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X-WR-CALDESC:\nAll families have secrets\, some large\, some small. We tend
  to think our family is the only family with secrets but in my experience 
 that is not so. Once I found the courage to write my truth about my secret
  son it was as if a huge boulder had been removed from my shoulders. \nAft
 er fifty years I was finally able to be my authentic self. I wanted to cla
 im my story back and give voice to the 17-year-old girl I had been\, pregn
 ant and alone. Also\, I felt I was giving voice to all those young girls\,
  the unwed mothers\, who had not been about to tell their truth in the 196
 0s.\nThis is what I know about Family Secrets.\nI am here as an example of
  a fifty-year-old secret that crippled me in ways. My purpose in writing m
 y memoir was to claim and reclaim my story. I think it is a human need\, a
  primal need\, that we desire to be seen and understood.\nHolding tight to
  those secrets can cause emotional as well as physical health issues. Secr
 ets cause strained barriers and isolation in families. \nAnxiety and trust
  issues prevail as well as physical ailments when those secrets move from 
 one generation to the next causing generational trauma and disenfranchised
  grief. \nThis is especially true of Adoption secrets whether it be the bi
 rth mother taking her secret to her death bed\, or the adoptive parents se
 crets about the adoption\, or the adoptee holding the secret of wanting to
  find his birth parents but not wanting to hurt his adoptive parents. \nCl
 osed adoptions during the Baby Scoop Era were the perfect hotbed for Famil
 y Secrets. \n\nAbout Laura:\nA year after retiring from a 35-year career i
 n corporate sales\, Laura L. Engel experienced an unexpected miracle\, and
  her life took a completely different trajectory than she had ever dreamed
 . She began writing about a secret in her life she had never spoken about.
  \nHer award-winning book “You’ll Forget This Ever Happened – secrets\, sh
 ame\, and adoption in the 1960’s” was published in 2022.\nLaura is past pr
 esident of the San Diego Memoir Writers Association and a member of The In
 ternational Memoir Writers\, International Women’s Writing Guild\, Writers
  Ink in San Diego\, and The National Memoir Writers. She is a speaker and 
 has been a guest on numerous podcasts about her Memoir. The interviews top
 ics range from Writing her book and publishing at the age of seventy-three
 \, Adoption\, the Baby Scoop Era\, Grief\, and Writing memoirs later in li
 fe. She has had essays published in Writers Digest\, Severance Magazine\, 
 and multiple journals and magazines. One of Laura’s favorite things is dis
 cussing her book with book clubs\, at workshops\, and with adoption and bi
 rth mother organizations. \nChosen as Author of the Month at the San Diego
  Central Library in 2023\, Laura’s work has been published in five differe
 nt Shaking the Tree Anthologies\, plus Adoption and Suicidality anthology\
 , and Grief Like Yours anthology. Two scenes from her memoir – “You’ll For
 get This Ever Happened- secrets\, shame\, and adoption in the 1960s” – hav
 e been performed live on stage by professional actors at the annual San Di
 ego Memoir Showcase. \nLaura lives with her husband\, Gene\, and their ado
 red Golden Retriever\, Layla Louise\, in San Diego’s East County. They are
  the proud parents of five adult children\, along with their spouses\, and
  ten beloved grandchildren. \n\nYou can learn more about Laura at: www.Lau
 raLEngel.com \n
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UID:a1d4bdda-b4b1-41cb-a9ac-971e985e3373
DTSTAMP:20260405T153518Z
DESCRIPTION:\nAll families have secrets\, some large\, some small. We tend 
 to think our family is the only family with secrets but in my experience t
 hat is not so. Once I found the courage to write my truth about my secret 
 son it was as if a huge boulder had been removed from my shoulders. \nAfte
 r fifty years I was finally able to be my authentic self. I wanted to clai
 m my story back and give voice to the 17-year-old girl I had been\, pregna
 nt and alone. Also\, I felt I was giving voice to all those young girls\, 
 the unwed mothers\, who had not been about to tell their truth in the 1960
 s.\nThis is what I know about Family Secrets.\nI am here as an example of 
 a fifty-year-old secret that crippled me in ways. My purpose in writing my
  memoir was to claim and reclaim my story. I think it is a human need\, a 
 primal need\, that we desire to be seen and understood.\nHolding tight to 
 those secrets can cause emotional as well as physical health issues. Secre
 ts cause strained barriers and isolation in families. \nAnxiety and trust 
 issues prevail as well as physical ailments when those secrets move from o
 ne generation to the next causing generational trauma and disenfranchised 
 grief. \nThis is especially true of Adoption secrets whether it be the bir
 th mother taking her secret to her death bed\, or the adoptive parents sec
 rets about the adoption\, or the adoptee holding the secret of wanting to 
 find his birth parents but not wanting to hurt his adoptive parents. \nClo
 sed adoptions during the Baby Scoop Era were the perfect hotbed for Family
  Secrets. \n\nAbout Laura:\nA year after retiring from a 35-year career in
  corporate sales\, Laura L. Engel experienced an unexpected miracle\, and 
 her life took a completely different trajectory than she had ever dreamed.
  She began writing about a secret in her life she had never spoken about. 
 \nHer award-winning book “You’ll Forget This Ever Happened – secrets\, sha
 me\, and adoption in the 1960’s” was published in 2022.\nLaura is past pre
 sident of the San Diego Memoir Writers Association and a member of The Int
 ernational Memoir Writers\, International Women’s Writing Guild\, Writers 
 Ink in San Diego\, and The National Memoir Writers. She is a speaker and h
 as been a guest on numerous podcasts about her Memoir. The interviews topi
 cs range from Writing her book and publishing at the age of seventy-three\
 , Adoption\, the Baby Scoop Era\, Grief\, and Writing memoirs later in lif
 e. She has had essays published in Writers Digest\, Severance Magazine\, a
 nd multiple journals and magazines. One of Laura’s favorite things is disc
 ussing her book with book clubs\, at workshops\, and with adoption and bir
 th mother organizations. \nChosen as Author of the Month at the San Diego 
 Central Library in 2023\, Laura’s work has been published in five differen
 t Shaking the Tree Anthologies\, plus Adoption and Suicidality anthology\,
  and Grief Like Yours anthology. Two scenes from her memoir – “You’ll Forg
 et This Ever Happened- secrets\, shame\, and adoption in the 1960s” – have
  been performed live on stage by professional actors at the annual San Die
 go Memoir Showcase. \nLaura lives with her husband\, Gene\, and their ador
 ed Golden Retriever\, Layla Louise\, in San Diego’s East County. They are 
 the proud parents of five adult children\, along with their spouses\, and 
 ten beloved grandchildren. \n\nYou can learn more about Laura at: www.Laur
 aLEngel.com \n
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260302T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260302T210000
LOCATION:
SUMMARY:VIRTUAL - Family Secrets - Adoption Secrets
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR