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After Daddy Passed Away FamilyParentingRemembrance

After Daddy Passed Away

G. Marshall Brooks felt lost when her beloved father died; her mother’s physical and mental health then began to decline, essentially forcing 15-year-old G. to take on the overwhelming role of parenting a parent

Marshall Brooks continues chronicling her fascinating life with this next entry from “Life in the Key of G.” While struggling with her own grief, G. is sent to Wyoming to stay with "Brother Number Three" -- who she barely knows. "On the outside, it seemed that I just rolled with the punches," Marshall Brooks writes. "But inside I was just a kid, trying to do what my Daddy told me to do when faced with a challenge." It's a Reporters Inc. Original.

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Olivia
July 21, 2026
Surviving Day-to-Day ActivismBook ReviewsEducationFamilyHomelessness

Surviving Day-to-Day

The chaos of homelessness often makes clear thinking impossible for homeless families; a new book shows us how to truly care for those who need structure, calm, and hope

Diane Nilan has dedicated forty years documenting the reality of family homelessness in America. She’s and traveled more than 500,000 miles across the country, made more than 100 films and has written four books on the subject. Her work combines storytelling with advocacy, helping turn statistics into personal human experiences. Her newest book, Making Bad A Little Better, is a practical and compassionate look at family homelessness. The Reporters Inc. talks with Nilan and offers exclusive excerpts.

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Olivia
July 15, 2026
Life in the Key of G FamilyHealthHeritageIdentitySexual Assault

Life in the Key of G

From the advances of a predatory pediatrician to the devastating loss of my father, my teenage years were marked by confusion and chaos

The Reporters Inc.’s newest contributor, G. Marshall-Brooks, continues chronicling her fascinating life with this next entry from “Life in the Key of G.” G. began writing about her life in hopes the stories would help her family better understand who she really is, and how she became who she is. G. also hopes these honest, heartfelt essays encourage and inspire others to share their own memories and experiences with loved ones.

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G. Marshall-Brooks
March 4, 2026
Life in the Key of G FamilyHeritageIdentity

Life in the Key of G

The Reporters Inc.’s new contributor shares vivid episodes from her fascinating life, in hopes of inspiring others to share their own stories

The Reporters Inc. is pleased to introduce our newest contributor, G. Marshall-Brooks. As she details in the introduction to her first column, a recurring feature we’re calling “Life in the Key of G,” she began writing about her life in hopes her stories would help her family better understand who she really is, and how she became who she is. G. also hopes these honest, fascinating essays encourage and inspire others to share their own memories and experiences with loved ones. As she explains, “Embrace the stories of your life as you read mine.”

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G. Marshall-Brooks
December 18, 2025
How to Survive Homelessness Book ReviewsFamilyHomelessnessWomen

How to Survive Homelessness

Three women named Melissa share their stories, struggles

If you were a parent and suddenly found yourself homeless, would you know how to get by? In a new book, The Three Melissas: The Practical Guide to Surviving Family Homelessness, three mothers--coincidentally named Melissa--share their advice, wisdom and inspiration for anyone struggling with similar experiences. The Reporters Inc. talks with the authors and is honored to present exclusive excerpts.

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Diane Nilan
May 28, 2025
What They Never Told Us: FamilyHeritage

What They Never Told Us:

Exploring the trauma of hidden family secrets

What would you do if you found out that your racial identity was actually far different than what you'd been told all your life? What would you do if you discovered that your parents had hidden the fact you were actually adopted? Family secrets and lies are the subject of a new book that exposes the trauma this kind of deceit causes. We've got exclusive excerpts and reporter Olivia Hines talks with the author, Gail Lukasik.

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Olivia Hines
January 23, 2025
Why Is This Election So Important to YOU? DiversityEconomyEducationElectionsEnvironmentFamily

Why Is This Election So Important to YOU?

Reporters Inc. readers share hopes and fears of 2024 election outcome

The Reporters Inc. asked our readers and supporters to tell us what matters most--WHY the 2024 presidential election is so important to them. The responses we received are eye-opening, heartwarming and emotional. Some of these Americans are anxious, some are hopeful, but all are determined to make THEIR vote count.

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Olivia Hines
October 16, 2024
Who Am I? Where Do I Belong? AdoptionFamilyHeritageIdentityRace Relations

Who Am I? Where Do I Belong?

My search for identity leads to racial and ethnic shock waves

As an adopted child unsure of who or where she came from, Jen Santoro Rotty wanted to learn more about her origins and why others didn't see her as White. The half-Catholic, half-Jewish European ethnicities the adoption documents listed were glossy half-truths that Rotty later discovered were wrong. Very wrong.

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Jen Santoro Rotty
March 13, 2024
Unraveling Family Secrets FamilyHeritageTechnology

Unraveling Family Secrets

Mom & the pizza man: my sister’s stunning DNA test discovery

For as long as she can remember, Pamela Bacon says she’s felt “different,” as if she doesn’t “belong” with her family. So, she decided to take a DNA test. When the results arrived they included a list of names--including the "Pizza Man," who she would discover was her biological father.

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Randy King
March 15, 2022
Pregnant in the Pandemic FamilyHealthPandemicPregnancyPublic Safety

Pregnant in the Pandemic

Welcoming new life during a global health crisis

Imagine being pregnant during a global pandemic. What would you do? How would you keep you and your baby safe? That's been Laura Friedrich's reality since the COVID-19 pandemic started when she was five months pregnant. In July 2020, Friedrich and her husband, Scott, welcomed their healthy baby girl. Rashanah Baldwin interviews these proud first-time parents about how they managed pregnancy and birth during this difficult time.

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Rashanah Baldwin
August 11, 2020
The Girl in the Picture FamilyInvestigativeMilitaryWar

The Girl in the Picture

Seven decades later, mysterious Czechoslovakian girl identified

Growing up, Jerry Huffman was always intrigued by a photo of his father, Paul, with an unknown, young woman that was taken after World War II ended. Despite searching for years, Huffman eventually concluded he would never discover the woman's true identity. But then, after he wrote an article explaining his curiosity about the photo, the mystery was finally solved.

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Jerry Huffman
May 25, 2018
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