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 reuinion, 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.
 

"In Finding Loretta, Diane does a masterful job of taking us on her quest to get answers about her adoption—answers she has long yearned for. She takes us on a journey you won’t see coming as she excavates her past, searches for living relatives and eventually puts the puzzle pieces together to answer primal questions like: Who am I? Why did my birth parents give me up? Was I ever loved by them? And why am I drawn to certain cultures?"

 — Laurie James, author of Sandwiched


"In Finding Loretta, Diane Wheaton deftly showcases the balancing act all adoptees face when launching a search: Displaying loyalty to the only family one has ever known; navigating the closed adoption system and challenging its many gatekeepers; sifting through lies and missing information; staving off fears of rejection, betrayal and abandonment; honoring self in the pursuit of truth and identity. The battle between “right to know” and “right to privacy” is front and center in Wheaton’s gripping personal tale."

 — Julie Ryan McGue , author of Twice a Daughter, and Belonging Matters


"One of the best books on adoption. This is ground breaking work, far beyond just a memoir. There is much insight that can be gleamed from Finding Loretta."

 — Nicole Neuman, cultural consultant and psychologist