YPSILANTI, Mich. – For the Talon family, Sunday was a day to celebrate -- a family reunion nearly 50 years in the making.
“I’m 49 and I just met my family this year,” said Leah Cartwright.
It’s been a long journey to get to that point. When Cartwright was 12 years old, she learned she was adopted. In 2018, the website Ancestry.com changed everything for her. She was given a kit by a friend that she didn’t use until February 2021.
Results came back with a possible relative.
“I never thought this would happen,” Cartwright said. “I have five siblings and my mother is still alive.”
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Her biological mother lives in Georgia. They’ve been in contact and they can’t wait to meet face-to-face.
So Leah Cartwright -- whose birth name was Candice Talon -- is getting to know her new old family.
“God opened the door and she found us,” said John Talon, her brother.
It took 49 years, but she found her way home.
“I’ve got a huge family now,” Cartwright said. “It’s amazing.”
Her mother said she believed in her heart that she would see her daughter again and Sunday’s reunion was the answer to her prayers.
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