I Broke Into an Adoption Agency to Find My Name

In this episode of Finding Family DNA, we sit down with an author and adoptee who turned a decades-long search for her birth family into three deeply personal books. Adopted in Denver in the early 1960s, she spent years chasing fragments of her past before taking a daring, real-life risk to uncover her birth mother's identity. What followed was a reunion that didn't unfold the way she'd imagined, a startling twist involving the man she thought was her birth father, and a DNA confirmation that didn't arrive until decades later. Along the way, she discovered how trauma can freeze a birth parent in time, and how healing often means letting your story become your strength instead of your wound. Her journey took her from a broken lock and a library microfiche machine to a small-town diner phone call that changed everything. Now she's using her voice to help other adoptees find their own truth — and their own community.

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen — your support helps fund our pro bono DNA cases. Also, if you want to support our mission more directly, join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/findingfamilydna

Watch this podcast right now on YouTube!

https://youtu.be/1uaZ6wvlo0o

00:00 Intro

00:45 Case Update: A Birth Father Reconnects After Decades

01:35 Meet Linda Pevac, Author of Three Adoption Memoirs

02:45 Growing Up Knowing She Was Adopted

04:00 Deciding to Search for Her Birth Mother

04:45 Starting the Search in Secret, 1987

06:00 Non-Identifying Information from the Agency

07:00 Planning to Break Into the Adoption Agency

07:45 The Break-In

09:15 Racing the Library's Closing Time

10:20 Returning the Records Undetected

11:30 Her Brother's Very Different Reaction

12:45 No Two Adoption Stories Are the Same

14:00 A Blurry Signature and a Handwriting Analyst

15:20 Searching Before the Internet Existed

16:00 A Small-Town Diner Leads to Her Aunt

17:45 Mug Giveaway and Show Updates

18:30 Calling Her Birth Mother for the First Time

19:45 Flying to California to Meet Her

21:30 The Reality Behind Her Mother's Story

23:00 Chasing a Name on Her Birth Certificate

25:30 Meeting the Man Who Denied Being Her Father

27:00 A DNA Test Confirms the Truth, Years Later

28:45 Writing The Gathering Place

29:45 Writing A Fire is Coming

30:40 Writing Choosing to Breathe

31:50 Misty's Reflection on Linda's Journey

32:30 Quickfire Questions with Linda

33:55 A Message for Struggling Adoptees

34:45 Where to Find Linda's Books and Social Media

Follow the show here:

https://www.instagram.com/findingfamilydna/

https://www.instagram.com/lasleuth

https://www.instagram.com/birthparentfinder/

Are you looking to find your birth parents? Get in touch with Jay and his team!

https://www.birthparentfinder.com

https://www.instagram.com/birthparentfinder

This podcast was edited using PodShuttle, the fully-remote podcast editing and management service owned and operated by CHOBO Studios. For more info, visit podshuttle.io and follow us on Instagram to see more shows we've helped bring to life.

https://www.instagram.com/chobostudios

https://www.instagram.com/podshuttle

Adoption Reunion, Closed Adoption Search, Adoptee Story, Birth Mother Found, DNA Genealogy, Finding Birth Family, Adoption Podcast, Emotional Reunion, BirthParentFinder, Family Discovery

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(54)

The Montana Records That Led Misty to a Killer

In this episode of Finding Family DNA, Jay and Misty step away from adoption reunions to revisit a 47-year-old Montana cold case Misty worked during her time at Parabon NanoLabs. In December 1978, 16-...

6 Loka 30min

CeCe Moore Gets Canded: DNA, Friendship & the Stories Behind the Cases

When we recorded this episode of Finding Family DNA, we had no idea that CeCe Moore was about to be announced as a RootsTech 2027 keynote speaker. Now, with that announcement official, the timing of t...

23 Syys 47min

A Tragic Discovery About My Birth Father Led Me to My Sister | Ep. 51

In this episode of Finding Family DNA, we follow the story of a woman who set out to find the birth father she never knew, hoping for closure but bracing herself for anything. Using DNA and genetic ge...

8 Syys 29min

50 Episodes of Finding Family DNA: A Look Back

In this episode of Finding Family DNA, we're celebrating a major milestone with a special look back at the journey so far. Host Jay Rosenzweig sits down with longtime co-host Misty, plus the studio te...

25 Elo 1h 2min

From the Primal Wound to the Paternal Wound

In this episode of Finding Family DNA, filmmaker Rebecca Autumn Sansom joins Jay to share the story behind her acclaimed documentary, Reckoning with the Primal Wound, and the winding path that led her...

11 Elo 46min

A Regifted DNA Kit Uncovered My Birth Parents

In this episode of Finding Family DNA, we meet a California adoptee who grew up knowing she was adopted but never imagined how her story would unfold. After decades of quiet curiosity, a chance moment...

14 Heinä 43min

DNA Revealed The Shocking Truth About My Birth Parents

In this episode of Finding Family DNA, Jason didn't learn he was adopted until his late 40s — and a simple request for his original birth certificate cracked open decades of family secrets. After a DN...

30 Kesä 38min