Ohana

How I discovered the truth of who I am. As I grew up, the adults in my life kept a secret from me. No one ever mentioned that I had been adopted. So when I was 14, my accidental and totally unexpected discovery was traumatic, extremely difficult to deal with, and had lasting consequences. This is the story of how I surrounded myself with what I call my 'chosen' family, while desperately trying to discover my birth family. Ohana is an idea in Hawaiian Culture. The word Ohana means family in as wide a sense as you can imagine. Not only blood relatives, but adoptive ones, chosen friends, other races and neighbours. Ohana is family and friends bound together, everyone working together and remembering each other. No one gets left behind or forgotten. I am blessed to be part of a huge, chosen, and biological family. This is the story of my Ohana.