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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Cassandra Madison

Experience: My friend turned out to be my long-lost sister

Cassandra and Julia standing on a forest path holding hands and looking at the camera
‘People would always tell us we looked alike’: Cassandra Madison (left) with Julia in Virginia. Photograph: Aníbal Martel/The Guardian

I grew up in a small town in Connecticut. I always knew I was adopted: my mum told me that, as well as her, I had my “tummy mummy”. I was adopted from the Dominican Republic. My mum there was called Julianna, and she and my dad gave me up for adoption because they were poor.

Fast-forward to 2013, and I was 24 and working in a restaurant in New Haven. One day, one of my co‑ workers, Julia, noticed my Dominican Republic flag tattoo. She told me she was from there, too. I said I was adopted from there, and she said she was as well.

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