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I had this sister that was born who was given up for adoption, and I never knew it.

I have one brother, John, an airline pilot, who is seven years younger. He's adopted, though we're still blood related - he's my cousin. My parents couldn't have any more children after me, so when Dad's brother died, they adopted John, then just a baby.

As an adopted person, once you find out about that 'other' side of yourself, it's almost like you find out who you really are.

When I was younger, I thought every kid was adopted because that's all I've known. I have everything I need, so I never felt the need to have answers for what happened.

In my own family, my mother had my sister when I was 15 and for various reasons, I was extremely involved in raising her.

Anybody who knows about having a premature baby, it's horrific. He was part of a twin, and I lost his sister.

My mother desperately wanted children. She had a child that was stillborn - something I learned when I was looking through her 'effects' after she had died. It was then that I discovered my original birth certificate, which indicated the previous birth.

My son, who is five, was adopted from Ethiopia. My daughter was adopted from Guatemala. Her parents died of typhoid and malaria. We got her from an orphanage. They are the lights of my life.