Patricia Knight Meyer is back on Family Twist, and this time she brought an old friend along.

Patricia's memoir, "Wonderland: Memoir of a Black-Market Adoption," tells the story of growing up without a legal adoption, a real birth certificate or answers about where she came from. Now, part of that story is being brought to life on stage in Austin, Texas.

Joining us is actor Brian Coughlin, who has known Patricia since their high school theater days. Brian has an interesting assignment. He's playing Patricia's father, someone he actually knew when they were growing up.

We talk about what it's like to see people from your childhood portray your family, how Patricia's parents might react to all of this, and the friendships that have lasted through the years. There are some fun theater memories along the way, too.

But there's a much bigger reason for bringing "Wonderland" to the stage. Patricia wants people to understand what happened to adoptees like her and why the fight for access to original birth certificates is far from over.

Patricia's book comes out November 3, and the Austin event, Down the Rabbit Hole: The Fight for Texas Adoptee Rights Then and Now, takes place Friday, November 6, at the Bullock Texas State History Museum. The evening includes a staged scene from the memoir, a discussion about adoptee rights and a book signing. You can attend in person or watch the livestream.

Links:

• Wonderland: Patricia's memoir
• Down the Rabbit Hole: Event details and registration
• Patricia on Instagram

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Meaghan R. Carriere was considering adopting a child when conversations about openness brought her own family’s secret to the surface. Her parents asked her to take a walk, and her mother struggled to say something Meaghan had questioned since childhood: the man who raised her wasn’t her biological father.

In part one of this two-part Family Twist conversation, Meaghan joins Corey to share what happened when that admission led to questions her parents weren’t ready to answer. She wanted a name, information about siblings, and a chance to understand where she came from. Her mother warned that searching could put her in danger.

With only fragments of information, Meaghan began looking. Along the way, childhood memories took on new meaning, and connecting with biological relatives meant deciding whose accounts to trust and which relationships felt safe to pursue.

Meaghan is the author of You Belong Here: An Expressive and Mindful Journey Through Misattributed Parentage. Her book combines personal experience with support for people navigating a parentage discovery.

This story has one of the craziest twists we’ve heard on Family Twist, and part one is only the beginning. Follow the podcast so you don’t miss the conclusion.

In this episode:

• Learning the truth about your parentage as an adult
• Childhood questions that were repeatedly dismissed
• Why discussing a potential adoption brought a family secret into the open
• Searching for biological family with limited information
• Finding siblings while navigating concerns about safety
• Wanting answers while worrying about a parent’s feelings
• Writing about a family history that others would rather leave unspoken

Connect with Meaghan:

• You Belong Here on Amazon
• Meaghan’s website
• Instagram
• You Belong Here on Substack
• All links and resources

More Family Twist:

• Visit our website
• Join Family Twist: After Hours

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Want more Corey and Kendall?

Join us for Family Twist After Hours, our weekly unfiltered bonus podcast featuring personal stories, family secrets, behind-the-scenes conversations and plenty we don't share on the regular show.

Your Patreon membership also helps cover the costs of keeping Family Twist going. Plus, subscribers get new Family Twist episodes a day early!

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/FamilyTwistPodcastAfterHours

What happens when telling your adoption story becomes a way to challenge the secrecy that shaped it?

Patricia Knight Meyer returns to Family Twist ahead of the release of WONDERLAND: Memoir of a Black-Market Adoption. She joins Corey and Kendall to discuss sharing her story with readers, hearing from people who never considered adoption from an adoptee’s perspective, and turning her book launch into an event focused on truth, community and adoptee rights.

Patricia also shares why recording the audiobook brought unexpected tears, how her daughter helped bring a chapter of her life to the stage, and why being surrounded by other adoptees gives her a sense of belonging she struggles to explain to anyone outside the community. There is also a little Taylor Swift, some Dateline and a conversation about helping the next wave of adoptee authors tell their stories.

In this episode:

• How readers outside the adoption community are responding to WONDERLAND.
• Patricia’s perspective on the connection between sealed records, secrecy and black-market adoption.
• Why narrating her own memoir became an emotional experience.
• Bringing the chapter “Roses and Thorns” to life through a stage adaptation directed by her daughter.
• How sharing her story through I’m Adopted revealed how many people still need search resources and support.
• Why finding an adoptee community can change what belonging feels like.

Attend or stream Down the Rabbit Hole: The Fight for Texas Adoptee Rights Then and Now on Friday, November 6, 2026, at the Bullock Texas State History Museum’s Texas Spirit Theater in Austin. The event includes a chapter performance and a panel moderated by Emily Ramshaw, co-founder and CEO of The 19th. Attendance and the livestream are free, with registration available below.

Net proceeds from the event will benefit Saving Our Sisters, Adoption Knowledge Affiliates and the National Association of Adoptees and Parents.

WONDERLAND: Memoir of a Black-Market Adoption releases November 3, 2026.

Family Twist is an in-kind sponsor of the event.

Register for the free event or livestream

WONDERLAND: Book details and purchase links

Book extras, soundtrack and discussion questions

Patricia’s website: My Adopted Life

Read Patricia’s story on I’m Adopted

National Association of Adoptees and Parents

Saving Our Sisters

Adoption Knowledge Affiliates

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Want more Corey and Kendall?

Join us for Family Twist After Hours, our weekly unfiltered bonus podcast featuring personal stories, family secrets, behind-the-scenes conversations and plenty we don't share on the regular show.

Your Patreon membership also helps cover the costs of keeping Family Twist going. Plus, subscribers get new Family Twist episodes a day early!

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/FamilyTwistPodcastAfterHours