Janice Jones reads vignettes from her memoir, Dr. Beare’s Daughter, that illustrate how being adopted caused her to silence her own voice in her struggle to be that elusive, golden child she believed her parents really wanted—their own. She shares insights into life as an adoptee, that she gained from writing her story, and how publishing it finally gave her real self a voice in the world and helped her become whole. She invites questions and offers encouragement for participants to share their own stories as part of a healing journey.

About Janice
Janice Jones was adopted in 1947 at age four-and-a-half months by charismatic doctor and surgeon, Ralph Beare and his socialite wife, Lou, of Celina, Ohio. Jones grew up as a lonely, only, privileged child who found herself an outlier in her family and at school. While her adoption was no secret, discussing it was taboo. To be curious was to be ungrateful. When she was often reminded by those who admired her parents, that she was a lucky girl to been adopted by such wonderful parents, she could only smile while thinking, You don’t know what it is like to live with them.

As an adult, Jones has had a long career as a freelance writer and editor. She has also been a dog-obedience instructor, children’s book buyer for a large, independent bookstore, and inventor of jigsaw puzzles that teach reading skills to children. The two things she values most in life are truth and connection to others. She considers the world at large to be her big, human family. Dr. Beare’s Daughter: Growing Up Adopted, Adored, and Afraid is her fourth published book.