143. Sheala Durant: "The Weirdness of Adoption Lasts Generations"

Once Upon A Time...In Adopteeland

Sheala Durant is a writer, journalist and a working mom who was born in western Michigan in the late 1960s. She adopted into her family at a young age.

Sheala launched a search for her biological parents at the age of 15 with a visit to Grand Rapids. Afterwards, at age 18 she asked Bethany (Christian) Services, her adoption agency, for non-identifying information. She learned she was abandoned in a hospital for six days and later placed in a foster home a few miles away from her biological family. Sheala, at age 22, learned her biological mother told her siblings she was stillborn.. This is how she started her reunion – returning from the dead.

Sheala has been a staunch advocate for open records, adoptee causes, and rights. She co-facilitated the Adoption News Service (ANS) newsletter and is co-moderator of Black Adoptee Support and Education (BASE). She was featured in “Six Word Adoption Memoirs.”

Music by Corey Quinn