StoryCorps Chicago: “Meeting you was like looking into a mirror for the first time”

By Bill Healy
Laura and Laurie are half-sisters.
Laura and Laurie are half-sisters. Courtesy of StoryCorps
Laura and Laurie are half-sisters.
Laura and Laurie are half-sisters. Courtesy of StoryCorps

StoryCorps Chicago: “Meeting you was like looking into a mirror for the first time”

By Bill Healy
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Laura and Laurie are half-sisters. (Courtesy of StoryCorps)

In the early 1960s, a man working at a bank in California had an affair with his secretary. Both of them were married to other people at the time. She became pregnant, and the man made it clear he wanted nothing to do with the child. Decades later, that child, named Laura, connected with her half-sister, Laurie. The two came to StoryCorps, where Laura describes the circumstances surrounding her birth, at a time her mother’s husband was overseas.

StoryCorps’ mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to share, record and preserve their stories. These excerpts, edited by WBEZ, present some of our favorites from the current visit, as well as from previous trips.