82. Melinda A. Warsaw: "A Legitimate Life", A Forbidden Journey of Self Discovery"

Bio-Melinda is a baby scoop era adoptee - meaning her adoption was done in secret, by The Cradle Adoption Agency in Evanston, Ill. in 1947. Her true identity was sealed by law for 99 years. Her secret journey to find her biomother began in 1970 and in 1980 was finally found. In the course of forty years she became an activist and advocate for adoptee rights; wrote articles for adopters Sandra Hanks and Lisa Shahar for the blog Adoption Under One Roof, wrote her memoir in 2012 and started her own FB page. Reunion didn't happen until 2009 when she flew out to Waterloo, Iowa, to meet her paternal second cousins once removed. Her paternal half- brother and sister drove from Houston to meet and share information. She also united with her maternal half-brother and made a true family tree on Ancestry.com. It is now 2022 and is very active helping other adoptees. Today adoptees are taking back their voices and sharing their thoughts and feelings in ie groups on Facebook, Blogs, Podcasts, YouTube, Instagram and on and on. Adoptees are finally talking out loud.

Melinda A. Warshaw's memoir, "A Legitimate Life; A Forbidden Journey of Self-Discovery" is available on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Legitimate-Life-Forbidden-Journey-Self-Discovery-ebook/dp/B0081KAI58/ref=sr_1_1?crid=29I5RV61KZDFS&keywords=A+legitimate+life+Melinda+warshaw&qid=1666114255&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIwLjE2IiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=a+legitimate+life+melinda+warshaw%2Caps%2C111&sr=8-1

Music by Corey Quinn