In her 20s, Jackie Lynn discovered she was adopted. In the years that followed, she reckoned with this news and went on to find her biological father. Once Lynn moved to the Ozarks four years ago, she began writing a book documenting her story.
Now a retired nurse living in Hollister, Lynn grew up in Oklahoma as an only child, leading what she described as a great life. Every summer, the family would visit the Ozarks, stopping in Branson and spots in Arkansas. Growing up, she never had an ounce of suspicion that her parents might not be her biological parents.
But in her early 20s, her dad was dying of cancer and left his wife with the promise to tell their daughter the truth. That's when Lynn learned that her parents had adopted her from her mom's
youngest sister when she was born. What followed was a "whirlwind," Lynn said. There were so many questions and complex feelings because Jo, her biological mother, had five children she hadn't given up for adoption.
It turned out Lynn was not the only child adopted by Jo's sisters. She was one of three her biological mother had given up separately to three of her sisters. The children Lynn had grown up with as cousins turned out to be her half-siblings. While initially her interactions with Jo were awkward, she said Jo reached out and tried to have a relationship after both of Lynn's parents had died.
"I felt like I was ready for that relationship, you know," she said. "My folks are gone, so it would be nice to have someone still, you know, in my life and in my kids' lives."
Through misfortunes of time, one of the adopted sisters, Pamela, had disconnected from the family. But in the mid-2010s, they found Pamela and hosted a large family celebration to reconnect. There, all three sisters, Lynn, Pam and Tammy, took a DNA test in case they shared a biological father.
"It's really good to have somebody else that understands the situation, because it is such a unique situation," Lynn said of Tammy and Pam.
While they didn't share a father, Lynn was set to find out more about her family and started a search for her father, at a minimum to know her family health history. But it took two years before 23andMe, a DNA platform, found a match for an aunt. That's how she found Dave, her biological father, in 2019, along with a half-brother.
"It gets emotional for me because you never know what you're gonna find on the other end," Lynn said. "All these other secrets have come out of the closet, so what am I gonna find now?"
But the family was kind and receptive, welcoming her and meeting to learn more about each other.
Lynn visited Dave, who was battling lung cancer, as much as she could. Ultimately, they got five months together before his death in January 2020. Reflecting back, she said she was grateful for the time they had and the opportunity to have many of her questions answered.
"It was just little things about him that I saw in me," Lynn said, noting their same smile and teeth and overall kind nature. "I feel like we both made the most of our relationship."
Sharing her story
Now, Lynn is sharing her story via a book. "Secrets Between Sisters" is already available as an e-book on Amazon and paperback copies are expected to be available soon. The title is a nod to both the secrets shared between her mom and her sisters as well as those between Lynn and her siblings. The book is complete with a family tree, to help readers keep track of the relationships discussed in the narrative.
Lynn said she loves writing and with the twists and turns of her story, it felt natural to work toward a book documenting it all. When she moved to the Ozarks, inspiration struck and she got to work, supported by her husband and children. At first, progress was slower, writing in-between work shifts, but upon retirement in February, Lynn was able to pick up the pace.
"We have this great scenery in our backyard of the Ozark mountains, and I felt like kind of my life had come full circle because of how my mom was born in the Ozarks, and my family lived in the Ozarks, and we always came over to the Ozarks," she said. "I just felt like this is the time."
The book is also a short read, 59 pages according to the online listing. Lynn said she wanted to make sure it was a story that readers of any walk of life, even if they don't have a lot of time, can enjoy.
It was important for her to share her story in a positive light, uplifting the joys of her childhood and the relationships that have blossomed since finding out about her adoption. Calling it a "real good feel-good story," Lynn said she hopes people take away the fact that you do not have to be related to still acquire your parents' good traits.
"You know, they say personality is 50% inherited, 50% environmental, and it really is because I feel like I have some traits of my adoptive parents — they never met a stranger ... and they taught me how to treat people, and I feel like that influenced me on becoming a nurse because I wanted to care for people and make them better," Lynn said. "And then with Dave, I feel like I have his temperament, his smile, blonde hair, blue eyes, and also there's a part of our personality that's similar."
The family still tries to all get together once a year in Oklahoma, with a gathering coming up in October.
Marta Mieze covers local government at the News-Leader. Have feedback, tips or story ideas? Contact her at mmieze@news-leader.com.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Hollister woman tells story of discovering family secrets in new book
