An Exploration of Life, Love, and Loss
You’ll Forget This Ever Happened: Secrets, Shame, and Adoption in the 1960s
… is the story of Laura, an unwed teenager whose life takes a dramatic turn when she gives birth to her first-born son in New Orleans Louisiana in July of 1967 and is forced to relinquish him for adoption. It is an unforgettable story of a mother’s love and the secret she never forgot. It will answer questions in ways that will surprise you while revealing a world not that long ago that was harsh and judgmental in ways we cannot even imagine today.
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Praise
“Devastating and stunning—alive with attention to the abundance of the heart—this memoir will stay with you.”
—Julie Maloney, award-winning author of A Matter of Chance
“Engel’s transformation from lost girl to grounded matriarch is deeply moving, a story that stays with you long after you reach the last page.”
—Eileen Drennen, writer and editor whose essays have appeared in Literary Mama, The Rumpus and O, The Oprah Magazine
“Through her narrative, insightful self-revelations, struggles and willingness to expose her trauma, Engel creates an experience of intimacy for the reader that establishes a soulful friendship.”
—Kelly DuMar, author of Girl in Tree Bark
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The Cord
My son Richard (everyone calls him Ray) reminds me of my other three sons, Dustin, Marc and Ian in so many ways. Same chin, similar bone structure, same quick humor, sometimes sarcastic, bright, and extremely competitive. His three half-brothers have a different...
What will people say?
One of the most humbling experiences I have ever had in my life took place in October of 2016. That month the son, I had been forced to leave and relinquish for adoption, 49 years before, emailed me and reunited with me through the miracle of Ancestry.com DNA. The...
Today is a special day…An Anniversary (A letter to Ray)
Was it only two short years ago that I received that email from you on the night of Oct 9, 2016? Or was it so very long ago that I received that email from you on the night of Oct 9, 2016?In the cosmic scheme of time it seems like a blink of an eye, yet so much of...
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Meet Laura
Laura L. Engel likes to say she is late to the game as a budding new author. Originally from Biloxi, Mississippi, Laura has lived in Southern California for over 50 years. She and her husband, Gene are the proud parents of six grown children along with their significant others. They are delighted to be Grammy and PaPa to ten grandchildren.
Recently retired after 30 plus years as a regional sales representative for an international title insurance company, Laura left the corporate world and plunged headlong into her second career as a writer in 2017.
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