About Adoption Stories

Adoption Stories exists to share real experiences of adoption — told by the people who have lived them.

Adoption can be joyful, complicated, painful, life-changing, and everything in between. Too often, the stories that are told are simplified or sanitised. This site aims to do the opposite: to make space for honesty, nuance, and reflection.

The stories shared here come from adoptees, adoptive parents, and others touched by adoption. They are personal accounts, captured and shared with great care to provide anonymity while being true to their experience. There is no single “adoption story”, and no attempt here to present one.

This is not an advice site, a campaigning organisation, or an official resource. It is a collection of lived experiences, shared in the hope that they help others feel less alone, better understood, or more informed.

If you are affected by adoption — whether directly or indirectly — you are welcome here.

Who runs adoptionstories.co.uk?

Adoption Stories is entirely independent. It is run by an adoptive parent who initially wanted to share their own experience with other prospective adoptive parents.

When it came time to build the site, it became clear it could be more than a home for a single story. Instead, it was created to support the sharing of experiences from many people, across all sides of the adoption process.

Contributors

Stuart Thomas - Founder ✉️

Stuart founded Adoption Stories to create a space for honest, human accounts of adoption that are often difficult to find. Drawing on lived experience and a strong belief in the power of storytelling, he built the site to help people feel less alone, better informed, and more connected across every side of the adoption journey.

Rich Paul - Design

Rich provided invaluable support and guidance to refine the design of the site, helping make it user-friendly, accessible, and pleasant to read. We are deeply grateful for his creativity, care, and generosity throughout the project.