this american life switched at birth transcript this american life switched at birth transcript

And when I think of my mother, I think of her. So then I just forgot about the whole thing. Nothing seemed to miss to her. I mean, are there times when you when you feel a little bit guilty about kind of having lucked out with the home that was, you know, maybe a little bit easier to grow up in? One thing Mrs. Miller doesn't regret is raising Marty. She told in her letter how she knew as soon as she got home and weighed the baby that the nurses had made a mistake. And I really didn't know anything about the McDonald's. Kay McDonald is still tight with Sue, the daughter she raised, but she's also much closer with Marti. I don't think that they ever came to watch me cheer in a game. And so that's why I started sending them a copy of our Christmas letter. Our senior producer for this episode is Julie Snyder, music from Jessica Hopper. No. Marti says her mom, Mrs. Miller, sees the world in black and white. Bob is four and 1/2 years older than Sue, a sweet, jovial guy, who never got along with his broody little sister. Because it was always just a rumor. What if the McDonalds had just taken me home and I'd grown up in the house with my biological parents and my biological brother, who would I be? And the daughter, bear with me, ended up marrying Sue's brother Bob. People were definitely aware whenever both women were in the same room. I don't even know who they are. Marti considered whether she should go. One, she wasn't going to become estranged from her mother. This American Life is produced in collaboration with WBEZ Chicago and delivered to stations by PRX The Public Radio Exchange. And I couldn't figure that out at the time. This is a videotape of that first meeting. can't pick up dinos with argentavis. Here's Jake Halpern. There was nothing any further. So I dropped the mixed-up baby pursuit. They have mutual acquaintances. And she said, Oh, no, no. He is a doctor. The final episode of the Peabody-winning family drama ended things by looking back at how the series. Since we first broadcast this story in 2008, the mom who knew about the baby switch at the time, Mary Kay Miller, has died. And I wanted to be a cheerleader. And this whole crop of people knew but never said anything to Kay McDonald. I would say that Sue and I were probably not that close for whatever reason. And I said, would you have believed me? Mrs. Miller says she worries for Marti and Sue, about whether they'll ever truly get along. It was really good for us to have her around. But Sue says there are a lot of things she missed out on, too, by not growing up with the Millers. anno 1800 best seed for campaign. However, at. Wow, that could be her. Well, of course, they were really clamoring to get to know her. But even if it did happen, there was no way to prove it. And she kept it quiet all those years. Wow, wow. Marty wrote a letter to Kay and Bob McDonald, her biological parents. The Millers didn't have much money and they might not have been able to afford the health care otherwise. Special thanks to Sheri Weaver, JRA Nelson and Gregg Williams. Tells the story of two teen girls who discover that they were accidentally switched at birth. TV-14 | 06.13.2011. If you're just tuning in, Jake Halpern is telling the story this hour of two girls switched at birth. And if that weren't bad enough that lots of people in your town, people around you knew years before you did. S1 E2 - American Gothic The parents navigate the new living situation; Daphne hangs out with Liam. They said that was a cop-out. They knew Reverend Miller. Before when I'd asked you if you thought it was God's will, you said yes. Now this you tell who that is. Whatever it was a different life. If you have a smartphone or tablet, the easiest way to listen to this, and all the other radio shows for the class, is to download the This American Life app. You're in their family. She told me that she even started calling around trying to find someone who'd be a mother to her six children. Kay MacDonald in the Miller is eventually reached a kind of detente. You're still our kid and I'm glad we had you. It wouldn't work. As a result, Marti got worried about one of the most basic facts of her life secondhand, all the while waiting to hear directly from her mother. Jake Halpern is the reporter. (Paperback) by Janice Kay Johnson (Goodreads Author) I just couldn't believe it. To get to the bathroom, you had to go under the bed and crawl. And they stay up till all hours of the night talking. She would push the dresser and the cedar chest against the door. She did not look nor act like any other children. Mr. Miller died in 2000. She was just tired of secrets. Sue dismissed it as part of the whole sister thing, which she also thought was kind of weird. My mom said, oh, well, you just take after great grandpa this year and so on. I honestly don't know how much they communicate, how much they're in touch. She wrote letters to her parents but didn't send them. "This American Life." They were nice enough when she spoke to them on the phone, but they weren't exactly welcoming her into the family. They knew Reverend Miller. A small thing, but it was a big thing to me. He told her that he thought it was God's will that this had happened. TV-14 | 04.11.2017 42:35 I kind of felt like the like Bob and Kate were kind of keeping me in an arm's distance because they weren't really sure how they felt or wanted to feel. I didn't have a doubt in my mind. And two, it was her brother she might lose. And. I'm really a Miller, you know, what does she think of me? I was shy or I was whatever. And I took that as, OK, I'm saying as of right now, you're not our kid. Episode 360, July 25, 2008. I just couldn't believe it. This American Life: Switched at Birth Ep. She's also religious like Sue. It was the night of December 7, 1962, and her rounded belly tightened with each contraction. Kay was a Methodist and the Millers were evangelicals. She had jokes every day. I changed your diaper. Then when Ruth was about 16, her older sister Faith came home from a trip on a Mississippi River boat and told Ruth she'd seen Sue McDonald on the boat, and that she looked an awful lot like them. She lives by herself in the country. But it just brought up feelings that feel crummy again. And we hope you flourished in the McDonald household. Our senior producer for this episode is Julie Snyder. And as Ruth and Faith saw it, it wasn't their place to mess in their parents' affairs, which is why when her husband, Rudy, blurted it out a few years later, Ruth was so shocked and Marty refused to believe it at that point. And much later, when she was in her mid-30s, she decided to get to the bottom of it. Switched at Birth is about two teen girls and their families . From the McDonald's perspective, Marty looked and acted remarkably like a McDonald's. He's a roustabout. I love you both. And I'm not one to borrow trouble. They were nice enough when she spoke to them on the phone, but they weren't exactly welcoming her into the family. He danced with her. All the Millers were invited and all the McDonalds were to Marty considered whether she should go. We're devoting the full hour today to what happened to these two families. Perfectly clear that, you know, I was a mcdonnel for the longest time, whenever she would write to me, she would include MacDonald in my name. It is one of the several identifiable characteristics of melodrama that are plot devices dealing with situations that are highly improbable in real life. The nearest hospital is nine hours on a bus. Here's Bob McDonald, who, remember, was having these great phone calls with his newfound sister? And yeah, I think it might be. I only let myself think about it one time. On one Sunday, they got their boyfriends to drive them 17 miles away to the McDonald's church in Prairie du Chien. As a kid, she was really a live wire. So then she found out she had all of these, um, brothers and sisters and the phone calls were fewer. Reporter Jake Halpern tells the story of Marti Miller and Sue McDonald, the daughters who were switched at birth, and the many complications that came with learning the truth. You know, it's like I'm a teenager again and nobody danced with me. Besides her, there was Mary Lydia, Faith, Ruth, Sonny, Luke, and Esther. Four Ages in Life. In 1994, Mary Miller wrote letters to Sue and Marti, confessing the secret she'd kept for 43 years: The daughters had been switched at birth and raised by the wrong families. And when Bob found out about Marti, found out that she was his biological sister, he called her right away in California. On Saturday, Laura Hucke graduated from the University of Florida in Gainesville. It didn't bother me, because I couldn't see any merit to it. Marty shared a bed with her sister Faith and had to crawl through this vent to get to the bathroom at night because faith would block the doorway to the hall. He's the creator of the new comic "Welcome to the New World-- The True Story of a Refugee Family from Syria," which runs weekly in the "New York Times.". And but at the same time, she says when she refers to Kay, she says, well, your mother is doing such and such. So I left practicing and I was driving. So then she found out she has all of these brothers and sisters. But I thought each of you should know your biological and spiritual backgrounds. Did you have? He didn't dance with me. I can still wonder why and probably never will know why it didn't come up any sooner. I only had one daughter and she had five daughters. I was shy or I was whatever. Original release. Jun I did feel in the beginning like she was taking my place in my family. Kay was angry that Mrs. Miller hadn't corrected things back in 1951, that Mrs. Miller had hijacked her life in this way. When Sue arrived, she slipped in quietly. Jake is a writer of several books and creator of the comic, "Welcome to the New World. (26minutes), Jake Halpern tells the mothers' sides of the story. Thanks. In the show, one teen from a wealthy family discovers that. Seven kids in all. She tells me that you're my daughter. I know that's who's your daughter and no one could ever expect you to feel otherwise. And I felt excluded. I promise you, I'll never try to make you think of me as your daughter. This was the side of the family she was raised with, but she seemed tense, watching as Marti made the rounds, everybody laughing. S1 E3 - Portrait of My Father Bay begins to ask questions about her biological father. I've forgiven them, but that doesn't mean that I've forgotten. I think you know that you will always be our daughter, but I thought each of you should know your biological and spiritual backgrounds. She denied it. They say they're not angry with her. Johnny Dodd Published on April 13, 2022 01:15 PM One afternoon in the summer of 2019, Tina Ennis realized her life would never be the same again as she sat in a diner near her home in Hobart,. The other mother, Kay MacDonald, had no idea the two fathers in this story were not interviewed. They just didn't talk about these kinds of things. Before the letter arrived, the facts of Sue's life, it seemed pretty orderly. She looks just like Mary. Our program was produced today by Jane Marie and myself, our staff for today's show includes Alex Blumberg, Sarah Koenig, Seth Lind, Lisa Pollak, Robin Semion. The two moms and the two daughters who were affected more than anyone. That is the kind of news nobody ever wants to hear. Dear Sue, I'm writing you this short note to officially give you my welcome to this Miller family and relationship. Yes. Reporter Jake Halpern tells the story of Marti Miller and Sue McDonald, the daughters who were switched at birth , and the many complications that came with learning the truth. They were married for 60 years. Mary Miller is 96 now. And as you heard in the letter, one thing that makes this whole thing even stranger is that the two couples knew each other. The hour-long drama, about two teenage girls . And so I kind of made a promise to myself that. She wrote that letter to Mrs. Miller eight years after she learned the truth. I'm IRA Glass back next week with more stories. Instead, they were all taught to paint and encouraged to play music. I tried out for cheerleading. She focused on the facts of the situation, maybe hoping she could fix things by simply setting the record straight. She says, I was pregnant and you are my child. The Millers wanted to incorporate her family into our family as quickly as they could. I would say that Sue and I were probably not that close for whatever reason. But then Mrs. Miller told me more her side of this story. My dad had this horrendous guilt, because he felt like it was all his fault that he should have believed my mother for all those years. They decided that Ruth ought to have a look to so the two girls cooked up a reconnaissance mission on one Sunday, they got their boyfriends to drive them 17 miles away to the McDonald's church in Prairie Dasheen. And she's going to get this popular Marti, who's so fun-loving and looks like her. Incredibly, when Marti was 21 years old, someone actually told her that she might not be a Miller. Reverend Miller. She was 98 years old. That sort of spooked Marti, so she left it alone. Some time between five and 15 days ago. But at the same time, when she refers to Kay, she says, well, your mother is doing such and such or your mother said this. S5 . When Sue got married, for instance, the Millers gave her a trivet Norbert had made. Back in 1994, this is back in the days when people still delivered big news to each other by mail to women who barely knew each other, Martha Miller and Susan McDonald got a letter from Martha's mom. It's gripping, a real 'page turner', and it's all true. And I think he honestly never thought it was a possibility. Your mother said this. Like Sue, though, Marti stuck out in her family. When your husband said to you, this baby's cute, let's keep it, did you agree with him immediately or was there a little bit of arguing back and forth over what to do? And until that time, we just talked all the time with every phone call that we made. Mr. Miller died in 2000. I was a crazy woman who thought I had her girl. Our other children were very serious. The reason was pretty simple, actually. And my mother, nothing was going to be different between us. There are birthdays and graduations and figuring out where to spend holidays. A month and a half later, she wrote the letter. That's how long it took her to sort out her feelings. The story of an FBI undercover operation from 2006 that went terribly, and became the heart of a case heard at the Supreme Court. [00:00:33] It was all pretty straightforward. I mean, the my kids are all serious about their life yet, no, they're more like I am before when I'd asked you if you thought it was God's will. Rudy had a couple of beers. Mr. McDonald had a bad heart and she didn't know what the stress would do to him. That's in a minute, from Chicago Public Radio, when our program continues. From Marti's perspective, the genetic counselor's prediction from years before seemed to be coming true, and it felt like she was losing both her mothers. Archive; Recommended; How to Listen; . And both mothers and daughters each had to figure it out on their own. Earlier this month, Sue's daughter got married in Michigan. Because I had said that I had shed a lot of tears. That could be. It is hosted by Ira Glass, produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media, delivered to stations by PRX The Public Radio Exchange, and has won all of the major broadcasting awards. No, we didn't get that. I couldn't believe that because I don't I don't have that feeling about I don't think God. The counselor asked her what McDonald's knew about all this, and I said, I don't think they know anything about it, so. So then I thought, well, OK, then it's not so bad. And I don't think sue had that sense. And the Millers show her pictures of her other relatives. She remembers washing and drying all the dishes by the time she was five or six. And as that baby, Sue, grew up, the one thing that puzzled Kay was that Mrs. Miller, whom she knew only vaguely from church, seemed so interested in Sue. She's a very busy gal, and I was not having that much communication with her. But that didn't seem so strange. And so she took one of the programs from it and she mailed it to me. When she got on the phone, I was just totally blown away. And I thought, well, he'll think I'm nuts. You were not adopted. The nurse weighed the baby and must have left her in the delivery room until after Kay's baby was born. And the Millers came. Is this your dad? And the other thing was that he really thought, what difference does it make? Students, inspired by the real-life "Deaf . This is a videotape of that first meeting. A child is a child. On a fictional TV series, ABC Family's Switched At Birth, deaf students fear their deaf school will be shut down. There's a lot of nervous laughter and there are some awkward moments, like when Sue talks to Mrs. Miller about the fact that she never got enough breast milk as a baby. When I hear this episode now, what hits me honestly is how cunningly structured thing is where where you hear about the mom from all these other people before you ever hear from her and then how your picture of her changes once you actually hear her. And at any point during this time, does it cross your mind, well, why don't we just ask Mom and Dad about this? Mary Miller is 96 now, she lives by herself in the country, her house is filled with the remnants of her and Norbert's life together in the church. Because he told me, you know, well, I don't care what anybody says from as far as I'm concerned, you're not really Ruth's sister. I can still wonder why and probably never will know why it didn't come up any sooner. And yes, Sue is different from the rest of the family in certain ways, dark and tall and skinny and a family that was none of those in a pretty lighthearted household. A week or so after the baby's birth, I was reaching for something way back in the attic closet and started to hemorrhage, then went into convulsions. I can't tell you how hard it was, but I got me all along. When Sue got married, for instance, the Millers gave her a trivett Norbert had made the card was signed from your other possible parents. And I didn't grow up like that at all. And the family's relationship with Dr. Deathlok was no small thing, either. So she's basically I mean, that's so she's basically saying to you, you may have actually gotten a break here. He just has crazy ideas and he dreams these things up. And that's where it might have ended if it hadn't been for Mrs. Miller's letter a decade later. Coming up, what it's like to be a mom and to learn at the age of 69 that your only daughter isn't actually your daughter at all, and, if that weren't bad enough, that lots of people in your town, people around you, knew years before you did. And she said, oh, no, no. Another 2.5 million people download the weekly podcast. She was working for a group of pediatricians, which included a genetic counselor. And part of it what makes this so strange is that this wasn't the sort of thing where Mrs. Miller figured this to her surprise after decades of wondering and pondering and painstaking detective work. She wasn't malicious. We're devoting the full hour today to what happened to these two families. That could be her. But it was hard, Marty says, to be on the receiving end of this sudden adamant truth telling. I have much anguish and many tears, but I feel I must get this out in the open so you to know how wonderful that you both are, Christians and great workers in the church. Now that the big family questions are mostly worked out, one of the toughest things both Marti and Sue have to deal with is logistical. Yes, definitely, at that point. She was guarded. But I went along with it because. Host Ira Glass introduces four characters: Kay McDonald, who raised a daughter named Sue, and Mary Miller, who raised a daughter named Marti. It's all pretty straightforward. We're not mad simply because these two made such a stellar job portraying the main characters. And I knew that she had to be my sister. And I thought she even walks like Mary. Today on our show, we hear what happens when somebody takes your family and throws it up in the air like a deck of cards from WBCSD Chicago. I only had one daughter and she had five daughters. He was an odd strategy, if you can even call it that. I thought that was strange. You know, I didn't grow up like that at all. Switched at Birth S1 E2 American Gothic The parents navigate their new living situation, Daphne hangs out with Liam and Regina opens up to Bay about her family's past. When she got on the phone, I was just totally blown away, by the way, she pronounced her words were identical with the way my mother talked. Your service title Give us a brief description of the service that you are promoting. Forty two years after the switch, Reverend Miller finally laid eyes on Sue at the McDonald's wedding anniversary party. Yes. I know you have mixed feelings about this revelation. And then he danced with my cousin. What's the treatment? I don't have any idea. I don't have any idea. Kay is no longer angry the way she was, but she says she'll never understand why Mrs Miller stayed silent for all those years.