Author: Beth Steury
“What? Mom’s adopted?!”
In my pursuit to share the wonderful world of DNA with folks far and near, I’m always looking for opportunities to present DNA-themed programs. The Heritage Room at the Berne Public Library has hosted several such presentations, …
The Mystery of the Abandoned Hotel Baby
Thursday, March 16, 1918 . . . Richmond, Indiana. A weeks-old baby boy found alone and crying in a room at the Kelly Hotel. Hotel employees cannot locate parents who may have used a fictious name at …
The wait is finally over . . .
Preston and Maggie's story comes to a gripping conclusion with the completion of the "Choices Matter" series Junior year finds seventeen-year-old Preston—the hot, popular, very experienced ladies’ man—charting a new course as far from the bad choices …
The Case of the “Maybe Brother”
Audrey (Bleeck) Steury grew up in the Salem Children's Home in Flanagan, Illinois. Audrey’s mother Ida, as she faced end stage tuberculosis, placed eighteen-month-old Audrey in the orphanage with instructions that she be raised in the home …
Meeting the Bio Family: Chapter 11 – Maternal Family Connections Five Years in the Making
It takes time . . . to process the secrets, the decisions, the truths hidden for decades. Just give them time. Despite having complete confidence in the truth of these words, giving this advice to adoptees hoping …
Are you fully invested?
Saturday night my husband and I finished viewing a crime-thriller-drama series via online streaming. Thirty episodes spread across three seasons but all accessible to watch at the time of our choosing. We love how streaming services make …
The Christmas Towels and Tissues
I love all things Christmas—the shopping, the baking, the decorating, the card sending, the music, the decorating, the giving, the festive splashes of red and green, gold and silver, and holiday entertaining. Imagine my joy a few …
Meeting the Bio Family: Chapter 10 – Another Big Bro and Cousins Galore
“So, when are you going back?” I lost count of how many people asked when we planned a return visit to Maine, where our immediate family had marveled in the beauty of an east coast autumn while …
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A Tribute to my “Real” Parents
My mom used to get miffed when people would say how wonderful she and dad were to adopt four children. “We weren’t wonderful,” she’d insist, no attempt to disguise the irritation in her voice. “We were selfish. …
Meeting the Bio Family: Chapter 9.5 – Hovering in between
“Mrs. Steury, do you have a sister?” In typical kill-some-time-in-study-hall fashion, a high school student tossed me a random question. “No, I don’t,” came my fast reply. Breath. “Wait, wait. YES, I have a sister.” I now …
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