An interview with Liz Story who shares her journey of reunion with her birth mother, her gift of a kidney (!) to her maternal aunt, and her hesitation to connect with her birth father and how Twitter led Liz to explore an entirely new definition of what it means to be adopted.

Show Notes

Full episode transcript here.

Topics We Discussed

Birth mother did not tell birth father she was pregnant
A desire to find her birth mother from a very young age
Finding her non-identifying information in her parents' safe!
Had a happy childhood, yet still didn’t quite feel she belonged
One brother, also adopted
Adoptive parents had multiple miscarriages - reason to adopt
Searching at age 18, social worker refused to allow Liz to apply for her records until she had completed multiple hours of counselling among other hoops
Having her daughter prompted Liz to search for her birthmother again
Open record legislation: Liz obtains her original birth certificate and her court paperwork
Hiring a private investigator (Worldwide Tracers) to find her birth mother
Her first phone call with her birth mother
Deciding to donate a kidney to her maternal aunt
Writing her book about the journey
Her decision not to connect with her birth father (and half siblings) at this time
Advice for reunion - go slow
Reunion ups and downs, how to blend families
Twitter changing her views on adoption
Her blog showing her transformation (coming out of the fog)