Giving a baby up for adoption can be one of the most selfless decisions a woman makes. Often, the woman hopes to give her child a better life, knowing that she cannot properly care for the child herself. However, the adopted child may be left with many questions and few answers.

In the case of one such child, Kathleen Fraser Jackson, a lifetime of questions would lead her to answers she could never have foreseen. Let’s learn more about her journey to find her family, as well as the various surprises she discovered along the way.

Always Wondering About Her Past

Born in the late '50s, Kathleen is the child of an interracial relationship in the United Kingdom. Such relationships may be seen as no big deal now, but at the time they were so taboo that people even shunned the mixed-race children resulting from them.

Having already been scarred by the death of her adoptive mother when she was just a toddler, Kathleen grew up with some serious abandonment issues after learning she had been adopted. In her 60s, she decided to finally find out who her parents really were.

 

Family Is All That Matters To Her

Kathleen eventually overcame the struggles of her early years and had a family of her own, becoming the mother of five children who in turn gave her 12 grandchildren. Nonetheless, she was haunted by the question of why her biological mother had given her up.

After her adoptive father died, Kathleen could no longer resist looking for her birth mother, but for a long time she turned up nothing. Then she heard about a show that could be the key to finding the woman who had sent her away upon giving birth to her.

A TV Show Was Crucial In Her Search

The TV show Long Lost Family specializes in cases like Kathleen’s, documenting the moments when family members meet each other after being apart for most of their lives. DNA testing on the show is often instrumental in finding long-lost relatives, and Kathleen was no exception.

Thanks to this show, she not only gained the closure she had long sought for her troubled childhood but also learned much more than she could ever have expected. Kathleen's story is certainly heartwarming, but things could've been a lot different for her and her family.

A Painful Past Filled With Prejudice

Racial tensions were once high in the United Kingdom. After confrontations in the '50s, racism continued well into the '60s. More often than not, people of color were ineligible to own or even rent real estate. At some establishments, offensive signs were hung in windows.

Numerous workplaces quickly dismissed black applicants for any kind of mid-tier position even if they were qualified. The only jobs available to black people were those that white people didn't want. When bus companies infamously refused to hire anyone who wasn't white, protests and a bus boycott ensued.

Even Black War Heroes Were Victims

After enlisting in the British uniformed forces, many residents of the Caribbean islands were deployed into battle during World War II. Normally, a man in military uniform would be treated with respect wherever he went, but sadly such was not the case with black veterans.

Many veterans of color had great difficulty finding jobs after the war. Even worse, street gangs often singled them out for violent attacks. This widespread mistreatment alienated them so much that they developed their own communities from which they would eventually fight for their rights.

Race Relations Tore The Empire Apart

As one of the largest empires in the world, Great Britain once had colonies on many Caribbean islands. The British Crown encouraged these islanders to come to the United Kingdom in search of a better life, but the opportunities they found there were very disappointing.

The stark contrast between the Crown's invitation and the blatant and subtle racism against islanders reflected the deep internal conflict that pervaded the entire British Empire at the time. However, the bus boycott moved Parliament to correct this injustice. In 1965, racial discrimination became illegal.

She Never Felt Like She Belonged

After Kathleen's adoptive mother left her way too soon, her adoptive father became distant at best. Then a shock came when she was only a teenager in junior high school: a staff member at the school accidentally dropped a document that revealed she had been adopted.

This revelation made Kathleen feel lonelier than ever, and questions began piling up in her mind, plaguing her thoughts. Unfortunately, there were very few places where she could find the answers she sought, so she grew up resigned to never learning anything about her past.

She Grew Up Feeling Unloved

Following her adoptive mother's death, Kathleen was sent away, consigned to growing up at a boarding school by her adoptive father. He then remarried and had a family of his own. Feeling left out, she wondered if there was anyone who cared about her at all.

This sense of abandonment can have pernicious effects on a child's mental health well into adulthood. Deeply hurt by the way her adoptive father treated her, Kathleen became all the more determined to find out whether she had another family who would truly love her.

Heartbroken, She Searched For Love

Many adopted children are brought up by loving families who help them grow into well-adjusted adults, getting a good education and leading happy lives. But emotional support is crucial to raising any child well, for no one likes to feel all alone in the world.

Although Kathleen wanted for nothing financially, she was starved of companionship, support, and guidance. As a result, she led a miserable existence plagued by loneliness. Desperate to find a loving family, she pored over her records, hoping for a clue to her biological mother's whereabouts.

Her Initial Search Led Her Nowhere

Finding her birth mother would be a daunting task. Nonetheless, Kathleen started reading her files from the adoption agency and tried to get any information available. Through her research, she found out that she was the child of a British woman and a Jamaican man.

Kathleen also discovered that her biological father was a student in the United Kingdom around the time she was born, but she could discern nothing more. Although this shed some light on who she was, it brought her no closer to finding her real family.

She Reached Out To A TV Show Host

Davina McCall is one of the hosts of Long Lost Family. Interestingly, she also grew up in a broken home, though she didn't come from a separated family. She was raised by her grandparents with little contact from her parents, which may help her empathize with people on the show.

When Kathleen asked Davina for help, she became instrumental in the search for Kathleen's birth mother, telling her everything the show's contacts uncovered about her family. It was a good thing she was so understanding and considerate, for Kathleen's life was about to take a very dramatic turn.

The Other Host Knew Her Suffering

Nicky Campbell is the other host of the BAFTA Award–winning TV show Long Lost Family. With his great social skills and kindly demeanor, he adds a lot of heart to the show. Just like Kathleen, he was brought up by his adoptive mother and father.

As a result, Nicky can relate to people's anxiety and what may be going through their minds during reunions on the show. He too would play an important role in Kathleen's story, traveling overseas to verify some data and make the arrangements for a reunion.

A Breakthrough In Her Search

After decades of searching, Kathleen still had no idea where she could find her birth mother. However, by the time she was 60, new technology had become available to the public. She could now have her genes analyzed for matches with others in a huge database.

In the hope that this procedure would lead her to her biological family, Kathleen provided a genetic sample for the Long Lost Family show. But when the analysis revealed that she was a match with someone in Canada, she found much more than a lead.

She Was In For A Huge Surprise

It turned out that Kathleen has a half-sister named Alison Hargreaves who lives in Ontario, Canada. But following up on this lead yielded an even bigger surprise: not only does Kathleen have a half-brother, Graham Hargreaves, but Alison's mother, Kathleen Hargreaves, is Kathleen's birth mother.

When the hosts of Long Lost Family broke the news to her on live TV, Kathleen was overwhelmed. After all this time, she couldn’t believe that she had so quickly found her real mother plus two half-siblings. She immediately wanted to know if they were willing to meet her. Had hers been a no-contact adoption?

At Last, She Saw Her Real Mother

The first time Kathleen laid eyes on Kathleen, Sr., the woman who had brought her into the world, it was in a picture. After feeling like she had lost two mothers in one lifetime, she was finally reconnecting with her real family. Even better, her birth mother wanted to see her.

Kathleen, Sr., had been with Kathleen for the first six weeks of her life before giving her away as a baby. Anticipating the questions her daughter must have, Kathleen, Sr., wrote her a letter explaining what had brought her to this decision. Of course, Kathleen longed to know more, but another surprise awaited her first.

A Relative Waiting To Be Discovered

During an interview with Nicky for Long Lost Family, Kathleen, Sr., dropped a bombshell: she had put up another daughter for adoption. The show's contacts then set out to find Kathleen's other half-sister, eventually tracking her down to Edinburgh, Scotland, under the name Jean Thomson.

When Kathleen found out, she was overwhelmed yet again. In a short span of time, she had gone from having no real family to having a mother and three half-siblings. Besides an obvious physical resemblance, Jean shared a similar story with her as well. The sisters would meet each other before their mother.

Jean Had Longed For A Little Sister

Born in the early '50s, Jean had been put up for adoption when she was only six months old. Questions about her biological family had also been on her mind, but she had never found any answers until she learned about Kathleen. She was excited to meet her.

Jean had always wanted to be a big sister, and now she had a younger half-sister. She and Kathleen could hardly wait to find out more about each other in person. It turned out that the sisters had even more in common than they had suspected.

The Sisters' Tear-Streaked Meeting

When Jean and Kathleen first saw each other in person, tears of joy immediately started welling in their eyes. The sisters felt an instant connection to each other, and any psychologist could attest to how much good this sense of belonging would do for both women.

Jean and Kathleen were surprised to discover how similar their lives had been. Jean had also lost her adoptive mother as a toddler and grown up in a broken family, which enabled the sisters to empathize with each other even more. It was a very emotional moment.

Neither Had Been Aware Of The Other

Jean turned out to also be the daughter of a Jamaican man. Given the high racial tensions in the United Kingdom when she was born, it made sense that her birth mother would give her away to spare her the social stigma as a mixed-race child.

Having both grown up in complete ignorance of their biological family, Kathleen and Jean were eager to learn more about their past. To the sisters, long hours on cheap flights would be well worth getting to meet their aged mother across the pond in Canada.

Her Life Was Overflowing With Love 

Now Kathleen knew that she had a family who loved her. She still could hardly believe that she'd found a mother and two siblings in Canada plus a sister in Scotland. Yet even more surprising revelations about her family were soon to come her way.

Although Kathleen never sank into depression, her feelings of abandonment had taken a heavy toll on her. She was ready to free herself of this burden once and for all by meeting the mother she had so long searched for. Everyone had high hopes for the reunion in Canada.

A Joyous Reunion Filled With Tears

Kathleen, Sr., had decided to move to Ontario in search of a fresh start away from the ostracization she had faced in the United Kingdom because of her interracial relationships. In Canada, she had been happily married and watched her two other children grow up.

Still, Kathleen, Sr., couldn't help but worry about the fates of her two older daughters, hoping that they were in good health and had good homes with loving families. After decades of wondering what had happened to them, she was overjoyed to finally be reunited with Jean and Kathleen in her '80s.

Mesmerized By Their Similarities

Kathleen had already compared the similarities between her and Jean. Now the joyous moment had come when the sisters could see the physical traits they had inherited from their mother. The three then sat down together, and Kathleen, Sr., explained the difficult decision she had made on two separate occasions.

At a time when having a mixed-race child was frowned upon, Kathleen, Sr., had committed this social sin not once but twice. To make matters worse, her upper-class family had forbidden her to bring either of these babies home. Her options had become very limited.

The Hardest Decision She Ever Made

Because Kathleen, Sr., had been unmarried when Jean and Kathleen were born, opportunities to find a steady job had been very scarce, and she had wanted her daughters to be well provided for. Thus, she had decided to send her precious babies away, hoping to give them better homes.

Jean and Kathleen understood the circumstances. It had been a different time, and any other decision would have brought very harsh consequences on their mother. The sisters may have suffered from loneliness throughout their childhoods, but they had indeed never gone without food or clothes.

Weeping For What Could've Been

Jean and Kathleen wept bitterly as their thoughts inevitably turned to how different their lives could have been. If it weren't for the racial stigmas of the '50s, the sisters could have grown up together with the loving mother they had been denied so long.

However, the sisters recognized that it did little good to dwell on the past. Instead, they focused on enjoying the present moment, comforted to know that their mother was alive, well, and happy to see them and that their well-being had been foremost in her mind when she had given them away.

Alison's Happiness Was Palpable

It was now time for Jean and Kathleen to meet their two half-siblings, Alison and Graham. Although she had grown up happily with her parents and brother, Alison cherished gaining two sisters. She and Kathleen turned out to share certain traits beyond their physical similarities.

Not only did Kathleen and Alison both become educators, but they also both want to help the disadvantaged in any way they can. In consequence, Alison teaches English to refugees in Canada, while Kathleen works in a literacy program for immigrants in the United Kingdom.

No Jealousy, Only Love For Siblings

Kathleen could have felt jealous of Alison and Graham. After all, they had grown up with the mother she had been denied. Yet instead she was happy to know that two of her three siblings had been able to spend quality time with their mother.

Through Alison and Graham, Kathleen could see what it would have been like to be blessed with a lifetime of their mother's affection. It also warmed her heart that everything had worked out in the end for Kathleen, Sr. The reunion had brought a smile to everyone's face.

A Family Reunited At Last

With this reunion, Kathleen found the love she had been spent the past few decades of her life looking for. Upon finding out she had been adopted, all she had wanted was to meet her birth mother, and now her wish had finally been granted.

Thanks to advances in DNA studies, Jean, Kathleen, and Kathleen, Sr., were brought together again after racism had driven them apart. Their long separation has made them value their precious time together even more. Yet there would be yet another reunion in store for Kathleen.

Rebuilding Their Family Bonds

Their long-awaited reunion laid the foundation for a close relationship between Kathleen, Sr., and her two older daughters as they discovered more about each other over long conversations. And with the wonders of modern technology, they can easily contact each other from halfway across the globe.

In fact, Jean and Kathleen created a WhatsApp group for their newfound family, including Alison and Graham, so they can stay up to date on each other's lives. The family is already planning their next reunion, and they owe it all to Long Lost Family.

Meeting Yet Another Half-Sibling

Kathleen's biological father was Byron Burton. As Long Lost Family later revealed, he had a son named Teddy Burton who actually lived in the same city Kathleen did. Incredibly, she used to visit his neighborhood quite often. She might have crossed paths with her half-brother without even realizing it.

Teddy informed Kathleen that their father had passed away only two years before their meeting. Brother and sister quickly bonded as he told her stories about the father she never knew. With so many twists and turns in her story, Kathleen could write a book.

A Big, Happy, International Family

It's not always easy to let go of the past and what could've been, but Kathleen and her family have chosen to make the most of what they have now. Using their cell phones, they stay in touch despite the huge geographical distance between them.

Kathleen is so thankful for her multicultural, international family, united after decades apart. Now that she knows where she came from, she feels more loved than ever. Her inspirational story shows us the power of resilience and focusing on what we've gained rather than what we've lost.