Ed shares his thoughts on what he has learned from talking with over 15 women who gave their babies up for adoption.
"I was naive in what was entailed for the birth mother."
Join me for a powerful and deeply personal conversation with Edward Di Gangi—author, adoptee, and storyteller whose journey of discovery began at age 69 in the quiet stillness of a cemetery. That moment sparked a life-changing search that led him to uncover his family history, reconnect through heartfelt reunions, and share his experiences in his memoir The Gift Best Given and his latest book Gliding Through Goodbye.
In this episode, Ed reflects not only on his own adoption story from the 1950s but also on the voices of countless women he has interviewed—women who made the heartbreaking choice to place their babies for adoption. He reveals how these mothers often carried silent grief: thinking of their children daily, remembering them on birthdays, sometimes raising other children while never speaking of the first. Ed’s work shines a light on the emotional toll, the hidden heartbreak, and the societal judgment birth mothers endured during that era.
Through his writing and storytelling, Edward Di Gangi offers hope, compassion, and understanding to adoptees, birth parents, and anyone touched by the adoption experience.
Ed now lives in North Carolina with his wife and enjoys life close to family, surrounded by the stories that connect us all.
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Books: https://amzn.to/4nZXOaO
Learn more about your host, Kim Lengling
