Nick Mabey shared his life story as an adoptee with us. There was an uncanny parallel between his physical heart problem (a hole in his heart) that he was unaware of till quite late in life and his psychological heart problem, the absence of his birth mother (and half-siblings) from his life.
For us participants, this was an opportunity to get inside the head and heart of the speaker as he talked of his life journey including his growing curiosity as a young man about his lost mother and siblings, the way the search for answers developed and the outcomes of that search. We were invited in particular to consider how social workers and therapists have hindered and/or helped him in that search and in his healing.
It was a very moving evening thanks to Nick’s honesty and clarity of communication. All the feedback commented on how powerful this personal delivery of Nick’s was for us. It was as if we shared in Nick’s journey, hoping it would turn out as well as possible for him, and feeling sadness when it did not turn out as perfectly as it would have done in a Hollywood film.
More than one piece of feedback expressed gratitude that there were not too many slides! All the feedback said that the expectations of the evening were fully met.
Thank you, Nick for sharing your story. It gave us all some insights into how a heart can be damaged and how it can be healed.
David Brown