Meet Laura Engel | Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Laura Engel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Laura, why did you pursue a creative career?

I was born and raised on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and transplanted to San Diego, California over 50 years ago. I am married to the love of my life, Gene, and the mother of five beloved grown children and an adored golden retriever, Layla Louise. I am thrilled to be the proud Grammy of 10 cherished grandchildren.

In 2016 after retiring from a 35-year career in the corporate world I planned to catch up on hobbies and travels with my husband. I never planned on having a second career, but “life” had other plans. In October of that year a miracle happened in my life. A secret son, I had been forced to relinquish as an unmarried teenager to a closed adoption, found me. I soon found myself busier than ever taking writing classes and writing up a storm about my darkest secret that I had thought I would take to my grave.

In May of 2022, my memoir, “You’ll Forget This Ever Happened-Secrets, Shame, and Adoption in the 1960s” was published and has already met with amazing reviews and emails from hundreds of adoptees and birth mothers. A second career as an author became an unexpected and wonderful surprise. I have spoken to hundreds of adoptee groups and birth parent groups as well as individuals who have been affected by the adoption triad and or family secrets. I found a purpose in speaking about the damage, shame, and grief that closed adoptions caused in the 1960s and I have never looked back. If I can help one person to understand the world of NO Choice that hundreds of thousands of women endured in the 1960s my second career as an author surpasses any job, I have ever had.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Deciding to write a book at the age of sixty-eight was challenging, especially when I was writing about family secrets and a time that had broken me in so many ways. Although I had taken journalism classes in high school all those years ago and loved reading all genres of books, I had never written or published a book or article. I am proud of the fact that I had determination and am tenacious. Writing came natural to me but making my story the best it could be took a daunting five years. I wrote 5 drafts and went to read and critique classes for 3 years before I felt my memoir was the best I could write. Then began the job of finding editors and a publisher. I was thrilled to see the final copy of my book published by She Writes Press in May of 2022. Then began the next phase of promotion and wow, it was more difficult than writing my story. Once again I pushed on and now am so pleased I did. It has been so fulfilling to receive wonderful reviews and have hundreds of readers reach out telling me how much my book meant to them. I have spoken to Adoption groups and Birth Mother groups and have connected with amazing individuals I would never have known without my book. I began writing articles for various online magazines and was thrilled to have one of my pieces published by Writers Digest. I have also had various parts of my memoir published in 3 anthologies with 2 more in the future. In 2018 and 2019 scenes from my memoir were performed on stage by professional actors.

At last I feel comfortable calling myself an author.
I want the world to know that it is never too late – you can do just about anything you set your heart, mind, and soul to at any age. Also, I believe in miracles, because my son finding me was truly marvelous and earth changing for me.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

Since I live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world – San Diego, California – it is always easy to entertain visiting friends. If it was my best friend, she would have the same likes as I do so I would first drive her up to a little mountain town (only 30 minutes away) in the mountains that surround our city. We would have a great lunch and talk forever and then shop in some quaint artisan shops. Next, we would drive to the beach (only 30 minutes away) and we would site see, eat out, shop if she wanted to and just absorb the magnificence of the Pacific Ocean and the ambiance of the beach towns that dot our coast. We would stay and experience one of our fantastic sunsets over the ocean. I would show her the world renown museums in our fantastic Balboa Park and of course San Diego’s new Central Library which is stunning in architectural design and eight incredible floors of books and more books.
I am truly a home body, and I would throw a party for her and invite all my girlfriends to meet her. I love entertaining and I would cook amazing treats and have the best wines for the party.
There is so much to do in San Diego County and every friend I have ever had visit from out of state leaves wanting to come back for more.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
In January of 2017 after I reunited with my adopted son, I changed from carrying around the deep dark secret son in my heart to wanting to tell the world my son had found me. I signed up for a Memoir Writing course with Marni Freedman and Tracy J Jones at Writers Ink in San Diego. I was so intimidated at the first class I wondered “who do I think I am? these are real writers.” When I returned home after the first class, I told my husband I was not going back. He reminded me that I always tell our children and grandchildren not to give up and to at least go one more time to the class. Well, I did go to the second class and from that day forward with guidance from Marni and Tracy I began to write about the secret I had held so close to my chest for fifty years. After a year of taking Memoir 101, I received my certificate and gained the confidence to continue writing. I doubt I would have gone forward with my writing without the encouragement of my husband and my now dear friends Marni and Tracy.
Over the years I became a member of the San Diego Memoir Writers Association and in 2019 was asked to serve as President of SDMWA (now International Memoir Writers Association) and continue to hold that office today. I have met so many wonderful writers, authors, publishers, editors and publicists over the years through SDMWA who never failed to support and inspire me telling me I had a story to tell, and it was important. They all deserve recognition!

Website: www.lauralengel.com

Instagram: @storytellerlaura

Facebook: lauralbaliusengel & lauralengelauthor