Justin Hvitfeldt-Matthews was born in the early 70s and adopted shortly after birth. A mixed-race child, he was adopted into a white family with an older sister who was the biological child of his adoptive parents. Born in Wisconsin, Justin moved a lot as a child.  By the time he graduated from high school, he had lived in five different countries with his longest stay being only six years.

After college, Justin met both his biological parents. While supported in doing so by his adoptive parents, the actual process of meeting and getting to know his biological family was done without his adoptive parents’ involvement. This may have been the beginning of the road that led to estrangement. Over the next twenty years, a combination of events wore away at the connection between Justin and his adoptive parents, culminating in an official cutting of ties two years ago. Justin currently lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and three children.  He can be reached at jhvitmatt@gmail.com.