I agree about it being quite individual to the adoptee. It's worth pointing out stories of how families functioned in the past, and how they've changed. I think it would have helped me to understand how common it was for a family to include the extended family children of those who passed away, or children who were sent to another family due to extenuating circumstances. As it was, there remains that little feeling that technically I don't belong to the genetic tree, yet I remain fascinated with the history of my adoptive family. When you think about the family tree in that social context, you can focus on the culture of your family history and how the family evolved over time, not the biology.
