Finding Karen Black: Roots Become Wings

In 1959, Karen Black gave up a newborn daughter to adoption. While Karen pursued a career in acting that took her from New York to Hollywood, her child grew up in a suburban neighborhood near Chicago. For five decades they knew nothing about each other. Then Illinois opened their sealed adoption records, and Diane sent for her original birth certificate. She discovered that her birth mother was the actress whose unconventional beauty had captured the zeitgeist of the ’60s and ’70s cinema. Karen had starred in some of the decades’ most prominent films including Easy Rider, The Great Gatsby and Airport 1975, to name a few. 

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Diane messaged Karen on Facebook, and Karen responded with acceptance and love. Their reunion was joyful but bittersweet, and came at a pivotal moment: they had exactly one year to deepen their mother-daughter bond before Karen lost her battle with cancer.

 
Finding Karen Black: Roots Become Wings takes the reader on an emotional journey from childhood longing to dream fulfilled, and from the first moments of a joyful reunion through a year of discovery, loss, and renewal. This remarkable story is a testament to the power of the mother-child bond, the importance of our biological roots, and the belief that love lasts forever.