Robert Tickner had always known he was adopted, but had rarely felt much curiosity about his origins. Serving in the Hawke and Keating governments, he held the portfolio of minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs, and while there he was instrumental in instigating the national inquiry into the Stolen Generations.

When, in his forties, Robert at last turned his attention to the question of his own birth, he had some sense of the potentially life-changing course that lay ahead of him. But he could not have anticipated learning of the exceptional nature of the woman who had brought him into the world, the deep scars that his forced adoption had left on her, or the astonishing series of coincidences that had already linked their lives. And this was only the first half of a story that was to lead to a reunion with his birth father and siblings.

This deeply moving memoir is a testament to the significance of all forms of family in shaping us - and to the potential for love to heal great harm.