"When she was 32, my mother -- single, and extremely selfish--"
My thinking exactly !!!!! If this women had a maternal instinct why didn't she become a loving foster parent? She would have recieved some financial help and given a lost child a home.
Well, she might be called selfish by you and the author, but he is here.
His choice at this point is to decide to live a good life and quit whining about his origins. He has life, that seems to be something to be grateful about.
None of us, with few exceptions, have had perfect lives. many people grow up without fathers. Many people have selfish mothers.
This Dude needs to get over his whining and move on.
I have to agree. I have a girlfriend who did the same thing at 38yrs old. In fact, she turned down a marriage proposal to a guy she adored.... because she wanted kids and he didn't.
Long story short.....she spent every dime she had to get her babies....boy and girl. The girl passed a couple years ago after a long, weary battle with a genetic disorder that really messed her up. (The donor had one other child with the same disorder, but it wasn't disclosed until she went for genetic testing while trying to get a diagnosis)
Now she's struggling with the boy who is angry, wanting to know who his father is ...threatening suicide ...and last I heard....under psychiatric care. Very sad.