Barbara Lane: They Did Everything They Could To Break My Bonds To My Sisters But It Didn't Work

Bonus Babies

Send us a text

Jayne Amelia speaks with Reverand Barbara Lane. Rev. Lane is the author of "Broken Water: An Extraordinary True Story."
Barbara is the ninth of eleven sisters, abandoned by their birth parents, who were all placed in St. Dominic’s Orphanage in St. Louis, then eventually separated into different homes and finally reunited 43 years later. Her book tells the powerful true story of her journey through the many years she spent trying to reconnect with her long-lost sisters and solve the intriguing mystery of her family of origin – all while surviving and eventually healing from the life-threatening abuse she and one of her sisters endured in the home of their foster father: a mafia grunt.
Rev. Lane integrates her life experiences of being a foster child, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, entrepreneur, speaker, child advocate, educator, ministerial counselor, and author into her writing. By sharing her own personal journey, Barbara destigmatizes the fate of child abuse survivors, leading her to write "Broken Water." In addition to her 25-year service in private practice as a ministerial counselor, Barbara’s educational background in human development, social sciences, and family psychology with a focus on child abuse, inspires her to share her expertise on interrelated issues: the family, family separation, the foster care system, attachment and bonding, child maltreatment, relationship formation, the resilience of the human spirit, healing from trauma, and the power found in having faith in something greater than the self. When not writing, you will find Barbara enjoying nature, reading, swimming, playing sports, and people watching. She especially enjoys spending time with her grandchildren. Barbara lives in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia with her husband, Jim, who remains her childhood sweetheart.
Learn more about Rev Lane and her work here: barbaralane.info
Broken Water: An Extraordinary True Story

"I was three years old when I entered the orphanage. Here is a picture of me with a sister's arm around me. I wasn't unhappy. I didn't miss my mother. I was surrounded by the love and nurturance of my sisters. But, as is the case with most abandoned children, we were eventually separated and placed into foster care.

I was traumatized by the separation from my sisters. I would carry that within my broken heart for forty-three years. Until...

'Broken Water' is a memoir that tells the true story of my journey to survive child abuse in a foster home while seeking to reunite with my sisters. It invites the reader to journey with me through a miraculous reunion followed by a fifteen-year effort to learn my family's history and to write each sister's heart-wrenching story of abuse and abandonment. It shares our experiences while living in orphanages, foster care and adoptions. Sadly, the stories of children in the system today are hauntingly familiar.

'Broken Water' is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, the strength of a bonded sisterhood, and the power found in having faith in miracles and something greater than the self."

See bonusbabies.org to learn more about what we are doing and please donate to support us by making a 100% tax-deductible contribution. EVERY PENNY OF YOUR CONTRIBUTION GOES TO RECORDING AND PLATFORMING THESE STORIES. Yeah!
IG@bonusbabiespodcast
TW@BonusBabiesPod
FB@BonusBabiesPodcast