingers. The space in the story that refuses to fill itself in.

Why Closure Doesn’t Always Come With Contact

Alexander is honest about it. “I might never hear from her,” he said. “And that’s okay.”

Closure, he’s learned, doesn’t always look like a letter, a phone call, or a tearful reunion. Sometimes, it’s waking up and living your life anyway.

Sometimes, it’s forgiving someone who never asked for it.

“And I still hope she’s well,” Alexander said. “Even if we never meet.”

Read More About Alexander's Journey

Adopted and Adopting

Creating a Different Experience for My Child 

adoptive father

Reflections as an Adoptive Father

When Curiosity Meets Identity

You’re Not My Real Parents

When Birth Parents Don’t Respond

Faith and Forgiveness: Healing from the Inside Out

Adopted and Grateful: Redefining Family