Arliene Stempler

Heritage Denied Arliene Stempler

Brenda at the age of two, legally became her mother's sister, her father's distant cousin and daughter to her maternal grandparents. When she was twenty years old, she accidentally discovered her true identity. That knowledge did not bring her happiness. She remained a secret to her mother's offspring who thought she was their aunt and to her father's daughters who did not even know of her existence. At her father's funeral, she longed to be acknowledged as his daughter but even then, she was denied her heritage.