"I was 35 years of age and on my way to Derby to meet my father. He'd gone out of my life when I was just a baby..."
Finding my dad was something I'd always wanted to do since the age of nine. I've told it how it happened - and hope that it will show anyone who is thinking of finding a parent that there are both positive and negative experiences related to it.
Yvonne Simmonds lives in Stoke on Trent. She has been a care assistant in a local residential home before making the decision to become a mature student. She studied at university and graduated at the age of 53. Yvonne is married with four children and seven grandchildren. She likes knitting, reading, writing... and holidays.