by Sheldon Bloom
Fourty-four years after being adopted and moving to the United States, Amy Gilbert, a Troy University graduate, reconnected with her South Korean family and wrote a book detailing her incredible journey.
In 1974, Gilbert was adopted by an American family, prompting her to relocate to Gainesville, Florida. Decades later, she would visit her home country of South Korea as a tourist, where she would happen to reconnect with her birth family. Following this experience, Gilbert wrote a memoir detailing her experiences titled “Becoming Korean: A Memoir.”
The book, which details advice for both adoptees as well as adoptive parents, can act as a roadmap for navigating the difficulties that come with adoptive families.
“The main message of my book would be to give hope to other adoptees,” said Gilbert. “Even at an older age, it is possible to find one’s birth family if one wants to.”
Gilbert was adopted at a very early age, so she did not remember much from her childhood. She was, however, able to fill some of the gaps once she met her birth family.
“My parents were told that I had just turned four years old the month prior to my adoption, so that is what we believed my whole life until I met my birth mother (Omma),” said Gilbert. “My Omma shared the story of my birth. She remembered it vividly; the day of the week, the time of day and even what she ate that day. I was born on June 1, 1969, not 1970, so I was a year older than I had always believed.”
In her memoir, Gilbert also recounts the events leading up to her reconnection with her family, as well as all the emotional and logistical hardships that accompany that.
“As I describe in my memoir, I did not go to Korea to search for my birth family,” Gilbert said. “I went as a tourist, so I did not prepare my mind or my heart to find anyone, since I was not looking.
“I did want to see where I lived before, I was adopted and since I had the address of the orphanage, we went there.”
However, when Gilbert arrived, she didn’t find an orphanage. Instead , she found a Korean Social Services office who began to search for her family. The staff there found her older brother and the two began emailing.
“When the staff at the office told me that they would search for my birth family, I was taken aback” Gilbert said. “I had to process just that, but when they emailed me that I had an older brother who had searched for me in 1987, and then the older brother began emailing me, it was a lot to take in such a short period of time.”
Gilbert’s older brother and sister then flew to America to meet her. Upon meeting, the siblings made a strong connection and Gilbert has now been to Korea six times.
Gilbert also details the impact that reconnecting had on her life, and she labels herself as a lucky candidate for being able to share that experience.
“Reconnecting with my birth family has changed my life,” Gilbert said. “I am one of the few fortunate Korean adoptees who not only met their birth family, but actually established relationships with them.”
Gilbert encourages all students of Troy University to read her book, as it can be beneficial to far more than just those that have been adopted.
“Students reading my book to get a glimpse of a life that is similar to theirs, but also different,” Gilbert said. “My high school days and college days were very special times for me and I write about that in my book.
“Although it is titled ‘Becoming Korean: A Memoir,’ anyone who looks different from their family or anyone who is interested in learning about Korea would enjoy and benefit from reading my book.”
“Becoming Korean: A Memoir” is now available to order online in paperback or via Kindle.
