Long Lost Family AU Season 1 Episode 8

on this episode of long-lost family I think in some aspects I almost wanted to create the family that I felt I didn't have one woman search for her mum reveals a surprise sister I think I felt a bit ripped off that I never got to know her grow up with her wall for another woman hunters mean about me and what they know about me our search uncovers a long-lost family secret she never imagined he looked like a stiff drink there are many tragic stories of young parents being separated from their babies through circumstances beyond their control but our first story is one of the most extraordinary that we've uncovered 48 year-old Amanda crier is searching for her birth mother but she's about to be confronted by a truth that is stranger than fiction Lutie Newcastle all my life and I love it miss Burch in particular who's my favorite pal world and it's my thinking place for Amanda nabis beach in New Castle has been her place for soul-searching for the past three years that's how long she's been looking for her birth mother who gave her up for adoption almost half a century ago I cannot imagine how great that pain must be for her it would be something that I don't think I could live through I can't imagine making that decision at all Amanda has few clues about her birth mother from what she has been able to piece together her mother Brenda was 19 years old and single when she gave birth to Amanda in a Sydney hospital soon after her birth Amanda was adopted by Allen and Barbara they also had an adopted son and Amanda remembers and idyllic upbringing in Newcastle just a beautiful wonderful childhood very loving parents and think back to any of it and it's just just makes me smile and makes me happy you yeah amanda was just six years old when she was first told she was adopted I remember mom had gone out to hang the washing on the line and I followed her out to help and she said sit down I want to tell you something you are adopted that means we got to choose you I know it okay cool I'm glad you chose me I remember telling them I'm glad you chose me Amanda now has 21 year old daughter Chelsea and 13 year old son Mitchell when her marriage broke down she brought them up as a working mum putting in long hours as a radiographer and depending on her adoptive parents support I never ever look for my birth mother because I always thought that that would be betraying my mother and that was the last thing I would ever want to do and even once my mother passed away my father told me you know you can find out who birth mother was if you want to your mother and I've talked about it she was happy for you to find out and I still would not do it so mitch has got water pile inside of a morning it's taken Amanda years to get the courage to look for her mother Brenda but now that both her adoptive parents have passed away the need for a family connection is greater than ever recently it's really made me think I have to find whatever blood family I have because my only blood family on my two children incredibly it's only now that Amanda has revealed to her children the truth about her adoption and her three-year search for her mum the news came as a complete shock to her daughter Chelsea still not quite sure I think still processing it um excited because it opens up new possibilities and feel like always good tries to find about a such things yeah with the children right behind her Amanda now just wants answers whatever the emotional repercussions his mother did gone get married have more kids did I know about me or am i a secret that she's kept the last four years of her life if so why is probably one of the babies things that I've done and there are many times already along this journey that I'm thinking I'm ready to stop this now I don't know if I'm brave enough to go on with this I know if I can handle what might happen and it'll be more handle the rejection I think it all comes down to that need to along I don't know why I just need to investigator Julia Robson starts her search for Amanda's birth mother Brenda Basham at the Coogee address listed in her adoption papers but this was a rental property back in 1967 and there are no records of her living there a broader search shows no one treating Brenda's name and profile living anywhere in coogee or the Sydney area julia has to go further back to New Zealand where Brenda was born and where according to Amanda's papers she had four sisters and one brother a New Zealand search reveals a light regional Basham who lived in Auckland his cemetery records show his headstone is engraved with all his children's names Brenda including a daughter Brenda armed with all the names of Brenda siblings Julia locates one sister Wendy on social media who is connected to her Brenda Munson contact with this Brenda confirms she is Amanda's birth mother and she's now living near Auckland New Zealand after the break I head to New Zealand where Brenda reveals the disturbing advice she was given about searching for her daughter go home and get on with your life and leave her alone I remember crying and later there either being part of me that does wish that I did I didn't know I was adopted revisiting the pain of a childhood spent knowing your mother gave you up I still think there's a part of me that felt I've been abandoned and not understanding why Oddie eight year old Amanda crier is searching her mother Brenda who gave her up for adoption when she was just a baby now that both Amanda's adopted parents have passed away she has an overpowering need to find her mum long lost family trace Brenda to New Zealand where she moves soon after giving birth to Amanda Brenda came back here to Oakland not long after giving her up for adoption and that's when things took a surprising turn I think it's clearing ready Brenda is now 68 and lives with a second husband Nick but it's the identity of her first husband that will come as the biggest shock when we caught up with Brenda she dropped a bombshell that will change Amanda's life forever it turns out Brenda and Amanda's father Murph got back together here in New Zealand after head Amanda I came home a few months later and obviously had Bou strong feelings for him as I'm married in the next year and we have two more daughters Brenda and Merv separated in 1992 but incredibly those two daughters they had a V and Kari are Amanda's two full sisters armed with that extraordinary information I'm hoping to uncover more about the circumstances of Amanda's adoption but it's going to be difficult because Brenda has blocked out much of this traumatic time of her life hi Brenda I am yeah in fact she can't even remember giving a man her up for adoption and I saw in the paper the day she was born apparently makes the date a lot I don't remember signing it I don't remember talking to anybody about adopting her so I don't know whether it was me willingly or or any other way I think it probably was simply because I had no means to support her so I think you and Merv got married you did you want the baby back oh yeah yeah I couldn't understand why I had another which city Rene Vaughn was a baby why I had this daughter and I didn't have the other one it just didn't comprehend remember thinking one day I wonder what hitching stayed it was like I just said I know that I hooked up Ariat I couldn't hope I just couldn't count Brenda's desire to find her firstborn daughter grew stronger when she became a mother for the third time but advice on the subject given by her maternity nurse proved it faithful you made your decision go home and get on with your life and leave her alone I remember as a young couple how was it known that he had a baby er there we didn't talk about us either not even between yourselves opening you not a soul just him and I hmm thank goodness Amanda decided to look for me I have a photo of a manner would you like a love please please the wonderful thank you gorgeous my biggest baby girl she's written your letter nervous shaky hi if you're reading this letter that means that they have found you for me this is a very personal search I thought about you often and have lots of questions I have two is for children cannot imagine my life without them and can't comprehend what you would have been going through when you made the decision to put me up for adoption I hope I get to meet you one day if not that's okay too I imagine it would be a memory very deep if it may be hard for you to deal with since it men and I'm visualized to meet her ready both can't wait I should Tricia these dare any fears I was just my own fears how how I'll hand what whether I'll cope will rise at the time she's angry with me I understand it there's what happened I can't change that even if I wanted to awakened I just hope it can go for order hopefully it's not too late a little later on the program that's a whole new level of know what Amanda rocked by the truth about her past and beautiful and everything all in there together but first the story of a 53 year old woman hoping to ease her lifelong torment over being adopted Jenny Callahan was adopted as a baby but even now as a happy and proud grandmother she is frustrated by the unknowns around her past I have lots of regrets I have lots of anger and I need to find some answers because then it just might explain a few things yawn 53i I shouldn't be confused Jenny was born in Melbourne in 1962 but was given up for adoption by her birth mother surely not long after you ready fast forward more than 50 years and Jenny now Liz a full life in Adelaide she's married and works in insurance but it's her seven grandkids that make the biggest demands on her time I actually love being a mother and grandmother on a much better grandmother then I was a mother thank you but the happy family times Jenny enjoys today when always a feature of her upbringing Jenny grew up the youngest of five children although she was the only adopted child she says she always felt loved but everything changed when she was 11 and found out the truth about her past as much as I was adopted into a very loving family I still think there's a part of me that very much felt I've been abandoned and not understanding why Jenny's adoptive parents became the targets of her rebellious anger I was one of those children that would quite often throw up that I was adopted and yeah I probably used that to hurt my adoptive prayer parents quite often by now I did this fractured time permanently altered Jenny's relationship with her adopted family she left home at 16 never to return eventually Jenny became a mother herself and went on to have four children I think in some aspects I almost wanted to create the family that I felt I didn't have but his life moved on and her children grew up Jenny could never shake off the troubling questions about her mother Shirley and her decision to give up her baby I need to know the truth there is a being part of me that does wish but I didn't know I was adopted if I hadn't known I was adopted would it have been any different and I guess I I think it maybe would have I wouldn't have perhaps left home when I was 16 I wouldn't have felt the need to try and discover who I was because I would have potentially known who I was around 15 years ago Jenny applied for documents relating to her adoption but these only raised more questions some of the information in there particularly with regards to my mother having mental health issues or being institutionalized was very confronting for me because things were so very different back in the 60s she may for all I know had postnatal stress which back then could very well have been considered to to be a you know a mental health issue she may have fought very hard to keep me over time rather than fading Jenny's frustration with not understanding her past has only intensified now time is not on my side and if I'm ever going to get some answers and work out where I think I belong I have to do it now next on long lost family searching for Jenny's mum surely we find the sister she doesn't know exists she looks a lot like Shelley that's really nice and later don't know what to say Amanda speechless after news that we found her birth mother on long-lost family we're searching for Jenny callaghan's mother surely throughout Jenny's life she's been troubled by feelings of abandonment and hopes tracking down her birth mother will help ease that pain in the search for surely investigator Julia Robson starts with Jenny's adoption papers which include her last known address a psychiatric hospital in Melbourne but that angle proves to be a dead end the facility closed many years ago Jenny's phone also included an address for Shirley's father and amazingly this address points Julia to newspaper reports about a crime in Sydney in the 1930s before Shirley was born her mother had been attacked by an ex-husband a dangerous criminal who fired shots at her outside her house plan is incredible so what I did get was an important piece of information which is Shirley's mother's name the mother's maiden name leads julia to a family tree online uploaded by a Winifred mo who links herself to shell his family hi Winifred my name's Julia the Qamishli after Shelly can you help me with that Shirley's other daughter Wynne has been found the younger sister Jenny doesn't even know she has when lives in Sydney southwest was a young family and it's from her that we learn more about her mother shell his lifelong mental health problems Shirley is pretty sick she has schizophrenia and sometimes she's quite stable and sometimes she's not she's also just very frail aged and I'm not sure if emotionally she could handle meeting Jennifer just now come on puppy when is 36 years old almost 18 years younger than Jenny just like Jenny when wasn't able to live with them I'm surely grown up because of her illness she grew up in foster care but unlike Jenny Wynn has known she has a sister since she was 15 I think I felt a bit ripped off that I never got to know her grow up with her but also because I grew up in a foster family I was kind of happy that I had someone that belonged to mean I'm on the way to see win now her mum Shirley is in her late 70s and leaves under constant care in a nursing home and I want to find out more about this mother who was such a mystery to Jenni when tell me about your mom she's a funny lady she every time I see her she will look at me and go oh whoa you've stucked on a little bit of weight witty that'll be the first thing she says to me and things like that she's just quite a quite an amusing person a real character really eccentric do you think your mom's ready to meet Jenny because of her mental health she's hot and and her extreme pain she still looks at me with pain in her eyes so about the past I think definitely it would be great for Jenny to meet her but just in a more of a slow way when when both of them are ready to meet mmm I've got a final on Jenny won't you like to have a look yeah I would oh yeah Wow she does look like Shelley she look long yeah it's around the eyes and the face she looks a lot like Shelley that's really nice when jenni wrote a letter to your month but she'd want you to read it hello for as long as I can remember I've had questions about the circumstances surrounding my adoption as a child growing up I was and always felt very loved by my adopted family I just felt something was missing and that I was different to my siblings as a mother and a grandmother myself no matter what the circumstances surrounding my adoption I have compassion for the difficult decision you had to make I would love to know about you how your life has been and of course anything about my birth family I wish you every joy and happiness love Jennifer that's just surely destroyed yeah because she doesn't know she has a half-sister Wow she sounds like a beautiful person she sounds very kind and she sounds concerned about her mum's earrings and I think that's lovely really beautiful after the break Cook said Jenny learns the truth about her mother's troubled past I think I can see she's had an incredibly difficult life and later hey but Lisa's an Effie Amanda discovers a whole new family to the fairytale 53 year old Jenny Callahan was given up for adoption as a baby and for much of her life she's been tormented by questions about why her mother Shirley made that decision so long ago now long lost family can answer those questions for her we've brought Jenny back here to Melbourne the city where she was born she thinks she's here to tell me her story but she is about to find out that there are so many more layers to this than she could ever have imagined so Jen what things have happened in your life that have made you think about your biological mother and and wanting to find her I lots of things because my admirer my two sisters they look like them or that they look like our mum yeah um and I don't hmm having my own children grandchildren coming back to Melbourne quite often is is a is a really big trigger because this is where I was born okay then well the great news channe is that we had found your biological mum well yeah I am I'm surprised because actually I I I didn't think that you would but I didn't think that she would be found would you like to see a photo of your biological mum she's late and yeah yes she's here out of respect for Shirley I'm only revealing her photograph to Jenny it's beautiful yeah she just she looks look sad I think I can see the sadness and I think that she looked she's had an incredibly difficult life I can reveal one more piece to your puzzle that I don't think you're expecting mm-hmm and you do have a younger half-sister Shirley had another baby after you a daughter called wind well Wow so when is in her mid-thirties mm-hmm and she has three kids mm-hmm so instant nieces and nephews yeah it's amazing although I could tell Jenny the good news about the sister she didn't know she had I also had to tell her about the fragile state of her mother Shirley's mental health and that her sister when strongly believes any reunion between Jenny and their mother should be taken very slowly I have to trust that she knows what she needs to do for Shirley for herself and for me hmm we have a letter for you from when this should answer many many questions you a gem thank you dear Jennifer hello I am your much younger sister when I'm writing to let you know that I am excited to finally get to know more about who you are and the journey you've been on in your life I hope we can tell surely together one day that she did at least two very brave things in her life and that is giving birth to us and caring for us in the only way she possibly could best wishes always your sister wind oh well tonight I think wow yeah that's a really beautiful level it is it is yeah it is it's beautiful and she's really excited to meet you good news it's great news yeah yeah we've brought wind to Melbourne where she's going to meet her sister Jenny for the first time it's important for me to protect my mum and sister because surely she's done her best in life and the best thing she's ever done would be to give her kids the upbringing that they needed even knew that meant that it was somewhere else away from her Jenny has also come to Melbourne from Adelaide and I'm walking her to the reunion she wasn't expecting so it's the day you get to meet your sister I know the sister I didn't even know it existed fantastic really excited I'm still a little bit nervous and I'm more relate yeah because it may have left it too long and this would never have happened to last and day yeah how you feeling oh I'm excited deafening nervous but excited to finally get to meet my big sister well until recently Jenny didn't even know you existed how do you think she's gonna be today I'm hoping she'd be happy and excited and look forward to catching up on each other's journeys through life and the beginning of something good all right Jen you've got a sister to make yep this is it this is where I leave you good luck thank you just gonna meet you inside yep I'm looking forward to it what okay all right I really don't know what to expect really quite nervous I'm hoping that when can fill in some of the gaps around Shirley there's a few things that I'd like to know to then sort of almost closed the chapter well the sister is just inside around the corner waiting for you thank you I'm win I win Jenny how I miss look a lot like showing you look so much like Shelley I do yeah yeah yeah a lot my amazing even so Shelley's always been able to to remember me always always yeah yeah I think if I can say it like this losing you was the biggest life event for her mm-hmm so yeah I was impressed with Jennifer the way she was happy to take it slow with Shirley it was good to hear that she does want to know and meet Shirley I felt like we're both on the same page with that and that made me happy yeah I've thought about this for four years and I've played out heaps of different scenarios but this was never one of them I really never thought about a sister ever yeah feels amazing and now I have a sister that gives me something more than just being a wife a mother and a grandmother she'll be happy to hear that the two girls are going well yeah that's good I think that that's what we can both vote for after the break this is av AV o Amanda's joy in discovering the two full sisters she never knew about here's your baby sister in Newcastle Amanda crier is waiting to find out where the long-lost family has found her birth mother Brenda we tracked Brenda down to Auckland New Zealand and uncovered an extraordinary story about her and Amanda's father nerve after I met Amanda I came home a few months later and obviously had Bustan feelings for him so married in the next year and we have two more daughters although she has been divorced from birth for 24 years Brenda is excited about the chance to see her firstborn again I have so much to tell Amanda today yes we have found her birth mother Brenda in New Zealand and yes Brenda is desperate to meet her firstborn daughter but there are so many other twists and turns in this story that are about to be revealed so you've had a huge amount of changes in the last 10 years he lost both your parents yes you do you think that perhaps your thoughts are going to your biological mother now because you're missing that sense of belonging to something very much so yeah it's always an emotional journey for you yeah it's getting harder as the days go on it's getting harder and harder hmm Amanda we've got some great news for you today we have found your birth don't know what to say it's good you know all these years you've known your adopters and you've wanted that simple moment of seeing a face that is related to yours mm-hmm would you like to see a photo of your birth son it's please Ian just lovely which is very cooked me manda when we contacted her she was really excited that you were seeing for a year it's good she's given us a letter that she wrote to you to thank you what I did dear Amanda I'm finding it so hard to find the right words to explain how I feel about meeting you for the very first time I am so overwhelmed with all the motions for wanting to hug you and never stopping to be nervous and even a little scared over the initial period of about 15 years after you were born together with the birth of my mr. tortoise I had of home period emotional - but had to accept that you were with another family and happy as you will know if you have any children we were you never stopped loving them Hey never stop loving it till the day you die it is my hope that we will be able to get to know each other loving kindness regards and lots of hugs from your birth mother Brenda well Amanda your story is really unusual the two sisters that she mentions in the letter that Brenda mentioned the letter there your full sisters your birth mother Brenda is from New Zealand she came to Sydney working holiday and she met your birth father nerves so easily they were in a relationship and then they broke up and then she found out that she was pregnant was 1967 she felt as if she had no choice she put you up for adoption and then moved away from Sydney we're back to New Zealand love followed her to New Zealand and that's where they reunited got married and had your two sisters that's a whole new level of 101 terror cut and beautiful and everything oh and ever wonder if they know about me um what they know about me but you look like you need a stiff drink yep I cannot eat it but I can offer you a photograph of your sister your two little sisters this is a V easy Oh so hopefully and he's your baby sister this is Carrie you this family gets figured I have two children h-hey but this is an Effie fairytail after the break I'm so happy I proposed it's absolutely beautiful a mother elated about seeing her daughter for the first time in almost 50 years it's been just a few days since 48 year-old Amanda Cryer learn the incredible truth about her birth family unbelievably after giving Amanda up for adoption her birth mom and dad married and went on to have two more daughters Amanda's full sisters today Amanda will be meeting the family she has spent years looking for when I first found out that I have this hole of a family I was very elated and it was pretty exciting thing my best hopes for today that it all goes well and that little name that continues on laughter it Amanda's mother brenda has returned to Sydney the last place she saw Amanda it's here she will be reunited with her firstborn daughter all I want us to know that she's happy and if we can get to know each other if we achieve that that face the beast is to me teenage I can hear your racing - it's not just silly old me so he just amazing even name Jesus didn't end up here like this but I'm so happy I could burst but it's absolutely beautiful mum and dad I'm sure would say bottoms of the house themselves thank you thank you for giving them good looks oh fish I know if mom was here now I think she'd approve I think she'd love it it she was still alive she would have been person who would have been here with me I have a little something here I think you'll like this is a ring I brought for myself a lot of years ago and what is this a little token made why much thinking I love it it's beautiful you've got quite little fingers just like me she's a beautiful lady so just the beautiful heart I couldn't have wished for junior Peter for someone else need to see you slightly younger sister you're having a big sister when I was the big sister it's pretty go hey surreal it's just unbelievable yeah yes it sure is I've got my two beautiful kids here with me today proud to bring my cheating um they fill my heart with pride and I could say that my friend Renee V we're very welcoming and very happy to make them and yeah so like you're from and to tell me I'm getting show nameless yes you did this time very yet incredibly had to skip

Channel: Long Lost Family AU

Views: 174,470

Rating: 4.6082759 out of 5

Keywords: long lost family au season 6, long lost family au 2016, long lost family au season 3, long lost family au season 2, Long Lost Family AU Season 1 Episode 8, long lost family au s01e01, long lost family au s02e01, long lost family au s01e02, long lost family au s01e09, long lost family au s01e08, long lost family au season 1 episode 8

Id: vvV3tI7jqy4

Length: 57min 26sec (3446 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 21 2016