I posted the press release for the new ABC show Find My Family on my blog earlier this month, and tonight the premiere episode aired. I was a bit worried over the past week or so on what to expect from the show, since the commercials made it look… well… commercialized. Adoption Searches and Reunions are an extremely emotional time, full of a roller coaster of emotions and highs and lows that are hard to fully understand for someone who has not actually experienced it. The only saving grace for me ahead of time is that I was happy to see the two hosts were also adopted, which made at least their empathy real, I liked that concept.

So after the first episode of Find My Family has now aired, what do I think?

The most surprising thing for me during the show, was how involved I became with the emotional roller coasters. I could almost relive my own search for my biological family and the answers I was longing for. Their tears and pain and hope were all conveyed as real and not “made up for TV”. I liked that.

The things I loved about the show are that the hosts, Tim Green and Lisa Joyner are both adopted and came across as real, down to earth, sympathetic and genuine. I didn’t feel like they were “acting” at any point during the episode. Tim truly moved me as he stood in the families living room with tears glistening in his eyes and the looked at a photograph of their daughter. I was absolutely moved by his emotion.

I also really liked that you got both sides of the stories, their thoughts, feelings and emotions about everything. I liked that the situations were treated with respect.

The things I did not like about Find My Family was that it comes across, at least from this episode, like it is a simple process to search for your relatives. That might be the case in a normal situation, but in an adoption case, many of the records are sealed, etc. It bothered me that there wasn’t a little bit more in depth revealing on how hard the research is to get to a reunion. Mine took 2 years of near constant research. I’m not kidding.

I also really wasn’t not over joyed with the whole “Walk Up the Hill To The Tree To Meet Your Family” concept. I felt the tree was nice and symbolic for the logo and even perhaps as a background, but the idea of sending a highly emotional, nervous individual to walk up a hill to meet someone seemed, well… cheesy. I thought it was odd that they expected them to walk so far, and maybe it isn’t really that far in person, and I am sure it was done for the dramatic/suspenseful effect, but, please… over the top. It won’t stop me from watching though.

I am definitely in this for the long haul. I really enjoyed hearing the story and seeing the reunion. I have read many comments over the past week or so with many saying it is a private matter, who wants to go on TV to do this. Well, unless its you, you cannot speak for others. Many adoptees don’t mind screaming it from the rooftop that they have searched for and are reuniting with their biological family. I certainly was ready to let anyone who would listen know all about it.

The other thing I am seeing a lot of comments about is, adoptee’s who are saying they only have one family, etc. This bothers me only because while I love and adore my adoptive family, I still always felt a piece missing. This wasn’t due to selfishness, lack of love or some other stupid thing people keep saying, it is simply a fact of life for most adoptees. Please note I did not say ALL adoptees. Try reading the book Being Adopted. It’s amazing.

Overall, I am a fan of Find My Family and I look forward to seeing the next episode to see if I stay hooked. Please let me know what you thought of this episode if you watched it.

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