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The Doc Project

'I'll never lose him again': A mother and son reunite after 20 years

Two decades after Carol Brobeck gave up her son for adoption, she still believed they would meet again. She never changed her name and she never moved away. She wanted to be right where he could find her. And eventually, he did. This is their story.
CBC Radio ·
Carol Brobeck received this polaroid of her son from her social worker just after his adoption was completed. It was the last she saw of him until 20 years later when he turned up at her job — by surprise. (Carol Brobeck)
Two decades after Carol Brobeck gave up her son for adoption, she still believed they would meet again.

She never changed her name and she never moved away.

She wanted to be right where he could find her.

And eventually, he did. This is their story.

This documentary aired as part of the March 7 broadcast. Listen to the full show →

About the producers

Shea Shackelford
Shea Shackelford and Virginia Millington won the bronze for Best Documentary for This Can Go On Forever from the 2010 Third Coast/Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Competition.

Shea Shackelford is Montreal-based producer who is passionate about the power of audio documentaries to reach and transform people. He's a founder of the Big Shed production shop, and his award-winning stories have aired on radio shows and podcasts throughout the U.S. and now Canada. When Shea isn't making his own work, he's busy helping producers and programs to create special projects. Each summer you can find him teaching at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University as a producer-in-residence.

Virginia Millington
Virginia Millington is the recording & archive director at StoryCorps, an independent nonprofit whose mission mission is to preserve and share humanity's stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world. She has previously held positions at the Walker Art Center, the Library of Congress and the Folger Shakespeare Library.