Separately adopted sisters meet in Columbia University writing class

Two women who took a writing class at Columbia University found their own stories were better than fiction. Lizzie Valverde and Katy Olson, born to the same teenage mother in the early 1980s and adopted by different families, discovered they were sisters during a writing class in January 2013 but discussed their story publicly for the first time with the New York Times this week. Olson figured out the connection when Valverde introduced herself to the writing class and talked about being adopted.

It looked like she was having a panic attack.

Lizzie Valverde recounts the reaction from Katy Olson as she told the class about her life

Valverde grew up in New Jersey while Olson grew up mostly in Florida and Iowa. Both moved to New York as adults and enrolled in Columbia’s School of General Studies. Olson, who had been looking for her biological sister, knew some details about her sibling but had not been able to find her. The 35-year-old Valverde will graduate on Monday. The 34-year-old Olson and their biological mother, Leslie Parker, will be there.

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