The life story book represents a realistic and honest account of the circumstances surrounding the child’s adoption. The Department for Education’s National Minimum Standards for adoption state that its format is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding and accessible for use by the child, and that prospective adopters are encouraged to update it with the child as their understanding develops.
A later life letter should explain the child’s history from birth and be sufficiently detailed so that in the future the adolescent child, or young adult, will have factual details about their birth family and their life before adoption, and so be able to understand why they could not live with their birth family, and why they were adopted.