Together Again

This episode was originally published on October 18, 2019.

We tend to glorify occasions when families are reunited. But those moments are just the start of what can often be long, difficult paths. This week, Piya explores the reality of what happens after the movie moment of family reconnection.

Here are the stories from this week's episode...

After finding her biological family, reality upended this adoptee's expectations of reunion

For many adopted children, reconnecting with biological parents can be a lifelong consideration. When Dianne Mathes decided to do it, she found that trying to build relationships was tougher than she imagined. She tells Piya how balancing her own expectations with reality – and factoring in the experiences of the other parties involved – disrupted what she thought reunion would be like.

'You can't get that time back': Mother strives to rebuild relationships with her children following abduction

Emily Cablek's children were abducted by their father for four years. Today, she's still coming to grips with what happened and trying to rebuild her relationships with her kids. As she tells Piya, part of reconnecting with her children means respecting that neither she nor they can fully understand how the trauma of abduction uniquely altered the course of their lives.

How a shock illness forced this woman to redefine herself and her closest relationships

On New Year's Day in 2013, Rikke Schmidt Kjaergaard started to feel ill. Her condition rapidly worsened and less than a day later, she fell into a coma. For 11 days, she was "locked in", unable to move or speak. She tells Piya about her shocking near-death experience, and how she struggled to readjust to her family life after moving from caregiver to the one who needed care.