An Adoption Story - Three Episodes

It was the first time I'd seen grass. I fell over and started crying and wiping this grass off me, because I didn't know what it was. All I'd known was snow  . . . I went into panic mode. 

– Ekaterina describes one of her first memories of New Zealand, including seeing grass for the first time, early in episode one

I wouldn't say anything to her if I met her. I would um...I'd just hug her. I'd hug her for a long time. And then I think I would tell her that I love her and I missed her. 

– Ekaterina describes what she would do if she got to meet her birth mother

My friend's father said "don't go to that dance hall — it's a den of sin." . . .  He was pretty strict, so we went anyway. So that's where it all started. 

– Leigh Manson describes how she met her husband Ian

It's not every day that you find out you're part of a different culture. And I'm really pleased with that. I'm really taken in by that culture and I really feel great that I'm part of that . . . You know what? I finally felt like I've come home. 

– Ian on learning about his Māori whakapapa

I started to ask questions about my adoption when I had my firstborn in 2020 after lockdown. And I thought...I was curious as to how I ended up in the situation that I did, knowing my love for my son. I thought something pretty serious must have happened and I wanted to know what it was.

– Valentina on when she first started looking into her birth parents