I Laughed Until I Cried chronicles my terrific and tumultuous journey from my southern birth through adulthood. Nearby Memphis, TN was the home of baby broker Georgia Tann and her illegal orphanage. Georgia, "The Mother of Adoption in the United States" (and what a Mother she was!) stole and sold over 5000 children between the 1920's and the 1950's. She became wealthy. Her wealth and power inspired ongoing "copycat" crimes. My inspired father decided to cash me in for a quick buck. He always could give a convincing rendition of how he "never signed any adoption papers." My birth mother never gave up on the idea of reuniting her family. Both parents faded in and out of my life leaving behind mixed feelings, a multitude of unanswered questions, and no idea how to cope with growing up in what felt like prison with Mommie Dearest as the warden.