57-Year-Old Author and Pet Adoption Advocate Discovers She Was Adopted

    SANTA FE, NM, October 25, 2022 /24-7PressRelease/ -- In Junkyard Girl, which releases on Nov. 2 from Goose Hill Press, Carlyn Montes De Oca shares how in an instant the life she knew was upended when she became a Late Discovery Adoptee, something that can easily happen to anyone curious enough to take a commercial DNA test as some 30 million individuals have done.

The book's subtitle, A Memoir of Ancestry, Family Secrets, and Second Chances is no exaggeration. Carlyn illustrates with stark honesty and humor the earth-shattering results of a long-held family secret and the saga of rebuilding her identity after discovering that most of her family, including her 63 first cousins, knew about her secret adoption but never told her. Hers is the perfect human interest story to feature during National Adoption Month in November.

In an interview, Carlyn (pronounced Car-leen) can discuss:

• Whether blood is thicker than water
• Why taking a DNA test is more dangerous than you ever expected
• 5 ways to survive being told you are adopted as an adult

Praise for Junkyard Girl

"An astonishing tale, told by a gifted storyteller. Beautifully written, emotionally engaging and unrestrained in its intimacy. This book is evidence; as heartbreaking as it is heartfelt. In the end, it is a celebration of the deepest mysteries of life, asking who we really are and where we really come from."— Jay Rabinowitz, award-winning motion picture editor of Requiem for a Dream

"Utterly engaging from start to finish, an astonishing story of a secret adoption and a beautifully rendered tale of complicated family dynamics, the secrets we keep and the gifts we give to each other."— Maria Jacquemetton, Emmy award-winning television writer-producer

"Carlyn's prose and descriptions are like music that seduces and lights up our senses. She pours us into an irresistible and unimaginable tale that makes Junkyard Girl a most unexpected delight!"— Gary W. Goldstein, producer of Pretty Woman and Under Siege

"In Junkyard Girl, Carlyn Montes De Oca tells two interwoven stories with sensitivity and courage. She succeeds commendably with both."— Robert Basler, former reporter and senior editor for Reuters, in Asia and America

"From the very first sentence we pull up to a spot right next to the determined, spunky and grace-full Montes De Oca -- and stay with her every step of the way. And what an inspirational, inspiring trip it is." —Karen Pearlman, journalist, San Diego, CA

About the Author

Carlyn Montes De Oca is an award-winning author, international speaker, and animal advocate in Santa Fe, New Mexico, who also lives part of the year in California. A former film editor on movies such as Three Men and a Little Lady and Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Montes De Oca holds a master's degree in traditional Chinese medicine. She is an ambassador for Animal Protection New Mexico, a nonprofit that will receive 10% of the proceeds from the sales of Junkyard Girl.

Carlyn is also the founder of The Animal-Human Health Connection, which brings awareness to the many powerful ways animals enhance human health, happiness, and longevity. Carlyn was voted PETA's Sexiest Vegetarian over 50 and has been featured on ABC and CBS and in The San Francisco Chronicle.

Related Link:
http://animalhumanhealth.com

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