Tracy Clark-Flory’s “My Mother’s Daughter” Tells the Story of Finding Her Long-Lost Sister

Tracy Clark-Flory’s “My Mother’s Daughter” Tells the Story of Finding Her Long-Lost Sister

From KQED's Forum by KQED

May 8, 2026 · 55 min

About this episode

Tracy Clark-Flory shares her journey of finding her long-lost sister and understanding her mother's past.

When she was 16, journalist Tracy Clark-Flory found out that she had a long-lost sister. Her mother shared that as a teenager, she had given up a child for adoption, and the grief of that act had sent her to a mental institution. There was not much more that her mother shared, and Clark-Flory did not ask. But years after her mother’s death, Clark-Flory set out to find her sister and learn more about why her mother could not keep her child. She tells that story in her new book, “My Mother’s Daughter.” Guests: Tracy Clark-Flory, journalist and essayist; author, "My Mother's Daughter: Finding Myself in My Family's Fractured Past" and "Want Me: A Sex Writer's Journey into the Heart of Desire"; her newsletter can be found at tracyclarkflory.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: KQED

Guest: Tracy Clark-Flory

Topics covered

  • family
  • adoption
  • mental health
  • journalism
  • sibling relationships

Keywords

  • long-lost sister
  • adoption
  • mother's grief
  • mental institution
  • journalist

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: My Mother's Daughter, Want Me: A Sex Writer's Journey into the Heart of Desire

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