Arna’s Search to Understand Where She Came From

From our An Adoption Story series. You can watch her documentary on Alex Gilbert’s YouTube channel. Adopted as a baby in Auckland, New Zealand, Arna (Anna Francesca) Intra grew up always knowing she was adopted. It was never a secret, but understanding what it truly meant came much later. While her childhood was shaped by family, loss, and unanswered questions, the deeper story of where she came from remained just out of reach. In the 1980s, when New Zealand’s adoption laws changed, Arna began searching for answers about her birth mother, Eugenie. Along the way, she made unexpected connections, including meeting her grandmother for the first time, a moment that would change everything. This is her story.