The Gift of Goodbye: Edward Di Gangi on Love, Loss, and Adoption’s Untold Stories by @Jason Falls

0 Plays5 hours ago

“This is not about rejection—it’s about sacrifice.” – Edward Di Gangi

Adopted at birth and raised as an only child, Edward Di Gangi never sought the details of his adoption—until a quiet moment in a New Jersey cemetery at age 69 set him on a journey of discovery. That path led to his acclaimed memoir The Gift Best Given, and now to his latest work, Gliding Through Goodbye. In this deeply empathetic conversation, Ed shares how he stepped into his birth mother’s shoes to imagine her emotional world, drawing on interviews with women who placed children for adoption during the pre-Roe “baby scoop” era. The result is a moving tribute to courage, sacrifice, and the healing power of telling the truth.

Key Takeaways:

A moment that changed everything: How a quiet reflection at his adoptive family’s gravesite inspired Ed to finally uncover the truth about his origins.
The remarkable life behind the secret: Discovering that his birth mother was a celebrated ice skater touring the world in the 1940s and 1950s, and how that shaped the story.
The emotional weight of silence: First-hand accounts from women of the “baby scoop” era reveal the lasting shame, secrecy, and grief of placing a child for adoption.
Empathy as a writing tool: How Ed immersed himself in interviews and his mother’s sparse notes to authentically recreate her diary and inner world.
The craft challenge of authenticity: Why writing in his birth mother’s imagined voice demanded restraint, historical accuracy, and deep emotional honesty.
Reframing the adoption narrative: Moving away from a perception of rejection toward understanding adoption as an act of profound sacrifice.
The healing power of storytelling: How sharing personal histories—no matter how painful—can lift the burden of secrecy and build compassion between adoptees, birth parents, and the public.