For fans of Dani Shapiro’s Inheritance and Nicole Chung’s All You Can Ever Know, a debut memoir from a mid-life adoptee who, just as she’s meeting biological family for the first time, unearths a secret kept from her for years by her adoptive parents.
Adopted as an infant by a naval officer and his wife during the Baby Scoop Era, Diane Wheaton has always heard conflicting versions of the truth of her origins—but it’s not until she is forty-seven years old that she begins to search for her biological family in earnest. Amid search and reunion, however, Diane’s adoptive parents become ill—and while overseeing their care, she is told about a secret they have kept from her for over fifteen years. This shocking disclosure complicates her already complicated feelings for them, and she finds herself faced with an important decision—one that feels almost impossible to make, but which results in a level of healing she never could have anticipated.
A touching memoir of self-discovery, Finding Loretta is Diane’s tale of searching for history, roots, and family. Ultimately, she comes to accept the two distinct dynamics of the families who have helped make her who she is today, and in doing so she learns to embrace herself and feel grateful for everything she has experienced—even loss.
Industry Reviews
“Finding Loretta is a touching and powerful memoir chronicling one woman's journey to uncover her identity amidst the scars of psychological abuse and the tangled web of secrets and betrayal. Trapped in the shadow of an adoptive mother whose unaddressed grief and trauma manifested as gaslighting and manipulation, Diane struggles to reconcile her deep longing to please her mother with the need to find herself. This bittersweet narrative offers a heartbreaking yet inspiring exploration of resilience, identity, and belonging—a story that will linger in your heart long after the final page.”—Monica Hall, author of Practically Still a Virgin
“In her memoir Finding Loretta, Diane Wheaton has crafted a work of the heart, a search for belonging, wanting the heritage that is due her; to look in the mirror and know who she is. This book brought me to tears as the story unfolded like a mystery. Will she find her mother? Will she find her true origins and family? What is the legacy of her life? A wonderful story of hope and healing.”—LINDA JOY MYERS, founder of the National Association of Memoir Writers, author of Don’t Call Me Mother, Song of the Plains, and a novel The Forger of Marseilles
“Secrets are woven into fabric of closed adoption, on a systemic, institutional level, and within adoptive and biological families. These secrets have deep generational repercussions, which are so deftly illustrated in Diane Wheaton’s complex and moving book. In this deeply personal story, she shows us the damage that secrets can inflict, as well as the potential for connection, redemption and healing.”—SUSAN KIYO ITO, author of I Would Meet You Anywhere
“I was pulled into the many layers of Finding Loretta from the very beginning. From her rocky relationship with her adoptive parents to her unrelenting search for her birth parents and blood relatives, Diane’s story is that of resilience, hope, perseverance, and strength. From gut wrenching heartbreak to the relief of finally knowing one’s roots, emotions run deep in this beautifully written memoir.”—KRISTI ELIZABETH, Los Angeles Book Review
