Born in Oakland, California, and 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.
For fans of Dani Shapiro’s Inheritance and Nicole Chung’s All You Can Ever Know, a debut memoir from a midlife adoptee who, just as she’s meeting biological family for the first time, unearths a secret kept from her for many years by her adoptive parents. This shocking disclosure complicates her already complicated feelings for them, and she finds herself faced with an important decision — one that feels 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.
Diane is a reunited adoptee, wife, mother, and grandmother. When she’s not writing, Diane enjoys reading, painting, gardening, baking bread, and swimming. She is a member of the National Association of Memoir Writers, and was a contributing author to the AN-YA Project’s adult adoptee anthology, Flip the Script. Diane lives with her husband and their two young Siamese-mix cats, Stella and Luna, in southern California.