BACKTRACK I
The Orphan Train — Trained tales project has been shaped by events
in my personal life as an adoptee going through the Search and Reunion process. Accordingly, the project has shifted focus several times as I have gone through the various stages — both physical and emotional — of meeting birth family.

At the beginning of this project, I saw the Internet mainly as a research tool. Through my participation in CanAdopt — an online support group for people in the adoption circle — and the creative process of using interactive authoring software, I discovered the web's potential for personal expression and communication with a wide audience with diverse views on adoption.

BACKTRACK II
During my research on adoption using the WWW, I subscribed to the CanAdopt mailing list in order to search for birth family with the support and encouragement of my adoptive family. My brother had met his birth mother through the Ontario Government's Adoption Disclosure Registry [A.D.R.]. I too had registered on this 'passive registry' in 1993.

There is a habitual seven year wait before a file is processed due to a large backlog and the number of adoptees and birth parents searching. Deciding to search via CanAdopt was my first 'active search' though I had wanted to find birth family since I was an adolescent. Before accessing the Internet, I was completely unaware of search procedures and information and support that was available online.

BACKTRACK III
In November of 1998 [Adoption Awareness Month] a CanAdopt member from my hometown contacted me with good news. Prior to this, she had volunteered to help me decipher the sparse clues in my Social History [compiled by the Children’s Aid Society]. Her time, energy and determination had resulted in the name and whereabouts of my birth mother. Initially, she acted as intermediary and my birthmother and I spent two months writing each other letters. We met in person in the New Year of 1999 and continue to keep in touch. I have also since met two siblings. My birth mother had wanted to search for me beforehand, but did not know about the Disclosure Registry or her rights as a birthmother. I have since received notice that the A.D.R. has begun a search for my birth father.

BACKTRACK IV
My research into the history, sociology and psychology of adoption and Adoption Law Reform provided me with an invaluable base with which to help me adapt to the conflicting emotions that can arise from a reunion. Concurrently, my own personal experience with the Search and Reunion process brought an informed viewpoint to the project and invariably shaped its conception. I hope that my experience can help other members of the adoption circle who are considering a search.

As well I want to dispell the myth that only unhappy, maladjusted adoptees search for birth family. I believe that the reasons for embarking on a search are unique to each individual. Also, searching is not a negative reflection of adoptees' relationship with their adoptive parents but has more to do with identity and the right to know about one's own geneological background.

BACKTRACK V
Orphan Train — Trained tales explores society’s changing view of the family as adoption practices gradually veer towards open frameworks. It delves into the history of the closed adoption system, the growing Adoption Law Reform Movement in North America and the Orphan Train Movement and its ties to adoption today in Canada. This piece not only presents my own political views, but offers up childhood fantasies of adoption fueled by dreams, imagination and ‘what if’ scenarios. It also presents my own evolving viewpoint of adoption — as a child, an adolescent and an adult — using literature, folklore, and popular culture to explore different themes. Ultimately, new Trained Tales are created through small interactive animations and the public's participaction.