Can a Foundling Find Himself? with Paul "Jack" Fronczak - Ep 78

In this week’s Unraveling Adoption podcast, Beth talks with Paul “Jack” Fronczak, a military veteran, musician, published author, executive producer, and former actor, who now works for a non-profit organization devoted to changing lives.  An avid bass guitarist and motorcyclist, Paul now lives  in Las Vegas, and has a teenage daughter he calls "the greatest kid in the world."  Eleven years ago, Paul took a test that disproved the story he'd been told about his identity—that he was "Baby Fronczak," the infant who'd been kidnapped from a Chicago hospital in an infamous 1964 crime. In an instant, he became a man without a name, birthday, or medical history—an "unidentified living person," in official terminology. Paul has spent the last ten years searching for answers—and looking for the real Paul Fronczak. 

Jack’s story is about identity - or lack thereof. I bet most people struggle with questions of identity - Who am I? What makes me me? What traits of my ancestors are carried on with me? Adoptees, Donor-conceived people, and Not Parent Expected individuals struggle with identity quite a bit more. And Jack’s identity is the biggest mystery I could think of. In this conversation with Jack, we talk about how his lack of identity has affected him, so we can learn how better to take care of our other-than-biological children in our community.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Unraveling Adoption email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES: 

Paul “Jack” Fronczak’s information:

• Jack’s website: FronczakFiles.com
• Inside Edition’s piece about Jack’s life: https://www.insideedition.com/media/videos/man-searching-for-his-true-identity-discovers-hed-been-kidnapped-as-a-baby-57710
• 20/20 episode with Barbara Walters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhrfT8cZLAM
• The CNN documentary The Lost Sons, available on Discovery+: https://www.discoveryplus.com/show/the-lost-sons-us 
• Jack’s first book The Foundling: The True Story of a Kidnapping, a Family Secret, and My Search for the Real Me:  https://amzn.to/3DlS5GF
• Jack’s second book True Identity: Cracking the Oldest Kidnapping Cold Case and Finding My Missing Twin:  https://amzn.to/3HAFFNS

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

• CeCe Moore: https://www.cecemoore.com/
• Finding Your Roots: https://www.pbs.org/weta/finding-your-roots
• Untangling Our Roots Conference by National Association of Adoptees and Parents (NAAP) and Right to Know - March 30 - April 1, 2023 in Louisville, Kentucky: https://naapunited.org/conferences

Other Resources:

• Other Parents Like Me -  https://www.facebook.com/other.parents.like.me
• Heather Ross - Life Coaching for Parents of Addicted Teens: https://heatherrosscoaching.com/
• Find a Tele-Therapist: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/online-counseling

===============

Unraveling Adoption is produced and hosted by Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Email questions or comments to [email protected]

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube

Support UnravelingAdoption on Patreon: Patreon.com/UnravelingAdoption

www.UnravelingAdoption.com

===============

TIME STAMPS:

  2:39 Jack’s continuously unraveling life - Cliff’s Notes version of Jack’s life

  5:35 Did Jack find the “real Paul?”

  7:30 Jack always played a part. No wonder he became an actor! Discovering the kidnapping story

11:35 Did Jack feel like an adoptee growing up?

13:25 The student nurse who helped Jack’s mom after the kidnapping

14:34 Jack’s infancy with his twin Jill

17:20 Jack’s relationship to his [adoptive] parents, foster family, and first family. 2 out of 3 ain’t bad??

20:30 Jack’s lifelong effects of early chaos and abandonment by his first family

23:50 What is it like being an “unidentified living person?” 

26:49 What adoptive parents and allies can do to help adoptees and other “unidentified living person”s

32:20 Jack’s ongoing mysteries make for an interesting life, and we’re all discovering who we really are