Title: Finding Dad
Description: "'Think what her father would have missed if Kara hadn't been tenacious enough to pursue, not just her own identity, but his as well'--Mika Brzezinski, MSNBC's Morning Joe; Kara Hewes had never seen her father, Rhode Island Governor Bruce Sundlun, until one transformational moment when she awoke in the middle of the night as a TV news anchor announced his candidacy. One look at his picture and she knew she needed to find him. Her letters and phone calls went unanswered, so at seventeen, Kara hired a lawyer and announced her paternity suit before a packed press conference. In the middle of the media frenzy, Governor Sundlun did the unexpected and invited Kara to come live with him so he could get to know her better. Kara knew that in order to move forward with her father, she had to make the choice to forgive the past. It was her unconditional love that broke down the barriers separating father and daughter. Kara Sundlun is an Emmy Award-winning television journalist. She anchors the news for WFSB-TV, the CBS affiliate in Connecticut, and hosts two shows--the popular daytime talk show Better Connecticut and Kara's Cures, a guide to health and spirituality. Kara is also a contributor for the Huffington Post. She was named 'Best Reporter' by Hartford Magazine and 'Top 40 under 40' from Hartford Business Journal and Connecticut Magazine. She and her husband, fellow news anchor Dennis House, live in Hartford, Connecticut, with their two children"--

"Kara Hewes knew her father, Bruce Sundlun, was a dynamic man whose legendary bravery during WWII transcended to his life in the courtroom, the boardroom, and finally as two-term governor of Rhode Island. But she'd never laid eyes on him until one transformational moment, when she awoke in the middle of the night as a TV news anchor announced he was running for office. One look at his picture and she knew she needed to find the other half of her. Her letters and phone calls went unanswered, so the determined teen hired a lawyer, arranged a secret meeting, and DNA test, but he still refused to acknowledge her. His rejection permeated every cell. She was bright and ambitious, so why wasn't she worth loving? At 17, ready for college, Kara boldly faced a packed press conference to file a paternity suit. In the middle of the media frenzy, Bruce did the unexpected and offered to help pay for college and invited Kara to come live with him so he could get to know her better. It was a summer of firsts for Kara, from living in a Newport mansion, to meeting her new family and toughest of all, trying to find space in her father's heart. It was Kara's effervescent smile and inherited stubborn determination that proved impossible for Bruce to resist. It took the unconditional love and forgiveness of a 17-year-old girl to break down the barriers that had separated father and daughter for too long"--
Subjects: Fathers and daughters, Paternity, Family, Governors, Women television journalists, Illegitimate children, Childhood and youth, Biography, Women journalists, Governors, united states, Rhode island, biography, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs
Places: United States, Rhode Island
People: Kara Sundlun (1975-), Bruce G. Sundlun (1920-2011)