Originally published 2022-06-08.
Benjamin Hulleberg, a young man from Utah who was adopted as a newborn, met his biological mother, Holly Shearer, in November 2021 after she sent him a Facebook message on his 20th birthday. Two days later the two families sat down to dinner together, and over the meal they discovered something remarkable: for about two years, mother and son had been working in the same Salt Lake City hospital without knowing it.
The story, reported by Utah Public Radio, Good News Network and other outlets in mid-2022, travelled widely because it combines a long search, a brave first message and a coincidence that sounds invented. It also shows how open adoption, patience and kindness on all sides can make a reunion a happy one.
A teenage mother’s difficult choice
Holly became pregnant in 2001, when she was 15. About five months into the pregnancy she decided to place the baby for adoption, and she chose the family herself: Brian and Angela Hulleberg, a couple who had struggled with infertility. She has described it as the hardest decision of her life.
For the first few years, Holly and Angela kept in touch, and the Hullebergs sent letters and photos. That contact faded after about three years, as it often does in informal arrangements. But the Hullebergs never treated Holly as a secret. Angela answered Benjamin’s questions about his birth mother as he grew up, and the family spoke about her with gratitude.
Benjamin has said those conversations were always positive. He grew up thankful to the woman who gave him life and hoping that one day he would meet her.
Two people searching from opposite sides
As an adult, Benjamin started looking. According to Good News Network, he wrote letters, joined an adoption registry and took a DNA test in the hope of matching with a relative who could lead him to her.
Holly, meanwhile, had already found him. She located Benjamin on Facebook but held back. She worried that a sudden message from a birth mother could unsettle a young man with a busy life of his own, so for some time she simply followed his life from a distance.
That hesitation is common among birth parents. Many fear rejection, or feel they have no right to intrude. Neither of them knew that the other was hoping for the same thing.
The birthday message
On Benjamin’s 20th birthday, in November 2021, Holly finally wrote to him. He has said he remembers exactly where he was when it arrived: at work, between routine quality checks on the machine he was operating, glancing at his phone. He answered straight away.
He described the moment as overwhelming and entirely happy, and called it “a dream come true”, adding that this was the truest time he had ever used the phrase. For someone who had imagined the moment for most of his life, it was a lot to take in.
Things moved quickly after that. Benjamin suggested a meeting, and two days later both families met over dinner at a Red Robin restaurant. He also learned that he has a half-brother and a half-sister.
The same hospital all along
Over dinner, the conversation turned to work, and the coincidence emerged. Holly was a medical assistant in the heart centre at St. Mark’s Hospital in Salt Lake City. Benjamin was a volunteer in the same hospital’s newborn intensive care unit. Both had been there for roughly two years.
Holly later said she passed the NICU on her way in every morning, and that they used the same parking garage. They had very likely been in the building at the same time, perhaps even passing each other, without any idea of the connection.
Some early retellings of the story said Holly worked as a medical researcher near Benjamin’s school. The fuller reporting from Utah Public Radio and Good News Network places both of them at St. Mark’s Hospital, which is the version given here. Some outlets also described Benjamin as a substitute teacher; that detail could not be confirmed.
Life after the reunion
Since meeting, mother and son have kept in close contact and reportedly take regular coffee breaks together at the hospital. Benjamin has called the experience “very healing”. He remains close to the parents who raised him and grateful to Holly for reaching out.
That last point is worth stressing. Reunions are often framed as a choice between “real” parents and birth parents, but Benjamin’s story shows they do not have to compete. Love for the family that raised you and curiosity about where you came from can sit side by side.
What adoptees and birth parents can take from this story
Every adoption story is different, and not every search ends in a warm dinner. Still, a few lessons stand out:
- Openness in childhood helps. Benjamin grew up hearing respectful, grateful talk about his birth mother. Adoption professionals generally encourage this kind of honesty, because it lets a child’s questions be met calmly.
- Registries and DNA tests can work. Mutual-consent adoption registries and consumer DNA services have helped many families reconnect, though results depend on relatives having tested and on each side being willing.
- A gentle first contact is wise. A short, warm message that leaves the other person free to reply, as a birthday note does, puts no pressure on them.
- Go at a pace that suits everyone. Benjamin and Holly moved fast because both were ready. Others prefer letters or a video call first, and boundaries are healthy.
- Be ready for mixed feelings. Even happy reunions can stir up grief, guilt or questions. Counsellors who specialise in adoption can help adoptees, birth parents and adoptive families.
Common misconceptions about adoption reunions
“Searching means the adoptee is unhappy with their family.” Benjamin’s case shows the opposite: his search was supported by loving adoptive parents.
“Birth parents who stay silent don’t care.” Holly watched from afar for some time precisely because she cared and did not want to disrupt his life.
“Reunions always end in a close relationship.” Outcomes vary widely. A respectful first meeting is a success in itself, whatever comes next.
For Benjamin and Holly, a single birthday message closed a gap of 20 years, and revealed that they had been just a few corridors apart all along.
Sources: Utah Public Radio (6 June 2022); Good News Network.
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