One perfect day : a mother and son's story of adoption and reunion

173 Pages·2014·0.67 MB·English

by  Diane Burke

Also by Diane Burke
Hidden in Plain View
Double Identity
Silent Witness
Midnight Caller
Bounty Hunter Guardian
Danger in Amish Country (with Marta Perry and Kit Wilkinson)

MEMOIRS BY DEFINITION are a written depiction of events in somebody’s life.
They are memories. All of the events in this story are as accurate and truthful as
possible. Many names and places have been changed to protect the privacy of
others. Mistakes, if any, are caused solely by the passage of time.
Copyright © 2014 by Diane Burke and Steve Orlandi All photographs © 2014 by Diane Burke and Steve
Orlandi
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written
consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries
should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.
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Skyhorse® and Skyhorse Publishing® are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.®, a Delaware
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www.skyhorsepublishing.com 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.
Burke, Diane, 1951-
One perfect day : a mother and son’s story of adoption and reunion / Diane Burke with Steve Orlandi.
pages cm ISBN 978-1-62873-779-0 (hardback) 1. Burke, Diane. 2. Orlandi, Steve. 3. Birthparents--
United States--Identification. 4. Birthmothers--United States--Biography. 5. Adoptees--United States--
Biography. 6. Adoptees--United States--Identification. I. Orlandi, Steve. II. Title.
HV874.82.B87A3 2014
362.82’98--dc23
2013044412
Printed in the United States of America
Dear Reader,
Adoption reunions are high-octane events. Emotions and expectations are hard
to put into words. When my mother and I talked about the possibility of writing
this book, our intention was twofold:
In a world filled with bad news, we wanted to share something uplifting,
something inspirational. We also wanted to share our experiences with others
contemplating reunions because it isn’t an easy path but, at least in our case, it
was one well worth the journey.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered my mother was an accomplished
author and had the professional skills to reenact our lives with such accuracy and
truth. Now I know where I get my creative side.
I am proud of my mother and I was very happy to help her fill in the missing
pieces of this story.
I hope you enjoy reading the story as much as we are enjoying living it.
Steve
p.s. My mom wants me to let you know her author page can be found at
www.amazon.com/author/dianeburke and her email address is
[email protected]. She loves hearing from her readers so go ahead
and write her. Mothers! LOL
Acknowledgments
FIRST AND FOREMOST, I want to thank Nicole Resciniti, my agent, and Nicole
Frail, my editor, who believed in this project and stood up against the marketers
who told them that since I was an ordinary person and not a celebrity, this book
would never sell. I hope my readers reward them for their belief in us.
I wish to thank Barbara Orlandi and Kristin McKnight for encouraging and
supporting Steve every step of this journey. I love you both.
I wish to thank Nancy and Joe Orlandi for doing an awesome job of raising
“our” son and for opening your hearts and your family to include me. I will be
forever grateful.
I wish to thank my sons, David and Dan, for taking this journey with me and
welcoming Steve into our family.
I wish to thank my brothers, Michael and Brendan, who didn’t worry about
embarrassment, who stood by my side during periods of family derision and
defended my right to tell this story.
I want to thank Dan “Flannagan” for encouraging me to write this truthfully
even though it didn’t show him in the best light. He’s become the man I always
knew he could be. He loves the Lord, loves his sons, is a good grandfather, and
we have become good friends.
And last, but certainly not least, I want to thank my son, Steve Orlandi, who
began a search not knowing where the road would lead, held on through the
storms, and loved a mother who wasn’t the white-picket-fence mom he had
hoped to find but loved her anyway. I love you, son. You’ve changed my life in
more ways than you will ever really know.
In God’s time, in God’s way, is God’s plan.