"Do we have any skeletons in our closet?"

That was the question posed to the author's mother-in-law by a niece after receiving a private message through Facebook from a stranger who said, "I think you are my cousin." This led to a shocking phone call on a normal June day, which altered the life of the author.

For forty years, Julie had kept a secret from most of the people in her life. A Catholic girl from a good family in the late 1970s, she had become pregnant in her late teens but was not ready to be a mom. With guidance from her parish priest, Julie went away to live in a home for other unwed, pregnant girls and made the difficult decision to give her baby up for adoption. Not for forty years did she know a thing about him--what his name was, what he looked like, where he lived, or what he did for a living. Until that June day in 2018, when he was revealed to be that baby, now a forty-year-old man. Yet she always had faith that her decision was the right one as she placed her son in God's hands.

Over the course of two years, this birth mother and biological son get to know each other and enter into each other's lives. There are interesting twists and turns. Had their paths ever crossed?

This very personal and honest memoir dives into the heartache, loss, and guilt suffered by the author. You will laugh, and you might cry. Some who have experienced the real story compare it to a beautiful Hallmark movie. In the end, the hole in the author's heart is filled.

It is the author's hope that this adoption story can bring peace to others who have endured a similar fate.

--Julie McLaughlin

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