When having read about Joni Mitchell's song, and the unique story behind the it, I was intrigued to look further into the situation, and I was only further compelled to do so when listening a live version of "Little Green" in class. Joni talked so lovingly of the girl she may never know, and having only the best hopes in mind for her she put her daughter up for adoption. Little did she know that later on at the age of 32, the same girl now known as Kilauren Gibb, would have ended her 5-year search looking for her mother when they finally met.
Kilauren only found out she was adopted when she was 27, being cared for by David and Ida Gibb she was never quite told why she didn't have any baby pictures, or that she was adopted for a long while. The reason they kept it a secret, like many parents having adopted a child, being "They were nurturing, loving parents who wanted to protect me. They didn't tell me because they didn't want me to feel like an outsider. And, they were afraid they might lose me.", as told by Kilauren. With this information she went to the Children's Aid Society to find out more about her mother and father, such as their meeting in the art school named Calgary, and the fact that her other was quite the Canadian folk singer. Only a little after the fact of her friends joking about her similar appearance to Joni Mitchell, did Kilauren reach out to her agent as she had heard that the singer was in return looking for a daughter she had given up long ago.
Having been famous, a good amount of girls had already called Joni claiming to be her daughter, but when Kilauren faxed her birthing information to her employees she was trusted and called my Mitchell right away. They shared pictures to fill in the missing links, Joni spoke of some of her regrets in giving Kilauren up, and her daughter told her of the amazing life and childhood she has had as a result to make her feel better about her decision those 32 years ago.
On March 13th the two met in person, along with Ki Lauren's son so he could meet his grandmother for the first time. The three had a very pleasant time together, and Kilauren remarked on how naturally they had all clicked. She planned to meet up with her dad, Brad McMath, soon after in the summer that followed, to complete herself as a person. I hope that she did, as after having done more research I'm not entirely sure if that second meeting happened or not. Nevertheless, I'm glad to have learned that Joni and her Little Green finally met in a peaceful reunion, and I hope you are too!
Work Cited:
Joni Mitchell Library - How Joni Mitchell's daughter found mom and became whole: Toronto Sun, April 8, 1997. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://jonimitchell.com/library/view.cfm?id=82
I was also wondering about the situation when the two met! Interesting she didn't find out until so late in life, and crazy that people would lie and say they were Joni Mitchell's daughter. I love this song and respect the brave choice to put her daughter up for adoption, to give her a better life.
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